Visit Our Store!
It’s My Change. Mine!
...Don't We All Bill?
Walking around any major city these days and you’ll bump into a homeless person. Depending on the city you live in it you may consider them an epidemic, a nuisance or just part of the scenery. Growing up in New York, I always felt it was the latter. They were just a part of the city. Like the dirty water hot dog carts, pissed filled subway stations and taxi cabs that you can’t catch. I gave change when I saw them or food if I had it on me and kept it moving with a little more warmth in my heart. And I continued that behavior when I got to Boston, for the most part. Lately though, I’ve been walking past the open hands and disregarding the begging. I realized I cut out donating cash to these folks for a couple reasons:
I Really Am Broke
Homie, I’m about two paychecks from standing in the subway with you. Do you want competition? Think about it. Plus, you can’t have my change because I need it like Slim needs Sour Patch kids. I keep the change in a container so I can “cash in” every couple months. Do you know what I can do with a couple weeks worth of change? I’ll tell you – I dive into it like Scrooge McDuck in the opening credits of Duck Tales. Or I use it to pay for the trip to the “massage parlor” next week’s lunch. It’s like one of those punch cards they give to preferred customers. I’m on a program and I’m not falling off the wagon.
You’re Not That Good of A Homeless Person
I know how that sounds, but dammit I lived in New York City – land of the hustlers. No one gets that dollar a New Yorker and that includes homeless people. Have you seen the homeless guy that will let you curse him out for a few dollars? Yes, you heard me right. If you give him cash, you can tell him off. That’s a man who knows his audience. I tip my hat to homeless people in other cities as well. Like the man in San Francisco that will hop out from behind a bush to scare people for money. People who live in San Fran will take their tourist friends to get ambushed for a good laugh. The man’s a damn attraction! I know it’s messed up, but I find it hard to give to a guy who’s just reaching out for change when you have dudes out there that’ll “work” for their money.
I’ve Been To A “Third World” Country
For anyone who’s been to a nation who’s infrastructure isn’t as solid as the U.S.’s knows that poverty outside of the States is a lot different than inside the borders. When you see that, it’s hard to give to the homeless here. Pre-Recession that is. I know middle class is disappearing for no fault of their own now. However the people that were homeless when Bill Clinton was in session or even the first term of George Dubya can’t compare to the homeless people in areas where there is no opportunity whatsoever except to hop on a raft and hope for the best. I know it’s hard to compare, but I can’t help it.
What about you? Do you think I’m crazy for not giving up the change in my pocket? Do you take the change out of the cup and act like you’re putting something in there? Or you all “humanitarian” and ish? Let me know.
Seattle – I Know, I Know… I Need Jesus – Washington
RSS & Twitter
-
For me you really just gotta catch me on a day when I have an easily accessed quarter or dollar and am in a good mood. OR you gotta reel me in with something good for instance…
There’s a guy who refers to himself as the Jok-e-mon (yea like Pokemon) in Berkeley. He offers f
ree jokes…obviously hoping no one notices the crossed out “r” on his sign lol. He also sold the image of him getting arrested by the police to a local t-shirt shop who prints it on shirts and sells them to the locals, offering him a piece of the profit. Now that’s a hard working homeless man.Reply
I have only one rule when it comes to homeless people: I will not give them money if they are rude. And so many of them are. I’ve been cussed out by homeless people 5 times and 4 of those times it’s been after I’ve given them money. Now it’s like if they approach me rudely, don’t say please, or interrupt me when I’m speaking, they get the gas face. One homeless man had to get a tongue lashing because he stopped me when I was carrying an a$$load of groceries to my car to ask me for money and didn’t even offer to help me.
I get that ish happens and people find themselves down on their luck, but there is never an excuse for bad manners.
Reply
I’ve been in and out of NYC for a few years and I’m the same way. If you’re not broke already, you’ll go broke trying to help these people out. There’s so many now. The recession is real.
If you give it right to them, you don’t necessary know where the money is going. Midtown Manhattan has four of the biggest drug rehabilitation centers in NYC. So a lot of the homeless right in Penn Station come right from those centers. And that money will have them doing something that will end them right back. Much better to give that money to an organization you trust to do the right thing.
I’m not so sure it’s safe anymore anyone. Some people will flip on you just for making eye contact. Or just because what you look like triggers something from their past. Aside from the old lady in Harlem who kept telling me she’s gonna f*ck me up, and the man in midtown who started following me around saying a whole lot of nothing I couldn’t udnerstand after our eyes met, I remember one instance a suburb of Baltimore. There was this big, homeless guy, who used to beg for chancge outside of a bookstore. Seemed nice enough and used. That is until one guy set him off for whatever reason. In an instant, he had the much smaller man (and his face) pinned up against the glass of the store.
