It may make it somewhat easier to know in a lot of cities there are literal organized gangs of beggars who man posts regularly, dress themselves down, tag-team, and then pool their money to buy drugs and alcohol and such. And, yes, I know this first-hand.
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To be clear I'm not saying all of them do that, at all, remotely. But there is a decent chunk that do do this, at least in Canada.
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I'm also not saying DON'T give to people on the street, either. You can use your discretion. I personally find it horribly awkward and sad either way and tend to give if I think the money won't be used for drugs. Just saying not every act of charity is actually going to a good cause, and not every refusal should leave you wracked with guilt
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There's also certified charities and shelters you can donate to - just make sure you research them to make sure your money is going TO the people in need, and not to finance the owner's 6 figure salary.
Ye, I'm pretty sure the dude's a scammer anyway. My mom was homeless for a few years when she was younger, so she knows all the tricks. She says he's not legit, so I just ignore him.
I usually offer gift cards to the dollar store or restaurants. Super easy to carry around, and people who don't need those amenities are less likely to take them. But at the end of the day, I can't really judge who would buy drugs/alcohol just based on looks.
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To be clear I'm not saying all of them do that, at all, remotely. But there is a decent chunk that do do this, at least in Canada.
.
I'm also not saying DON'T give to people on the street, either. You can use your discretion. I personally find it horribly awkward and sad either way and tend to give if I think the money won't be used for drugs. Just saying not every act of charity is actually going to a good cause, and not every refusal should leave you wracked with guilt
.
There's also certified charities and shelters you can donate to - just make sure you research them to make sure your money is going TO the people in need, and not to finance the owner's 6 figure salary.