Do you give alms to beggars?

It depends on this situation. Usually, though, I give to organized charities or I donate my time. Don't let a few bad incidents deter you, though, because you may actually help someone in need one day.

I used to offer a little something to beggars as well until I saw a show about scammers. I choose to donate to places like soup kitchens, schools, churches, and shelters.

Yeah I have seen that a few times myself, not gambling but blowing it on something other than food. I also seen a show where there are people that actually beg for a living and make around $200.00 a day!!! Can you imagine having a job that paid that well? Where I live by the on-ramp to the express way, a day never goes by there isn't someone standing there holding a "will work for food sigh". Kills me because these are not old our of shape men, but rather in their 30's women and men. So a few times when I have gotten stopped by the light and they are standing right there at my window, I've told them they could try working for money and McDonalds was hiring. I know it sounds cold, but that young, you can't tell me they can't find a job.

I no longer give money to beggars either. I had a couple with a dog and of course they had the traditional sign.....homeless/hungry...well, it was actually because of the dog that I stopped (I'm afraid to say) but I have two and would fill my house if I could. Well first I offered to take their dog until they could get on their feet. They said no,that they had,had him for 10 years and couldn't bear to be apart from him. They said they were squatters (lived in a tent in the woods. It just so happened that I was on my way home from getting groceries and I offered them food, as many bags as they could carry and my 50 lb. bag of dog food and some doggie treats. Well they got all kinds of mad,calling me names,saying they didn't need my food,I could keep it. They would take money if I had any,but don't degrade them with food offerings! Well of course I returned to my car and gave them nothing. But another thing I did was call the local animal shelter and reported them. I don't know if anything happened ,but with the attitude they gave me and refusing food,they didn't deserve a dog.!

I used to give sometimes and sometimes i wont. If the beggers comes in fron of our door i do give some grains and if at all i give them money. Not alwys. we cnnot trust this people as you said once i had given money to one beggar, my mom was present as she came to my place to go to consult doctor. when she saw that I gave money to one of the beggar she said that he will go to country bar as she saw that person drunk. After that I left giving him.

That beggar is really irritating! I give alms to those mothers with babies sleeping in the streets. I pity the baby for being in that situation. It bothers me that a baby so young sleep in the streets. Of course, the health of the baby will suffer. I alos have this experienced when I was waiting in the street, a beggar approached me. I gave her food. That time, I came from the grocery so I was bringing plastics of groceries. Then she grabbed one of the plastics and run. Damn, I should have not given her something if I know that she's that rude! Grrr

I don't often give anything to beggars. I know that often they are not even homeless. I see some of them wearing better clothes than I have, smoking and, sometimes, they have a dog with them which usually looks clean and well looked after. Now, if they can do all that then I see no reason why they should be begging. A friend of mine told me of one incident where he bought some food for a beggar because, that way, he was doing a good thing, the beggar was getting a meal and my friend didn't have to worry about where his money was going. Then there was another time where food was offered to a beggar and he's refused it, being ungrateful and demanding that he wanted money. As my friend said at the time, if this "beggar" was genuine, he would have accepted the food because, surely, that would be what he needed. So, for those reasons, I don't give alms to beggars. I don't even have anything to give them sometimes and it can be frustrating to have people asking for money from you as if they assume that, just because you're not sitting in a subway begging, that you have money to give to them. I feel the same about charities as well. Well, I don't mean charities themselves, I mean the people who stop you in the street to ask you to donate regularly and you can't get them to understand that you don't have a spare £2 a month to pay for someone else's children or animal or whatever.

Yeah, we have them alot in my area, they are on every street corner and intersection it seems. Sometimes I'll give them a little something, but its hard to know if they are homeless or not, because sometimes they are clean and well dressed looking, have clean clothes on their hairs combed. I just think that if they aren't really homeless, that they are just taking people's money, then they will get dealt with someday. I think I would feel betrayed too, if I gave money to someone and later found them gambling somewhere. It would make me think twice about doing it again.

I rarely give alms to beggars, it really depends. Now a days most people prefer to sit down in a corner and raise their hands for them to survive rather than find a job they are capable of doing.

whenever I get the money I leave some coins to beggar who are physically ill. I am kind and give some money to them but when i have lack of money then I don't walk that way where begger are on the beg

You are right. There are people who are not beggars but they are the normal people who could not be brought up in right prespective by their parents and indulged in the bad habits. Probably he may have lost in gambling and may be collecting some more by begging from you and others to get back what he had lost. I have an other experience with some gentleman at the Railway Station who humbly come to me and ask if I can help him for some money to reach home as He had been pick pocketed. I gave him say 2.5$ in my currency and on the next day when I happen to be there and found him drunk lying at the waiting room. I think such persons are creating problems for genuine in need and hampering charity.