Another thing. If you are in a place where there are a number of homeless people… If you give money to one, others will see, notice, and remember. If they don’t ask you that day, they’ll ask you again the next.
The only time I gave any money to someone on the street recently was when they were by themselves, weren’t asking, and obviously needed it. Usually sleeping on the stairs of a church or something.
I believe in being a good samaritan. But I don’t mess with homeless people much. You have no idea what got them where they are. I think if you want to empower anyone, money isn’t necessarily the key. Get invovled with a soup kitchen or adult skills program or job program or something. You’ll give them the power to do for themsevles and get to know them as people in the meantime.
Reply
Dash Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Right on Bruddah. My friend works at a homeless organization (in NYC). He told me do not give them a dime. He’s seen them come back to the shelter daily with 500,600 and 700 dollars cash! Imagine getting that kind of money everyday! Shouldn’t I be asking YOU for money? Smh.
Reply
I only give change if I have it in my pocket. I don’t open my purse or my wallet to get change for the homeless. If I can’t get to it without opening my purse, no change for you.
I ocassionally volunteer at the homeless shelter, and I donate clothes, food, money to the local rescue mission and food banks. Most cities have services to help the homeless. I appease my conscience by donating to these organizations.
Reply
Miss Jenkins Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 9:11 am
I only give change if I have it in my pocket. I don’t open my purse or my wallet to get change for the homeless. If I can’t get to it without opening my purse, no change for you.
Yeah, that’s my policy too. True, you look vulnerable, but I don’t know you like that. If I am walking and have food, then I usual give that up as well.
There is this homeless man that “lives” on the corner of my block. When it started to get cold outside, I would worry about him, but was happy when I walked by and didn’t see him standing out there. Not sure where he was, but I hoped he was somewhere warm.
Reply
nyhoop Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 9:14 am
me three! lol
Reply
I’ve had a few incidents where I told a homeless person I had no change or dollar bills and then they asked me if I had a debit card. I laughed each time…heartily.
Reply
N Aimee Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
OMG! Hilarious!!
I wonder were they just asking so that they could tell you an ATM machine was nearby so that you could withdraw some cash for them or did they actually want to pocket your debit card? *shrug*
Reply
Slim Jackson Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
I think they wanted me to go withdraw money. Either way, wasn’t happening. There’s another guy who’s always at the bus station and saying “Got any change.” I want to punch him in the throat because of his unoriginality.lol.
Reply
miss t-lee Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I had a mofo ask me to get him some food at the drive thru at McD’s once. I was all set to “think about” buying him something, but I had a limited amount of cash on me.
So he starts trying to be all funny, like “well if you get this, you can still afford to get me something.” Really, are you telling me how to spend MY money?
So I told him, “ya know what? I’m sorry, I won’t be able to get you anything I don’t have enough cash.” He says, “You have a debit card don’t you?”
*this is the sound of my window rolling up in his face*
Like my Momma used to tell us growing up “beggars can’t be choosers.”
I don’t mind helping folks out when I can, but don’t be a dyck. That’s the quickest way to get nothing.
Reply
N.I.A. naturally Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
This story reminds me of this dude who was always at the Burger King on MLK in Atlanta. Everytime, he would ask for some money or ask for a ride because he just got out of jail, as if that would make me more willing to drive his a$$ anywhere. lol. I know he wasn’t homeless, b/c he had on a different outfit everytime I saw him. He should have been in the BK filling out a job application.
Reply
Good post SW…I’m sorry but I can’t trust any bum asking for change…
My words are heartless but I’m only saying this because NYC is a place of hustlers especially when it comes to the bums. I have a friend who has a close relative who scams us everyday working people in the morning for change. More than likely, this person was on your train today. This person has a job but does this as a side hustle.
In addition, there are some bums who are Subway celebrities. I’m working now and I remember some of these same bums when I was taking the train in HS….SMH! I’m sorry but I can’t trust NYC bums.
Far from being God but I work God damn hard,
-BBW
Reply
I’ve taken homeless dudes out to lunch. (They will order $30 worth of food from a Sbarro and consume it all) And I usually keep leftovers to give to them.
