Poor Man or Woman in the Street

Eagle1

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I've been around a bit and it's mainly middle class and often when they can afford you see something special one brother or sister helping out the homeless buying the poor chaps a sandwich or getting them a haircut, it's rare that I see the rich bending their knee to support one of the Human family !
 

CroydonDog

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I've been around a bit and it's mainly middle class and often when they can afford you see something special one brother or sister helping out the homeless buying the poor chaps a sandwich or getting them a haircut, it's rare that I see the rich bending their knee to support one of the Human family !
How do you know these people are "middle class"?

i have also been around a while, and am a member of one of the world's oldest and largest service organisations and can tell you charity comes from all walks of life.
 

Eagle1

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How do you know these people are "middle class"?

i have also been around a while, and am a member of one of the world's oldest and largest service organisations and can tell you charity comes from all walks of life.
Stature and resonance brother
 

Moedogg

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I've been around a bit and it's mainly middle class and often when they can afford you see something special one brother or sister helping out the homeless buying the poor chaps a sandwich or getting them a haircut, it's rare that I see the rich bending their knee to support one of the Human family !
Rich people fund the shelters, soup kitchens and social programs...
 

Eagle1

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How do you know these people are "middle class"?

i have also been around a while, and am a member of one of the world's oldest and largest service organisations and can tell you charity comes from all walks of life.
Stature and resonance brother
Rich people fund the shelters, soup kitchens and social programs...
Don't think so bro otherwise there would be more
 

Moedogg

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Don't think so bro otherwise there would be more
I work for a company where our major clients are NGO's funded by private donors. They have a ton of money and always pay their bills on time.

You probably won't see them on the street bending down to put coins in a tin but they do donate through their private charities which has a greater impact.
 

N4TE

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I tried to whack a $20 the other day to a lady and she told me shoe doesn’t want it.. Fair enough
 

Wahesh

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A few years ago I was going for a walk and saw a $2 coin on the footpath. Whatever, it's not much but I picked it up. About 100m down the road was a homeless guy who had a cardboard box and no money in it. I felt sorry for him, so dropped the $2 in there. As soon as it hit the cardboard he picked it up and pocketed it, no thank you, nothing. He made people feel sorry for him but probably had his pockets filled with money. From that moment, I said I will never give a homeless person money again. I'll be happy to buy them food or essentials if they need it, but not money.
 

Eagle1

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A few years ago I was going for a walk and saw a $2 coin on the footpath. Whatever, it's not much but I picked it up. About 100m down the road was a homeless guy who had a cardboard box and no money in it. I felt sorry for him, so dropped the $2 in there. As soon as it hit the cardboard he picked it up and pocketed it, no thank you, nothing. He made people feel sorry for him but probably had his pockets filled with money. From that moment, I said I will never give a homeless person money again. I'll be happy to buy them food or essentials if they need it, but not money.
Prompted and did the right thing
 

JayBee

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A few years ago I was going for a walk and saw a $2 coin on the footpath. Whatever, it's not much but I picked it up. About 100m down the road was a homeless guy who had a cardboard box and no money in it. I felt sorry for him, so dropped the $2 in there. As soon as it hit the cardboard he picked it up and pocketed it, no thank you, nothing. He made people feel sorry for him but probably had his pockets filled with money. From that moment, I said I will never give a homeless person money again. I'll be happy to buy them food or essentials if they need it, but not money.
The homeless are unique and in and unbelievably precarious position.

I used to do homeless food runs with my local parish, and I was near shocked at my first encounter with them. Why? Well.. I remember being a kid, and growing up very skinny. Legitimately probably weighed 30kg soaking wet, and would often hate eating. And my parents would say "If a homeless person was here, they would eat whatever you put what's in front of them".

So I was shocked when I saw many of them rejecting whatever food we had provided. Some times hot food (rice or pasta dish), other times sandwiches. So I became, not so much judgmental but more annoyed - it's like hey dude, I am here to help you out.

And then the reality hit me. Some of these homeless people were rejecting, for example, sandwiches, because they had crust. And then one of them laughed at me when I offered her a sandwich (not in a condescending way, but in a "I wish!" kinda tone). And when she laughed, I knew why she was, and countless others had rejected them. They had barely any front teeth left. They struggled to eat and break down certain foods because things like hygiene and dental care are things they can no longer afford. It's an incredibly sad situation.

