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What do you do when homeless folks ask for money?
(sh.itjust.works)
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this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2025
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Homeless people endure constant hardship, abuse and dehumanising behaviour. I might not give money, but I'm careful to avoid dehumanising them.
You can carry around smaller denominations if you do want to give something.
If they're close to a convenience store then I offer to go in and buy something for them (tell them a budget and ask about and preferences or restrictions).
If I'm not going to give anything, I still make eye contact, try to have a sympathetic smile on my face and say something like "I'm sorry, do take care". I don't know if this is dumb or patronising, but I'm trying to avoid being dehumanising as the constant response they get is for people to avoid eye contact, walk around with a wide gap or ignore completely. I want to try to at least acknowledge and respond.
Right, I feel like a total ass ignoring them because its just mean. But I also feel like if youre too friendly they think you're an easy person to rob as well...and im not a scary looking person. If i was it would help
Homeless people are much more likey to be victims of violence than they are to perpetrate it.
Homeless people are regular people, like you, who sleep on the street. Would YOU rob someone who is being nice to you?
Dorn dehumanize people just because they don't look, talk or smell like you. They have feelings and a working brain, just like you.
Interestingly the only time I had a homeless guy threatening me he was actually interested in my dog and he may not have actually been intentionally threatening.
When he asked to pet my dog, I said ok but to take it slow and easy because she was a rescue that didn’t trust people. He proceeded to spent like ten minutes saying he wasn’t worried because he had a knife.
I probably should have taken it much more seriously but this was a festival with people and police all over ….. and my dog is pretty good at scaring people
I personally consider the risk of being robbed to be very very low in my city/country. And if it's the kind of person who would rob you, then I don't think that will change on the basis of how you respond.