I’ve actually skipped work just to help a homeless guy get his beard trimmed. Bought him pizza too. Kinda hard to get anywhere in life when you look like shit.
Be kind to the homeless, they just need a helping hand here and there.
What would you do?
I don’t even like opening the door to people I know.
I wouldn’t let him in, because my partner has very strong feelings about anyone in the house, but if he doesn’t mind waiting outside he’s getting a lot more than a sandwich and water. A full meal is a very rare thing on the street and some bread and Ham isn’t a meal. I always have left overs or prepped meals ready and he’s eating until he’s full. Water is the same, as much as he can stomach.
I’m no barber, but I can trim my own beard so I’m sure I can manage his. If the stars align, I have a real stylist down the street and I’d happy to ask if she has time for a clean and cut.
Most importantly, I’ve got contact info for shelters and food banks. When if I can’t do anything else I can help find someone who can.
Honestly, I didn’t let the fella in either. But I did bring my hair clippers out on the back porch, and made a point to trim both his beard and his head down short.
I’m not a barber either, but hell, there’s a huge difference between looking scraggly versus looking somewhat tidy. I did my best with the clippers, and the fella was very happy with it.
Then I went and bought us some pizza and a couple of beers. Why beer? Because I’m generous sometimes, plus beer is cheaper than water in my area.
I’d wash his clothes, too.
I actually would have offered that as well, but honestly I was staying at my mother’s house at the time, so using the indoor facilities was kinda out of the question.
But the hair clippers were mine, so I just ran an extension cord out the back door to trim him up, and then we went and I bought us both some pizza.
I did what I could, always thinking like what if I was in their situation?
My experience with homeless people on my porch has usually been them stealing from it or shitting on it. So I’d be rather shocked if they just asked for something normal.
I wouldn’t oblige the bath, but I could help them with some food and water.
There is a difference between a homeless person and a thief. It’s a bad stereotype to consider all homeless people as thieves.
In my experiences in life, thieves almost always have a home. I mean, where is a homeless person gonna store your television?
They’re not the same.
They steal our patio furniture, and then I see it in the camps down the road. We’ve had to start locking it up with chains. In this case they are both homeless and thieves.
Sadly, sometimes they can be thieves, but that doesn’t seem to be the usual case when I’ve met homeless people.
Then again, maybe it’s because my instincts tell me who to avoid from a quarter mile away. You know, like that dude behind the Burger King dumpster with a face full of tattoos… Yeah, probably best to avoid…
It’s true that not everyone fits stereotypes, but be realistic. The vast majority of homeless people are drug addicts, alcoholics, or both. Addicts with no legal source of income are going to steal.
I don’t hate homeless people at all, and I legitimately have sympathy for someone who fell on hard times and is trying to get their life together; I do hate addicts who are willing to take advantage of hard-working people. The venn diagram between homeless and addicts is very close to being a circle.
Yeah, it bothers me when young, naive people on the internet don’t get this. Homelessness is often a lot more than just not having enough money. Often (but not always), it involves deep psychological issues. One of the reasons why the homeless issue is difficult to solve is because you can’t just throw money at them or even just give them a house and expect for everything to be fixed. They need psychological help, and often help with addiction, in addition to the money. I feel for these people, but it is absolutely not the simple issue people like to make it out to be.
Personally, I don’t even answer the door for strangers unless I’m expecting someone.
Want a little plot twist? Everyone is addicted to something or another. Why is caffeine legal, but cocaine illegal? People piss money away at Starbucks while dissing the homeless.
There’s a slight but significant difference between being addicted to Starbucks and crack.
There’s also the fact that instead of buying a $20 cup of coffee, you can get a $2 or so cup of coffee at most any old random gas station, and still have money left to buy 2 or 3 burgers to feed a couple homeless people instead.
I don’t want to buy 2 or 3 burgers to feed homeless people. I mentioned this in another comment, but the group of people who are homeless and the group of people who are addicted to meth, heroin, whatever are largely the same group, maybe with a few outliers. Why the hell would I want to buy lunch for someone who’s going to go out and rob or harass someone for $20 so they can go buy a bag of their drug of choice?
People like myself (and others in this comment section) don’t hate the homeless. We hate drug addicts who shit all over society (sometimes literally) in order to get their next fix.
Here’s an experiment you can try: The next time you see a homeless person begging for money so they can buy some food, refuse to give them money and offer to buy them food instead. They’re probably going to call you a piece of shit and if you’re lucky, they might leave you alone after that, but probably not.
People need to have sympathy for the homeless, but not for addicts. We should have social programs to house the homeless, as long as they can pass a drug test. Food banks, work-placement programs, they should all exist and be taxpayer funded, as long as those using them can pass a drug test.