I agree w/ Seattle that the NYC homeless are some talented folk. There is a dude on the A train called Homeless Ed but you can call him Homeless for short (this makes me laugh everytime). I dont do the sob stories, you dont work so you got all day to come up with something creative. I also wont give you any money if you dont specifically ask for food ( i figure u aint really homeless if you dont want food)
I rather give money to the kids who do all the flips and damn near kill themselves when the train stops short
Reply
Renee Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:10 am
I tried to give leftoversm from the Cheesecake Factory to a homeless dude in Boston and he was like “I don’t take food that has been touched”, made me wanna bust a Jamaican curse word on his ass.
Reply
Peyso Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:13 am
I cant knock him though, there are a lot of sick individuals who might purposefully try to harm some homeless folk
Reply
Renee Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:20 am
okay but he was literally at the door of the restaurante, plus 3 young females…
Reply
Seattle Washington Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 11:48 am
I have to say, Boston homeless people are some of the most stuck up homeless people I’ve ever seen. It’s reflective of the city I guess. They will scoff at little efforts, ask for bigger bills and will look cleaner than some of coworkers when they do it.
Reply
I don’t give them money. It’s not that I don’t feel bad for them – I do. But, it’s just not safe for me to roll down my window, reach in my purse and hand money to a homeless person. I know I’m scary, but I have a secret fear they may try to rob/carjack me. I know it’s horrible and irrational, but that’s how I feel. #dontjudgeme
Reply
i agree with you on the first and third points. i do give to the homeless whenever i feel inclined to do so but i don’t feel bad if i don’t give the homeless money.
one i’m a broke graduate student. i might not know where my next meal is coming from. lol. so why would i potentially take food out of my mouth and put it into yours? self-preservation man.
also as far as the third-world countries, i went to Nigeria in the summer of 2008. i saw real poverty. the lame on the streets. no wheelchairs. just crawling across the ground. that experience changed my perspective on how many advantages people have in this country. even the homeless and poor. government assistance?
Reply
I can’t believe that you didn’t put that some of these so called “Homeless” people are straight crooks on your list, I lived in Brooklyn but went to High School in Manhattan and everyday I saw the same exact homeless people begging with the same story about there house being burned down the day before, losing her job a month ago with “3 very small children” etc. I am not heartless, I’ve given to homeless people, some that hold doors or some that are disabled, but some of them are just crooks, theres no other way to put it. Eventually, I was lucky enough to be on the train when a man decided to speak up and call out the “3 small Children” Chick on her BS, the look of shock and horror on her face was enough for me, then she went over to him, whispered something and left the cart (to go beg in another cart I’m sure). So someone asked “What did she say” and he told us she said she was doing this to pay her tuition… BS, between the 4 years in HS and 4 Years away at college, there is no way that was the case, plus I had already been working for a year or two.
I went out in DC a couple summers ago and homeless people were hold parking spaces at club Dream and for $5 they would watch your car, I’m not sure what is up with DC and why my car would not be ok but it was a hustle. I was in ATL 2 summers ago and those homeless people are scary, they don’t even beg for money they just drink all day and curse you out as you walk by, scary shit.
Reply
Miss Dimples Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Yep! Some of the DC Homeless ‘work’ for their panhandling. They will find you a PRIME parking spot and keep an eye on your car for you. I saw one create a ‘diversion’ to keep a ticket cop from giving someone a ticket for being double parked.
Reply
Dr. J (@DrJayJack) Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 11:08 am
Of course you know this but Dream closed more than a couple summers ago, lol.
Reply
Renee Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
I was a junior interning at Fannie Mae, so it was 2005… and I know I wasn’t 21 yet, eh!
Reply
Streetztalk Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
DREAM may be a Wrap but LOVE and the BUMS are STILL THERE! lmao
Reply
So I know it’s messed up, but I get bitter seeing homeless people get money and knowing it isn’t taxed. All that untaxed money floating around in the economy places has the margin of error effecting the rest of us taxpayers!
Sometimes I feel the need to support their alcohol or drug addiction, but then I think about how I need to support my own addictions to food and shopping! I know our level of neediness is different, however I’m in no position to give charitably without a RECEIPT…for my tax refund.
Reply
If I have any money on me, I always give it to the homeless or a beggar unless he/she has on brand new ironed clothes and new shoes and they look like they just had a shower at home. I’m suspicious of those types. But I’ve even gone to the ATM a couple of times to return to help a homeless person. I’ve only had one rude reply where I gave a guy $5 and he said “that’s all you can do?” with attitude.
Reply
I always give to homeless people because if I was in need I wouldn’t want someone to turn their back on me. I’ve def had situations where a homeless person wanted “bus fare” and I gave them a bus pass and they were upset that it wasn’t cash. But I just let it roll off. As long as they’re not obnoxious I’ll give.
