Giving Money to Homeless People

The other day I witnessed a young professional give money to a homeless person. I thought that was nice.

Only thing is as he held out the dollar bill in front of the homeless man, he stopped. Then he said something along the lines of "Now wait, before I give you this dollar I want to know what you are going to spend it on?"

So here was this obviously successful 24 year old who was so sure of himself that he was going to try to teach the homeless man a lesson. He said it in the same manner as a Dad giving his kid 50 cents and telling him to not spend it on candy. I could see the homeless man was just over it and probably didn't even want the dollar at that point. I mean think about how many people have told this homeless man that he has made bad choices. If he became homeless because of losing his job think about how many people have told him to stop being lazy and get a job. Or if he became homeless because of substance abuse think about how many people told him to not drink.

I know for myself, I hate it when strangers who know nothing about me or my past try to give me overused advice that I have heard a million times. Think about how many times that homeless guy has heard that question.

So if your going to give money to someone in need, don't do it in a condescending way like that. If you do want to do more than just give the dollar, then have a "normal" conversation with the guy. Don't try to teach him a lesson. Just because you are more successful doesn't mean you have to enlighten him with your intelligence. He didn't ask you for a lesson, he just wants a dollar.

It's easy to have a conversation, just ask how their day is going, or complement them on their rad bicycle, or talk what your doing today. These homeless people probably only have people that talk to them about how they are homeless and poor, so I think a real conversation is the way to go.

Also if your giving a dollar away to a guy, don't try to control how he spends it. Have trust that he will do the right thing. Or you can just give food straight up if you want.