Furthermore, many of them suffer from mental disorders of some kind. So don't take it too personally - many aren't overly thankful from their own shame and pride. They still cannot believe or get over the fact that they are in the position they are in. Many of them own it, others - well... it hurts them to their core.

Also - as for the thread - there are many many MANY well off people who do things in this space, that you just don't know or hear about. Why? Because they don't want their name up in lights. It was not until after Elvis died, for example, did they realize how much he gave to charity.
 

CroydonDog

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The homeless are unique and in and unbelievably precarious position.

I used to do homeless food runs with my local parish, and I was near shocked at my first encounter with them. Why? Well.. I remember being a kid, and growing up very skinny. Legitimately probably weighed 30kg soaking wet, and would often hate eating. And my parents would say "If a homeless person was here, they would eat whatever you put what's in front of them".

So I was shocked when I saw many of them rejecting whatever food we had provided. Some times hot food (rice or pasta dish), other times sandwiches. So I became, not so much judgmental but more annoyed - it's like hey dude, I am here to help you out.

And then the reality hit me. Some of these homeless people were rejecting, for example, sandwiches, because they had crust. And then one of them laughed at me when I offered her a sandwich (not in a condescending way, but in a "I wish!" kinda tone). And when she laughed, I knew why she was, and countless others had rejected them. They had barely any front teeth left. They struggled to eat and break down certain foods because things like hygiene and dental care are things they can no longer afford. It's an incredibly sad situation.

Furthermore, many of them suffer from mental disorders of some kind. So don't take it too personally - many aren't overly thankful from their own shame and pride. They still cannot believe or get over the fact that they are in the position they are in. Many of them own it, others - well... it hurts them to their core.

Also - as for the thread - there are many many MANY well off people who do things in this space, that you just don't know or hear about. Why? Because they don't want their name up in lights. It was not until after Elvis died, for example, did they realize how much he gave to charity.
This. All of this.

You don't give a homeless person money (or do anything charitable) for the thank yous.
 
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Alan79

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A few years ago I was going for a walk and saw a $2 coin on the footpath. Whatever, it's not much but I picked it up. About 100m down the road was a homeless guy who had a cardboard box and no money in it. I felt sorry for him, so dropped the $2 in there. As soon as it hit the cardboard he picked it up and pocketed it, no thank you, nothing. He made people feel sorry for him but probably had his pockets filled with money. From that moment, I said I will never give a homeless person money again. I'll be happy to buy them food or essentials if they need it, but not money.
The world we live in today might mean that he's had shit happen you wouldn't know about. Perhaps he's had local kids walk past and swipe his money before and is now cautious about showing what he's got.

The homeless are unique and in and unbelievably precarious position.

I used to do homeless food runs with my local parish, and I was near shocked at my first encounter with them. Why? Well.. I remember being a kid, and growing up very skinny. Legitimately probably weighed 30kg soaking wet, and would often hate eating. And my parents would say "If a homeless person was here, they would eat whatever you put what's in front of them".

So I was shocked when I saw many of them rejecting whatever food we had provided. Some times hot food (rice or pasta dish), other times sandwiches. So I became, not so much judgmental but more annoyed - it's like hey dude, I am here to help you out.

And then the reality hit me. Some of these homeless people were rejecting, for example, sandwiches, because they had crust. And then one of them laughed at me when I offered her a sandwich (not in a condescending way, but in a "I wish!" kinda tone). And when she laughed, I knew why she was, and countless others had rejected them. They had barely any front teeth left. They struggled to eat and break down certain foods because things like hygiene and dental care are things they can no longer afford. It's an incredibly sad situation.

Furthermore, many of them suffer from mental disorders of some kind. So don't take it too personally - many aren't overly thankful from their own shame and pride. They still cannot believe or get over the fact that they are in the position they are in. Many of them own it, others - well... it hurts them to their core.