If I had time, I’d maybe tell the dude to wait outside, then get my loafers, walk with him to the shop and buy a meal. Strangers in my house? No thank you. Good way to get robbed in my neighborhood.
There are free showers and halfway houses around here, so getting shower wouldn’t be a reason to knock on the door, I think.
Optimally, we should be housing everybody as its been proven time and time again how much cheaper it is than leaving people homeless. It’s what I vote for every time, but somehow people are just too selfish.
Can’t hear knocking on the door from the living room and my doorbell is disabled most of the time. So unless people notfify me of their visit there is a good chance I just won’t open the door at all.
Also there is a big construction site in front of my house right now, so I’m wearing noise canceling headphone most of the time. And with those I hardly even hear the doorbell when it’s on.
Hell no.
Are you u all living in rosy mc Rosewood Santa’s little safe harbour everything is fine and dandy rainbow world? Or are you all lying through your teeth?
Letting someone in your home with clearly visible psychological issues, in your circle of trust, filled with those you hold most dearly and packed with your dearest memories, that place… And then letting someone in you know nothing about?
Hell fucking no.
In the real world letting some rando homeless dude in your home has a 50/50 chance of ending up in crazy town. There is a high probability that you, yours or your stuff get fucked up. I cannot and will not accept those odds. Even a 2% chance of shit happening is a risk I’m unwilling to take when it comes to my kids.
Would I help him? Maybe. It depends on some factors (like can I at that specific time, did I help him out earlier, do I have cash on hand) Would I let him in? No f-ing way.
So real answer: money: maybe, eat & drink: anytime. Clothes: I’ve got some you can have, no problem. Bath and clean: nope. Never.
While I do agree with you. Your wording could be a little bit better. You seem like a glass half empty kind of person, and I can respect that. However your statement makes it seem like all homeless people have some kind of dangerous psychological issues, and that is a wild accusation. Mental health problems come in all shapes and sizes
However your statement makes it seem like all homeless people have some kind of dangerous psychological issues, and that is a wild accusation.
He never said anything like this, and specifically called out pretty low probabilities throughout his comment.
Thank you for your opinion, every individual is different. Homeless does not inherently equate to psychological issues nor drug addiction.
Sometimes people just had their house destroyed from a hurricane or tornado or whatever, and insurance done fucked them over, if they even had proper insurance in the first place.
Sorry you’re getting downvoted, but you got my upvote. Thank you for having enough of a mind and soul to care. 🤗👍
As someone with diagnosed mental health issues, I can tell you that I mean no harm. But sadly, the pure difference in perception paired with unfamiliarity of the two parties makes the situation insanely dangerous, not the person.
You never know why the person is in this predicament and if they have a tendency towards violence, robbery or other things. I‘m not saying they are. I‘m saying you have to assume they are before making that decision. Can you defend yourself against a pulled knife or even gun, do you have enough mental capacity to observe them at all times. Those odds do not look good.
So, although I would never willingly look down on folks less fortunate than myself. I too will never ever let a stranger into my house if they raise any concerns.
“if they raise any concerns”
Yes indeed, those words sum it up pretty well. Everybody is different. Every situation is different.
Everyone deserves a chance though, with caution of course…
Very better wording. Sorry if I was seeming like a dick. I’ve always had the view that people generally mean no harm, but might have articulated it in the wrong way. I’m definitely trying to work on that with myself as well. I also have mental health issues, and I was homeless for a good 2 years of my life, and would have been longer if a person didn’t invite a scruffy person into their home and show them goodness and ask for nothing in return.
After I typed that, I had to think about it for a bit. I was probably one of the few lucky ones. I’ve had the experience working in movie theaters, and I’ve encountered many homeless and have had good and bad experiences. The bad is more memorable (which probably says more about human nature rather than social conception at this point), but had many great experiences with homeless people. I have stories, but I’ll save them for the sake of typing a shit ton lol.
TL;DR: I like the cut of your jib, you seem very intelligent, and have good points. However, I still believe the whole argument comes down to pessimis vs optimism. I’m a very long winded person, so tldr are hard for me
This is my thought as well. Even if things go well this time, who’s to say they will not feel entitled to come back. Maybe with or without your knowledge.
I’d send them away otherwise I might start getting a regular visitor to my house asking for stuff.
In public, I’m happy to give money or food.
The food and water part, no problem. Strangers in my apartment is a hard no! Sorry.
There are some cultural differences here that affects the equations. If homelessness is taken care of that doesn’t mean there are no people on the streets. There will however be a a certain “enrichment” in what type of people are there.
Our constitution demands that everyone must have a life worth human dignity. If somebody looses everything, gouvernment provides housing and funds for minimum standards of living.
So for that reason, only ones that are on the streets are the ones who can’t/won’t take care of themselves, even if these things are given to then, but are not so far gone they could be institutionalized. Everyone is still free to get hammered and be on the streets.
