Do you give alms to a helthy looking beggar??

krajibg well no beggars come to the door of Gold Crest as they do not like solictors of any kind. we residents are very few of us loaded down with money so they would have slim pickings. I would have to turn away a beggar as I have never had all that much to give to anyone in my life. I do not think that all homeless people however are drunks or addicts or loony, some are just like my son and I were, middle class peopled dumped onto the street because my son lost his job and we ran out of money.least any of you mylotters feel smug just remember that most middle class people are so in debt that losing a job and not having a paycheck for as little as two months could land you just where it landed us, if you do not have relatives who could help you or friends that can help you land on the streets too.My son got us out of trouble by getting adult protective services to help me get into this retirement center, its not free,it takes most of my social security and ssi check but I get back one hundred twenty five dollars a month for personal use. so I do a lot of mylotting. lol lol.

Sweetie, if someone ask money from me for food, i will give them food instead. I have seen what some can do with the money you give them. TATA.

Where I live I doubt anyone would have the nerve to go door to door and beg. If they did I would have the option of opening my door or not. I guess I would have to take it on a per instance basis. If I wanted to open the door and listen I would have to tell him I am poor too. Sorry! Maybe we can both barter for what we both need if it is that kind of situation.

Hi Rajib, honestly I wouldnt be too happy to do it. In all probability not!

Hi krajibg: Hell no. I won't give money to a healthy beggar. I think that in these cases we have to be very rational. I know that many of these "Professional beggars" have the ability to tell you very sad news about their life, illness, economical situations. I have found a beggar that he has always told a story of its son that needs some pills because to control his seizures and that there weren't on the hospital over and over again with some litle changes on the story that I'm totally sure that he is lying and also a friend of mine has told me about another beggar with accent that told us that he has lost it's passeport and was another lie. So I prefer not to give them alms. Thanks for youranswer. Have a nice day. ALVARO

That is a toughy, I suppose it would depend at the moment. However, I would probably opt to offering some food and clothing if I had some to spare. I would probably be reluctant on giving money as you just don't know who is actually at your door and if there reasons are valid. I remember about 12 years ago at 11pm at night, my door bell rang. I opened my door blinds to see who on earth was at my door as this is not common at that hour. It was a healthy looking man begging that his car had broken down and he needed to get home, as he explained through the door. I was home alone with my children and was afraid to open the door. He immediately said he was visiting a friend just a few doors down and that I could verify. That made me Leary as why wouldn't friend help and or be with him to verify since I new all my neighbors. So I told him I was sorry but I could not open the door. Then the next day I had heard of a couple people that night being robbed in their own home by people who came to their door. Don't know if it was the same person but sometimes you just don't know. However, I have helped people on the street who looked better off then me, but I have a rule if I do not have a few coins to spare withing reach I never open my purse on the street. Sometimes this is a ploy to get yet another person from behind to grab the purse. It is so hard to delineate these days who actually needs. I basically take one individual circumstance at a time.

Hi, No I wont give any money to a healthy looking beggar. But definitely help a needy or a poor cancer patient the way i can. I must tell u there are organizations named Bharat seva ashram or the Bengali community who have constructed 'Kali badi's' where they give free accommodation & food for Cancer patients till they are treated. I'm a member of such org's and it feels great to be a part of such a noble organization. Even if you can't give money, u can always devote some of your time & your energy to help those guys who are suffering from this dreadful disease. I'm a firm believer that god treat us just the way we treat other human beings. Do good things in life and the almighty won't give u a chance to complain. Cheers, Tutul

I would help someone with food and perhaps clothing although I would be reluctant to give them money. I don’t think it is my place to judge others and you know krajib if my heart tells to give I will give what I can and if the individual is dishonest he or she will get the Karma they deserve. I will sleep better knowing I have helped someone who has asked for it.

hi krajibg! To be honest...with the way things are right now around here..I probably wouldn't answer the door. I know it sounds cold but it is not common at all for a stranger to knock on your door where I live. The results of those that have of late has been devastating.

Thats a common scenerio here too. As u have cited that a healthy begger is hard to donate by me if i dont ask about his/her motive. Often i see some women having a baby in arms and try to pay pityness showing her arm. Honestly i am not comfortable here to give a rupee. Thanks.

This is a nice observation indeed. There are lots of beggars here too. But I hardly encourage them. They are all lairs and thieves. If I see a healthy beggar I instantly make him push off. Nice to know that you also do not give indulgence to these people.

We don't get these people knocking on the door, actually we do, but for some reason they seem to be people from around the neighbourhood pretending to ask for charity, but that is another story. I get to pass many people sitting on the streets begging for money, and there are some who look healthier and fitter than me, so I do wonder as I walk past...

Yeah, I'll give him a coin or two no matter how he looked or dressed. It feels good to give. It's a nightmare having to revisit the momment where you could have given that beggar some money but didn't.

no.. i usually give alms to children whom i know cant afford to buy food.. but i dont give money.. i give cookies.. in that way, i am assured that their stomach will be filled .. i dont give money cause i dont know if they'll going to buy the money with food..

hi raj, there are times our compassionate hearts are challenged when met with this kind of highly dramatized human manipulation that can momentarily freeze any logic reasonings. In this kind of situation you need to listen to your head rather than your heart.

I believe we should be good stewards of whatever resources we have. If I had a seemingly healthy individual come to my door asking for help I would direct him or her to a local church, even telling what church I attend. I would hope the staff of the church would get the name and address of the person when he or she visited. I hope the church would send a few trusted men out to visit that person and that family. A church could even ask to speak with their doctor if they were claiming a life threatening illness. By offering to help in this way it can be more readily determined if the need is real or whether the person is just lazy and wanting to con people of their money. In many towns the various leaders of churches and other places of worship keep in touch with each other to inform each other about anybody trying to con people out of money with false hardship stories.

Here, I wouldn't. Norway's not perfect, but there's no need to beg because of cancer or any other illness. Many people begging here are brought here from further south in Europe in order to beg, and giving them money will only make the ones bringing them here richer and I can't really see any reason to help them. I'm sure the persons behind the transports have more than enough money :-)

Hi krajibg! I believe in giving the 'fishing rod' more. Giving the 'fish' would just be a short term measure for them to start off with. But whether fishing rod or fish it's worth to find out the truth if I'm serious about helping someone. The truth may not be easy to come by and I'll just have to play by the ear. In the case of the healthy-looking but cancer-stricken beggar who knocks on the door I'm sure there is something more to find out from him. My brain and my heart would have to fight hard to get the better of me. People do need a second chance sometimes and somewhere to start off from. As long as it doesn't pinch on me I would give him the 'fish' he needs to start with.