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?
The food and water part, no problem. Strangers in my apartment is a hard no! Sorry.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
IMHO: Always help out the working-class people if you can; the homeless and’middle class’ are the working-class.
You don’t have to let them in your home or do too much, but I would offer them a box with food, plenty of water, and a basic care package.
We all need to make time to join in helping our local communities. 1 hour a year is much more helpful than 0 hours a year.
Mantra:
“We should focus our actions, time, and resources on Direct Action, Mutual Aid, and Community Outreach… No War but Class War!”
What would you do?
Sandwich? Nah. We grillin’.
Haha, I actually trimmed dude’s hair and beard on my back porch, then we rode our bicycles and I bought us a pizza and a couple beers.
I usually buy a meal for a homeless drug addict who sometimes it’s asking for some coins in a near mall, I don’t like to give him money straight cos I know he will buy drugs with it, I prefer to buy him something to eat.
Where I am there is not so much homeless people there is just poor people who asks for coins so no beard issue but I definitely like to give them something to eat instead of money for drugs.
Agreed, if you already know the person has bad habits, then definitely don’t support those habits.
But hey, occasional help with the basics never hurts. Everyone needs food and water occasionally at bare minimum, plus many people forget they also need occasional help with hygiene.
It’s not like they want to be dirty, they just don’t tend to have regular access to facilities to bathe, shave, or wash their clothes…
But yeah, I ain’t about to just hand them money. If I’m gonna help, I’m gonna help. I can’t do much, but I do what I can when I feel I should.
Had something similar in 2020 happen. Things happened and it ended with him and my mom getting into a heated argument as to why he can’t get help from police or some other resources (which I can’t remember). Ended with my mom pretty much telling the guy not to return.
He played the part of a nice person, but in the end he was trouble. So I think my answer to this would probably be not to trust them.
Oh, indeed, never fully trust any stranger. But do be willing to give people a helping hand, and sometimes a cautious chance.
I’ve even met a homeless woman that took care of my friend’s car when he fucked up and got arrested LOL! No joke, this woman was legit. She didn’t exactly know where to take the car, and it took us like 2 days to find her, while my buddy was still locked up, but she never left town and we found her at the local McDonald’s.
She was quite honest and decent about it too, apparently my buddy told her to take it, so it wouldn’t get impounded. So, even though she was homeless and all, she still had honor and decency. And yes, we returned his car back where he was staying.
We still see the lady around here and there, seems she bounces from place to place and occasionally finds work. She might be homeless from time to time, but she’s genuinely honest and does what she can.
I can certainly give them food and water, but sorry I’m not trusting enough to let a stranger in my house.
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.
This has happened on a few occasions, I’ve always fed and bathed the person, on a few occasions,I’ve let the person stay with me for a little while, and once I dated a guy for a little while.
This has ended with mostly positive results. And these people didn’t really come knock on my door (we usually met out-and-about).
Fix him a sandwich, get him some water, and tell him I don’t let strangers in my house.
I’ve done just that, twice in the twenty odd years I’ve owned it. Before that, my dad owned it and had different rules about who had access to resources, so I would have followed his, if it had arisen.
But! I would offer to bring my spare trimmer and hook him up on the porch, or a shave if he wanted. That used to be part of my job, and I miss the hell out of personal care. I’d also offer to let him use a mirror instead though.
I’m hard core about no strangers in the house, period, ever. Don’t care why they want in, don’t care who they are, if I haven’t said it’s okay, nobody comes in. Hell, there’s people we know that aren’t allowed in. I’ve got one cousin in particular that will get his ass beat again if he shows up. But someone we don’t know, that I haven’t vetted? Hellll no.
Shit, I’d rent a motel room for a homeless person before I’d let the cleanest, best dressed stranger in my house, and I’m on a fixed income.
But, I’m actually known to be a soft touch for food and beverage. It’s a thing. If I know you well enough to let you in, you will never go hungry at my house. If I don’t know you well enough to invite you in, I still won’t let you go hungry or thirsty, but I’ll ask you to move along with the supplies. I’d have to have my family be starving before I’d refuse basic food and water to someone.
I’ve got one cousin in particular that will get his ass beat again if he shows up.
Chuck? Is that you?
I’m curious what you mean by fixed income.
Do you mean a non hourly salary? Is that is what you mean, why does it matter?
Fixed income is a general term for someone that can’t change their income because it is provided by a social safely net. In my case, that’s the US disability system, SSDI in specific. You get a monthly income and that’s that. There is some wiggle room for other income, but if most of the people on SSDI could do enough work for that, they wouldn’t qualify for SSDI in the first place.
But it also refers to retired people on social security, and sometimes even people that get income from a pension.
In other words, the amount you get is not only “fixed”, there isn’t a way to increase it reliably.
There in the US, even the maximum SSDI amount you can get is below the poverty line. We’re lucky in that there are three adults on various SS programs, so we do have a little disposable income at the end of the month, but we’re talking maybe twenty or thirty bucks.
Thanks for explaining.
I always thought it exclusively meant that someone had retired and were on pension but I doubt there are many if any that old on Lemmy.
The term doesn’t really exist where I live. Or at least as far as I know.
Not the hero we deserve nor the one we need.
I have a lot of unhoused neighbors so I regularly leave out fresh socks, a pair of gloves here and there, basic toiletries, and food for their pets. If one came to my door I’d be happy to try giving a haircut, but no refunds.
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
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
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.
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.
