My brother has told me many times before that giving them money ain't gonna do nothing because that's money that they can use for drugs if they're addicted. He says buying them food is better.

As messed up as it is, kinda gotta agree, especially since zi don't know who's an addict and who's not.

I normally ignore them because I don't keep physical cash on me unless I'm making an as discrete as possible purchase. It may sound kinda cruel, but I find it easy for me to just ignore them and pretend they don't exist. Don't know whether that's more of a personality thing with me or because of my autism already making me less likely to wanna deal with people in general.

I tell them the truth, I don't have any cash on me.

On the rare ocassion i do, I'll give $10 - $20. Because I've been on the position where $20 is the difference between eating today or not, and it's terrifying.

I give to the obviously mentally impaired ones the most. The last person I gave a 20 to looked straight through me as he talked to god. There is only so much you can do. I know it sucks.

I made it a personal rule that if I have a $5, it goes to whoever asks. I don't seek people out, but if it's asked, and I have that five dollar bill with me, it's theirs.

Ignore and donate to a local shelter and/or kitchen. Do not encourage street harassment. I know it sucks and I know a lot of people are hurting. But community aid should not be divided based on who is the loudest, most aggressive, or most "convincingly in need" based on appearance. (If someone is hungry or thirsty by all means hook up the people in need in your community, never hurts to share food and water)

This isn’t the best approach necessarily, but it’s a feel-good thing: If they’re intercepting me as I go to a store, I refuse to give money, but offer to buy them something to eat inside (or whatever else they need). I hold to those promises and they’re generally grateful.

I also sometimes give money if someone isn’t actively accosting about it. It’s down to what I can afford, too.

My wife & I were going into a restaurant one afternoon, and there was a man in a wheelchair with no legs below the knee sitting next door at the exit to Walmart. His sign said that he was a homeless vet. As we started in, I told my wife to hold on, and I ran over and gave him $20. When I got back, my wife said, "Did you just give that guy 20 bucks?" I said, "Yep, why?" She said, "You know he's just going to spend it on alcohol." I said, "I hope so, the guy ain't got no legs, let him have a good drink!"

I’d be much more likely to give money to someone trying to sell something or offering a service. They don’t even try anymore. Miss the old gas can routine.

I ask them to come inside the store and I’ll buy them some food.

If they decline, oh well. If they agree, I happily pay for some food for them.

Some of these encounters have broke my heart, others have just reiterated what most people assume when it comes to these things.

I don't carry cash, so that's an easy answer.

If I have cash, I'll give it. I don't give a shit whether they're being honest or not. My generosity is not tempered by the dishonesty of others.

alot of them lie to get money for drugs, they lie "oh i had a broken leg, or arm" but they are walking perfectly normally. i generally have to ignore them, also one time they came to a residential area once asking for some strange things.

I just apologize and move on, never had a bad experience. I do feel bad afterwards, but I'm from LATAM and it's basically a 50/50 wether you get ripped off or not, so I'm not risking it.

In the northeastern U.S. I've mostly learned to acknowledge them, don't give anything, and move on with my life.

Not sure if it's bad luck or what, but nearly every time I've tried to be nice and offer them something it always backfires. I'll be passing by with some food and they'll ask me for some, I give them some and then they tell me it wasn't enough and to give them all the food I was carrying. Like WTF?

Another time I actually had some change on me so I gave him some and he said it wasn't enough money and started following me, wanted me to go to an ATM so I can take out more money for him. I was forced to tell him to stop following me or I'd have to call the cops.

I have even more stories like that.. going through those motions repeatedly it feels like the homeless have taught me not to give to the homeless. But hopefully your experiences have better outcomes.

I say "sorry not today" or something similar but also offer food if I have it. I've usually got a Clif bar or something. Also nice to have emergency blankets for winter hand outs.

Edit: just remember they are people too. Regardless of their current situation. Some might have mental health issues, others maybe substance abuse problems, some might just be down on their luck and unable to find work. Treat them with the respect you would want if you were in their shoes.

Depends on if they are playing me out. I've hung out and drank or smoked weed with homeless people if they were authentic. If not they can fuck off and their evil can bring them suffering.

The same goes with anyone else, mainstream or street.

I wonder if the people saying they give money every time live in major cities (and walk often).

If I gave a quarter to everyone who asked me for change, I'd be out over $200 per year. Double that if they're still going to ask me on my way back (which is likely).

Some of them would also be rolling their eyes at a quarter. Some panhandlers can even become aggressive if they don't like what they get.

I'm not going to say that these people are going to waste the money on drugs, though some will (and I don't care what they do with the money, really). But I'd rather...

• Donate that money to food banks and other causes
• Not carry around unnecessary change
• Not risk pulling out my wallet in the city (in case I forget to keep the change handy)
• And NOT turn city sidewalks into tolled walkways for people who can't afford a car

As for what I do? I do the hand thing and apologize. I make eye contact (or at least look their way). If they ask again, I tell them I don't have anything. There's no reason to feel shame for not giving. Like someone else said, it's a numbers game.

If there are regulars and people who are genuinely down on their luck, then (if you have the time and willingness), you could talk to them, and maybe offer to buy them food or something.

Of course, there's always the chance that they'll bring the food back and ask for a refund. But hey, they would've used your $20 the same way.

Homeless people endure constant hardship, abuse and dehumanising behaviour. I might not give money, but I'm careful to avoid dehumanising them.

1. You can carry around smaller denominations if you do want to give something.

2. 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).

3. 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.

When I was driving through an area frequently that had a large amount of homeless I'd pack a few extra sandwiches, granola bars and bottles of water to give out. I also kept gallon bags and a large bag of dog food for those who had dogs. I never once had someone turn down food and ask for money instead.

i actually give to those who do not ask

like a lady in the subway, visibly mentally challenged with all her belongings, drawing and ~~striking~~ words in her notepad. she made me sad, so i gave her a bill when leaving the train. her face became lightened when she saw it, she said thank you and I left

sometimes I leave at where they sleep like under pillow next to head

I give whatever change I have, but when that's gone:

"Sorry. I get paid electronically and pay for damn near everything electronically, the only time I touch cash I have to pay extra to get it."

now I have been hit with the: can you venmo me five?

My standard is to say something like "I don't have any cash to share, good luck to you though." I work in homeless services and know a ton of folks who survive on panhandling. In my area, people have no problem finding food, there are a ton of social service orgs and churches that provide food daily.

The following is not a judgment and is a generalization that is far from universal. This is just a description of what I commonly observe. The unfortunate reality is that much of the money people get from panhandling goes to purchasing cigarettes, alcohol, meth, K2, crack, and/or fentanyl. For this reason I avoid giving people money directly.

You don't need to explain yourself to anyone, and if you feel bad for not giving someone money because you feel the inequality, consider donating your time or money to organizations in your area that are doing the work to help people gain employment or housing, meet their basic needs, or treat their physical or mental health needs.

I give them negative five dollar bills so they actually owe me moneys. Gotta love UOIs!

Panhandling is a numbers game - both parties know this and it’s okay to say no.

If I were to go back to walking into work and dealing with it daily then I’d have my headphones on and would be ignoring.