Also - as for the thread - there are many many MANY well off people who do things in this space, that you just don't know or hear about. Why? Because they don't want their name up in lights. It was not until after Elvis died, for example, did they realize how much he gave to charity.
My dad has a brother with mental illness that's homeless. My dad even went to the trouble of helping him get a cheap rental a few times, organising the payments to come out of his pension while he paid a portion of the rent himself. He tried to help him get treatment for his mental illness too. Uncle Barry didn't stick around in any of the homes for longer than a month or so and never went to get treatment.

On two occasions I've been there he's come to visit dad for Christmas gatherings. Dad generally gives him a few new suits of clothes, washes whatever he brings with him and he opts to go on his way after staying for a day or two. He's an intelligent enough fellow, reads and writes at a reasonable level (he generally can talk about current world events from the papers) and is pretty articulate but doesn't seem quite right. He's not a drunk or a drug user either. Something in his psyche just isn't clicking and he's just more comfortable on the streets for some reason. Both my dad and uncle Barry grew up with a father that used to beat the absolute shit out of them regularly. Perhaps that's at the root of the issue for Uncle Barry. Hard to say really.

You can't do more for people than they're willing to accept. For the most part despite whatever situation they're in they have their pride and possibly some underlying reason for where they've wound up.
 

JayBee

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The world we live in today might mean that he's had shit happen you wouldn't know about. Perhaps he's had local kids walk past and swipe his money before and is now cautious about showing what he's got.



My dad has a brother with mental illness that's homeless. My dad even went to the trouble of helping him get a cheap rental a few times, organising the payments to come out of his pension while he paid a portion of the rent himself. He tried to help him get treatment for his mental illness too. Uncle Barry didn't stick around in any of the homes for longer than a month or so and never went to get treatment.

On two occasions I've been there he's come to visit dad for Christmas gatherings. Dad generally gives him a few new suits of clothes, washes whatever he brings with him and he opts to go on his way after staying for a day or two. He's an intelligent enough fellow, reads and writes at a reasonable level (he generally can talk about current world events from the papers) and is pretty articulate but doesn't seem quite right. He's not a drunk or a drug user either. Something in his psyche just isn't clicking and he's just more comfortable on the streets for some reason. Both my dad and uncle Barry grew up with a father that used to beat the absolute shit out of them regularly. Perhaps that's at the root of the issue for Uncle Barry. Hard to say really.

You can't do more for people than they're willing to accept. For the most part despite whatever situation they're in they have their pride and possibly some underlying reason for where they've wound up.
Incredibly bloody sad mate, and proves how important family can be... sounds like your dad is a gentleman in the true sense of the world. A real family man.

Bolded above is something that has really resonated with me when meeting and talking with the many homeless people I have served. I got to know some my name, as they were regulars. And a lot of them are just your average people fallen on hard times, and we have to have each others backs. We're all human, and we in this together.
 

Alan79

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Incredibly bloody sad mate, and proves how important family can be... sounds like your dad is a gentleman in the true sense of the world. A real family man.

Bolded above is something that has really resonated with me when meeting and talking with the many homeless people I have served. I got to know some my name, as they were regulars. And a lot of them are just your average people fallen on hard times, and we have to have each others backs. We're all human, and we in this together.
He's a gentleman in some ways, not so much in others in the past. But in most ways he's a good person. Unfortunately his younger sister has done some pretty nasty things out of greed and regarding a daughter she adopted out that's caused him to pretty much cut contact with her. So it's a mixed bag regarding the importance of family in some ways. It's way too easy for family to break apart really. I've had to mediate in some issues between my sisters in the past and one of them won't even speak to our Mum anymore. Unfortunately not everyone sees family as being among the top priorities in life.

But I admire your attitude regarding having other peoples backs. I don't think there's enough of that going around in the world these days.
 

SPEARTAKVIDREFS

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I nearly always give money if someone begs for it. I usually try and have a chat depending on the person/if they want too. Ive bought homeless beer/port before too, helps bare the cold trying to sleep at night and gives 5 minutes of comfort. And ofcoarse Ill buy Mc Donalds or whatever.
Living in suburbia these days and dont come across many homeless people.
Was driving/leaving surfers the other week (stopped at a traffic light) and saw a homeless bloke with a shopping trolley just sitting staring at his feet whilst the rest of us went about our lives. $$$ yaughts 20 meters away and money everywhere. Almost started tearing up, breaks your fucking heart.
 
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