What would you guys have done?

Most? Probably. Financially responsible people, no.

Surviving? Really? I’m guessing you’ve never been to a third-world country. Homeless people in the US have smartphones, a monthly check from the government, and make $10+ an hour begging for money. That’s a lot of money when you don’t have a housing expense. God, I think I’m gonna start begging for money at the truck stops. It wouldn’t be bad as a part-time job.

Then you find yourself another job, or share your housing to make it affordable. There are many, many ways to fix this problem. You aren’t trying hard enough.

I’m an independent owner operator, but my money is in very good shape. I don’t fully understand what these other owner operators are talking about. We’re not even in a recession yet, and they’re complaining. Boy, a lot of people will be going out of business when the next recession really does come.

C’mon man. It’s my money, so you bet my standards of evidence will be super high for any homeless asking me for money.

Stop giving people money, and worry about your financial life first! No wonder you’re apparently struggling.

 

Most beggars I see are capable of working. Plenty of work if one try’s. I just tell them to go to the Home Depot. Pedro is illegal and does just fine there.

Pedro wouldn’t find work if these lazy @#$% would go work in his place. Life is tough. Cards aren’t dealt your way sometimes. Do what you gotta do to survive

 

There was a rare case once. A guy smelled very bad. Been on the streets awhile. Looked very bad. Malnutrition. I helped him, he had one foot in the grave. Very old also

 

Nothing sadder than an old homeless person. 99% of the time I say no without giving a second thought. When they are old though, I might bust out a fiver.

 

Most homeless in America have mental problems and cannot keep a job or even get hired in the first place. Its a shame that the US doesnt take care of these people. All the talk of free healthcare for illegal immigrants and free college and free everything else is sickening when you see homeless encampments and nobody prioritizes helping these people first. These congressmen going to the border and escorting illegals across while ignoring the people living on the streets in their districts should be voted out. Im not saying all homeless deserve help, but the mental should be treated, given a safe place to live and fed.

 

Yeah, at least send one useless person south for each that wants to work coming north.

Trade them at the border.

 

You mean some have mental problems, not most.

I was under the impression that the US government does help them, but maybe the help isn’t enough.

There will always be homeless people. Our government spends millions of dollars trying various strategies to get people out of homelessness. This is a global problem and will probably remain that way for centuries to come.

What needs to be prioritized will always be subject to debate. Fortunately here in the US just about everything gets some sort of funding whether by the government or some nonprofit organization.

 

So far I’ve bought food for like 3 homeless people. It turns out even this method isn’t bulletproof.

I was at the Love’s in Gallup, NM, waiting in line at Subway when a 60+ year-old Native American woman asked me if I could buy her a meal. I said yes. After buying her a meal, I remember the woman sitting at the tables to eat her meal while I was refilling my coffee cup. Seconds later I overheard one of the Love’s employees scolding her because she had “done it again.”

 

My first job after graduating from college in '78 was as an intern in a "school" for folks without the capacity to care for themselves. We are talking about folks with an IQ less than 50.

I also volunteered for a nonprofit that served folks that were in a "half way house", coming out of institutional incarceration due to mental health issues.

That was in the late 70's. That was right when politicians thought it was a good idea to CLOSE mental health institutions and throw them on the streets. Something about saving taxes.

Since then tens of thousands of mentally impaired have flooded our streets.

This is a travesty. It is perpetrated every time a gomer thinks they are better than the "homeless person" they meet.

How many homeless are veterans? They swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. Are you now willing to walk on by that man or woman that defended your rights?

Sure, there are scammers out there. Be aware. But ALSO be aware there are veterans with serious mental health issues out there.

 

When I was a kid I used to ride my bike past a large mental hospital. They were free to come and go, most of them. You'd see hundreds of people just wandering around during the day. At night they returned to the hospital to eat and sleep. It wasnt particularly dangerous, but I wasn't allowed to stop at any stores or whatever near there. They closed it down , along with 100's of others across the country, in the early 80's.

There's a homeless guy who is a fixture in my old neighborhood. He was an enterprising street merchant when his brother was killed during a sales call. He was waiting for his brother, pissed that he was late for their shift change. When he heard that his brother was killed, he sat down on the corner and has been there for 20+ years. Rain, sleet, snow, arctic cold he is there. Doesnt speak or beg or anything. People bring him food and blankets and clothes, but he just sits there on the corner like a zombie. He looks like a perfectly physically capable person. He is smart (he wraps his feet with a blanket and then puts them in a box during winter) but he has mentally snapped. It happens.