Very often these people have long history on substance abuse and have degraded to a level of a child. Police often picks them up, so they can be washed, because they often soil themselves. They are not dangerous, because then they would be institutionalized, but they are very smelly and often vocally abusive.
Would I open my door to these people? No.
I would give then food and water if needed, but these are not things they ask for.
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I never said I let him in the house, I trimmed him up on the back porch.
Dude was old and all his belongings were in a single backpack, pretty sure that even if I had let him inside, he wouldn’t have stolen anything.
Like seriously, where’s he even gonna put stuff? Homeless people don’t tend to have much space for extra stuff…
Good for you to help someone, genuinely. It’s a little weird you asked a question and then once people answer you try to debate them.
Some homeless people steal. Not saying as a group they all do, but I don’t know which category this stranger falls in. Once inside my house they know the layout and perhaps see things that would be of interest to come back later to steal. Of more concern is I don’t know the mental health of this individual, and I’m less concerned about theft than my family’s safety.
Nice try, you filthy Hobo!
I’m not a hairdresser and wouldn’t have confidence trimming a guy’s beard. Other than that, I’d let him in, get to know him a little, maybe give him a salad with water, and yeah the shower would be on the house, you think I’d charge for a scent cleanse using Earth’s most abundant resource? I just hope he brought clothes, unless he doesn’t mind wearing women’s clothes.
Meh, I just put the 3/8" guard on the clippers and simply trimmed him down. Easy enough when you’re not going for any style at all except short hair.
No, I’m not opening the door. There are tons of churches and a soup kitchen and two shelters in my town. If someone is knocking on doors of homes instead, they are up to no good.
I am kind to the homeless by donating and volunteering within an organized structure managed by people who understand the homelessness problem and how to help better than I do. Not opening my door to strangers who want into my house is not unhelpful, it’s common sense.
Our local cities have been shutting down homeless assistance and food banks. Even the churches aren’t allowed to help anymore… ☹️😭
It’s not typically the person that knocks that you gotta worry about, it’s the person that doesn’t knock that you really gotta worry about.
I feel like this might be one of those occasions where experiences and perspectives vary wildly by gender.
A strange man having the confidence to knock on my door is not something I can translate into an assumption he is safe.
You should never assume any stranger is safe. But take each person’s situation separately, some struggling people are actually legitimately honest.
Sure, but they don’t come conveniently labeled as “honest”/“not honest”.
If they’re being honest, the kitchens, shelters organizations, etc will help them better than I can alone. (In my area where those resources are available)
Someone who wants to avoid those places when they are readily available and instead knock on the door of a random stranger… we’re talking about increased odds of not-great intentions.
Honestly, the fella I helped didn’t even knock on my door, I knocked on his ‘door’, while he was resting at a local bus stop.
I had already known the fella for a few months in passing on my bicycle rides. I realized he was a good decent honest person, but he needed a haircut and beard trim.
Well, I happened to have trimmers, and figured that was the least I could do to try to help him out. That, and a pizza and a beer, just because…
Edit: Yes, I went out of my way to help this particular fella, he didn’t actually knock on my door. But, what if it was 120⁰F outside, and some stranger knocked on your door asking for help?..
That’s not very true, unfortunately. Knocking allows someone to somewhat figure out if anyone is home, allows a person to gauge who is home (a man or a woman) and how easily the knocker can gauge overtaking them. Breaking in means the homeowner may have time to get a weapon and means the knocker will have to search for anyone home.
Getting them to come up to the door and see if they’re armed makes it easy if a person is looking for a victim. People just breaking in are usually hoping no one is home and just wants to rob the place.
I guess it partly depends how far out in the woods you live. The dogs will announce an intruder before they even get 100 feet close to your home, and I had my cats trained to knock on the door knocker, when they weren’t out eating rats anyways…
100% this.
I was a volunteer treasurer at a youth homeless shelter.
Sadly, it’s not possible to evaluate someone’s intentions when they knock on your door and ask for a sandwich. They might truly just want a sandwich, or they might have other intentions entirely.
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Warn them that they are trespassing, call the cops, and then wait hours for one to arrive and either remove the filth or shoot it since it would take a high level of mental illness and/or nefarious motives to approach a strangers home and demand shit.
Another bloodthirsty ghoul hit from BaroqueInMind of seven different modlog pages…
Woah dude. I’m with everyone else saying they’re not letting a stranger in their house. Calling them filth and talking about shooting them is psycho shit
I’m not shooting anyone, the cops are.
“Lemme just call the local lynch mob”-assed cracker istg you STAY finding ways to abjectly disgust me and wish for the collapse of our society. YIMBY-assed cracker istg.
Like they said, psycho
He’s a psycho, I’ve already tagged him as such.