One time I was eating lunch with lucifer,err my ex, and it was cold as hell and there was a homeless guy outside asking for change for food. We told him we’d buy him some food. So we bought him a 10 piece wings and rice. We go outside to give it to him and there was a homeless woman in a wheelchair there too. The homeless man gave the food to the woman even though we had promised it to him. That experience brought tears to my eyes. And things like that are why I continue to give.
Reply
I used to give to the homeless but a friend of mine that works for the courts told me what some homeless people are not really homeless and get checks every month. Some of them just pretend to be homeless so they can get money form people I have seen men with homes and cars pretend to be homeless because they know how giving people can be. I offer to buy them a sandwich and if a homeless person does not want it then that is my clue that they are not really homeless and are just trying to get the money
Reply
I dont give change on the street no more. I got a guy who hangs in my hood goes into every fast food joint and asks for money. He has different clothes on every day, stay fresh for the most part, and doesnt look like hes physically unable to work. I refuse to let dudes like that #swindle me.
The same can be said for these lil ninjas who are “selling candy for basketball uniforms”. Then you catch them talking outside about how they’re going to cop the new Eggplant Foamposites with that money. Sorry I’m good!
Reply
N.I.A. naturally Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 11:18 am
LOL! I’m the same way with the kids. Unless its the Girl/Boy Scouts or one of the local schools, I don’t want what you’re selling and I’m not donating any money.
It’s not always the youth, though. This older guy walked up on me and my sister as we were getting in the car outside Target, asking for a donation to some random charity for the children. The flyer had a picture of some random black child, probably his child.
Reply
Renee Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 11:34 am
I love the ones that go ” I aint selling this candy for no baseketball team, I’m selling it to stay off the streets and keep some money in my pockets”, its like payup bitches or im gonna turn to a life of crime and rob your ass, and these kids are like 15 and 16, you suppose to be broke at that age anyway.
Reply
Seattle Washington Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Exactly! I can respect the young cats that just blatantly say they’re selling candy for their own stash. Don’t swindle me with hopes of better basketball uniforms when you’re just going out to buy the new Jordans that will never see the asphalt or hardwood.
The worst are the dudes that drag their kids along with them to hustle. My dude, you shouldn’t use your kids to beg. Give me back your Man Card son.
Reply
CPT Callamity Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Don’t even get me started on the dudes coming into the laundromat to sell socks and DVDs, followed by the kid asking me if I wear cologne and want to buy some imitation crap.
Reply
i don’t give $ to them because i don’t respect their hustle. i can’t get anything by simply asking for it, thus you shouldn’t either. i worked for mine, you should try it sometime.
i had a ‘regular looking’ guy ask me for a dollar when i was walking home from the store, i gave it to him. then he had the audacity to ask for one of my coronas from the 12 pack i was carrying. i told him no and that he had bigger problems. he ain’t like that.
Reply
I give out change because its not going to make or break me…..
Reply
I have to cosign on the “you’re not a good homeless person”, When I moved to ATL from NYC that was the first thing that stood out to me. In ATL not only where there mad homeless folk but I felt like they just roll up on you like somehow you owe THEM money. I’m like where is your bucket and sticks sir, your inventive sign..something..don’t just roll up with a hand out looking like B***h where my money. Now that I’m in the Chi the homeless folk here remind me of the ones in NYC, although I still don’t think they match the hustle but maybe I’m biased. The homeless people here also sell this magazine called “streetwise” its a weekly publication that they “sell” to the homeless folk and then they in turn become “vendors” and sell it to the public and keep the profit.
Reply
I use to be a sucker for homeless ppl… let my brother tell it. I haven’t come across any homeless ppl in a couple of years now so, I dunno how generous I am. Well…. there are a bunch of homeless ppl in Hawaii but I haven’t had any of them asking me for money. They’re usually just chillin’, lookin’ like they’re getting a tan, enjoying a day in the park.
Reply
I don’t give as much as I used to. Occasionally I will give some spare change, but if I see the same person out there day in and day out I have to decline. One group I certainly don’t give to is teenagers. When I see some ole crusty 17 or 18 year old standing with his handout so that “he can catch the bus” I usually just chuck my chin up and keep rolling. First of all, your azz is youthful enough and able bodied to work. Second, you claim to be in school but have no books or backpack. Third, I see you out here all the time, time which could be spent learning a skill.
Sounds harsh but if I’m going to give, make it count. At least do like some of the dudes downtown and try to invoke a laugh.
Reply