I have never been encouraged to give money to strangers; beggars or not. There is the odd occasion that I will give money to those who busk, but rather not because they need it but because they are out doing something for it. It's nice to hear some music amidst the hustle and bustle of our town. It's basically entrepreneurial instinct. They have a skill and they are using it to make money. In my eyes, that's not so much "begging" as it is easy money. I know how much they can make, and sure, maybe they don't use it for food, but at least they are doing what little they can for it and most of the time, they are bloody good at it too! There are a lot of beggars in our town. Not just of the homeless variety either. We get a lot of Big Issue sellers. I think it's awful because as much as the good citizen in me wants to help, I feel too pressured when they ask for money. Having used the same technique myself to extort money out of my parents when I was younger for school trips or the occasional Subway, I know the effect that "puppy dog eyes" have on people and I don't enjoy being subjected to it. I often feel obliged to give them something. I remember in April of 2005 when I went to my first gig, my friends and I stopped off in McDonalds before the show to grab a quick bite to eat. A woman there was begging. She waited until I broke a note and got my change. What was I to say? No? I've got no money? In the end, I ended up lying and saying that I needed the money for the train fare home. It may sound cruel to say it, but if I managed to get a job, I don't see what they do to deserve it. With all the inflation, I'm finding it hard to afford things myself, I could do without lining the pockets of other people.

There are also a lot of syndicates which use children for begging because more people feel more compassionate to giving to children than to adults. Once, when I was with my friends at the local boulevard and we were singing and eating some ice cream that we made the previous day; we also had a lot of cakes and donuts and junk foods (yes, we eat that in the boulevard). A beggar girl came over and asked us for money. Because we had lots of food we offered her some but she wouldn't accept because she wants money. We asked her why and she said to buy food. But we argued that we are giving her food so she wouldn't need to buy food but she insisted that she needs the money not the food. We didn't give money and she cried because she said her boss will be mad at her. We realized that she is part of a syndicate that lets children beg!

I used to be like you. I live in NYC so I encountered beggars regularly. On the streets, on the trains, pretty much everywhere. I would even keep change in my pocket purposefully to give to these people. But I don't do that anymore. I work really, really hard for my money and I won't do it anymore. I know that these people are stuck in a vicious cycle and can't get out of it, but it's hard times for everybody.

I usually have a soft spot for these people but my husband discourages me from giving them money because they belong to a syndicate. In our country, rarely do you find "real" beggars. What we do is give them leftover food when we eat out. Also, as my husband would say, some look really strong that they can still work instead of begging.

Dear friend, If I see that beggar is healthy enough to do some work I do not encourage him for begging by giving alms and if possible I would give to those beggars who are very much in bad condition that is very much difficult for them to do any work and if possible I may also buy food for them and also inform any charity organisation or social services institutions about that beggar.

I was used to be really compassionate with beggars, too but an event has also changed my mind in giving alms to beggars. One time when a beggar asked for some coins and I gave him a loaf of bread instead, I saw him throw it to the trash can. I was so shocked. I didn't know beggars now are more choosy. After that incident, I don't give any form of money to beggars anymore. I don't also give any food that I have, except if they'll ask for it. And i also believe that there are no beggars asking for money if there are no people giving out money. If someone is still capable of having a job, why not does he strive hard to earn a decent living rather than asking money from others. Sometimes, beggars just want the easy way of having money. And to think of it, giving alms to beggars is illegal. There is a law that says that you don't have to give alms to beggars.

Well I don't because sometimes they really have the nerve to tell you things that you would have wished you have never given attention to them in the first place. I remember my mother who gave a sandwich to a beggar one time but to her dismay the beggar said/ I don't need that I need cash. My mother was shocked because that beggar had the nerve to say that things and all she was doing was to help. I just hope that someone would do something so that no one has to beg for alms ever again.

I don't want to give money to beggars because there are too many beggars here. Most of them are peasants and they come here only because they are not busy in the fields. Perhaps they are quite wealth. But girls like to give money to them even they know that the beggars are not really poor. They just want to show their compassion.

Either myself used to believe in the common good, but after my horendous experience with the "Budol-budol" gang (only in the Phils, sigh ;-( lost P13,000 and my SEP910i to those pretentious men and women) I told myself I will never be that too symphatetic anymore. There are several institutions and agencies wherein i can extend my help, make donations or be a volunteer -- but not alms giving anymore. My mom was right, i should never talk to strangers. and its not always good to look straight into the eye when talking ;-(