So..please tell me what I should actually do when I see someone who appears to be homeless begging?

[FlyingD]

My daughter feels upset about people who are rough sleeping and sees that I don't give money to them all. I explained that I give to food banks to help but she says she can't walk past as she feels so sad for them. What do I tell her? Anyone work with street homeless people?

I never give money to people on the street in our town, only to charities. I will ask if they want a meal/drinks from the nearby McDonald’s/M&S though. There is an older lady who is usually around here who is over the moon with this. The younger men (not in general, I’m out town) tend to be the scammers I think as they usually look disgusted at the offer and ask for money instead.

This is brilliant

If I have change (which sadly isn’t often anymore) I will give money or if I’m near a shop I’ll ask If they want anything. If they want to buy drugs or alcohol who am I to say they can’t. If I was in their situation I would probably want the same. My mum used to work for a homeless charity and we used to go in the centre when we were kids, some of the guys in their were sweethearts. It’s always stuck with me, since then I always want to try and help it’s awful we have people in this situation

This

Not a new thing, but aside from the usual beggars with addiction problems, there are gangs of Romanian professional beggars too. They’re often trafficked and have identical hand written signs asking for money, they’re picked up and dropped off by gangs controlling the people doing the begging. The money is shipped back to Romania into the pockets of criminals. They often pretend to be disabled too.

Give directly to the shelters.

People giving food, drinks and money stops then accessing the services they need for support.

Also it can be a waste of food and drink.

Also, you have absolutely no idea if that person is genuine. There's lots of organised homelessness.

I live in a relatively deprived part of the West Midlands

Around here, the 'regular' beggars are in HMOs, house shares or squats and 'commute' into town with their blankets and accessories - musical instruments, keyboards and bits of card.

I have volunteered with Crisis at Christmas and a another charity that supports rough sleepers, and I am now a trustee of a large regional charity that works with people who are vulnerable including rough sleepers. The advice that I've always been given is not to give cash (for all the reasons already cited).

I will stop and ask if someone wants something to eat or drink and will happily get them something if they do. If you want to help and you start a conversation you can ask if they have a outreach worker, if they say they don't and you know / ask where they bed down (sleep) you can report their location to Streetlink which is a national referral service www.streetlink.org.uk/. They will get an outreach worker to try and find them and get them access to support.

Hope this helps.

They usually have homes, are part of networks, and are on the streets as they are unwilling or unable to engage with social services due to mental illness or addictions. It's sad but they didn't just miss a gas bill. The council would put anyone in genuine need in a B&B if necessary. Or they don't - the genuine homeless are sofa -surfing with friends and family, not street begging. These people won't be homed as they cannot follow the guidelines. It's a mental health crisis, not really a homing one.

Donate to homeless charities if you feel bad.

I tried buying food for beggars. Most of the time my offerings were rejected with foul mouthed abuse. I now realise that I was well-meaning but completely naive. They don’t want or need food. They want money to buy drugs and /or booze, so I no longer give them anything.

If you have any spare cash ,give them it. Ever slept rough , OP? If you aren't on drugs when you start sleeping rough, you will be by the time you end rough sleeping. And who can blame them? It's bloody horrible.
Some rough sleepers are also trying to get enough money to buy a bed for the night at a hostel. Most aren't free. Alot of homeless people have mental health problems which they self medicate with alcohol and illicit substances. No I am not saying this is a good thing but can you imagine getting on a rehab program when you are homeless?
I also ask rough sleeps i they need water, food etc

This is the reality. The men and women who pretend to be rough sleepers needing money for a hostel who beg outside my local Sainsbury’s have a gangmaster who picks them up at the end of their shift in his shiny new car. You can watch the shift change. He’ll dole out just enough of their takings to feed their drug habits and the rest is his profit for protecting their patch and whatever else.

Who benefits from treating these people as “adults” and giving them cash?

I wouldn't give money to beggars because I wouldn't want to encourage begging. I'd give money to a busker or someone selling the Big Issue though. Not because I expect people to be performing monkeys or whatever nonsense that article spouts but because I'd rather encourage the people trying to do something for themselves. I'm also not giving it to those people out of pity, I avoid giving money out of pity because that is often manipulated by people.

If you look up begging gangs that is a problem too, so I also disagree with the article on that you shouldn't think about where your money is going, some of the people working for these gangs are treated like slaves so you are basically encouraging and giving money to slave bosses.

I also disagree that it's up to the homeless person if they want to spend the money I've given them on drugs and alcohol. I do not want to be a part of that. If my kid was on drugs and wanted me to pay for them I wouldn't so why would I for anyone else? I don't want to be part of the issues and destruction that surround drugs particularly.

Some rough sleepers are also trying to get enough money to buy a bed for the night at a hostel. Most aren't free.

As any genuine charitable homelessness shelter will tell you, they do not charge for their service. Those who offer longer term stays can support service users to make applications for housing benefit, but they never ask for cash in exchange for a bed.

Say hello, offer to buy food and/or a drink

You could speak to your dd and say you can't and won't be giving money to every person you pass on the streets, but that you (or she, i don't know how old she is) will set up a direct debit to your local homeless shelter, national charity etc which may be a more effective way of helping

I live somewhere with a significant substance misuse problem and related homelessness. My young teenage son struggles passing people sleeping on the street/begging and finds it upsetting. As an adult i will talk to people who are street homeless but not when I am with my children. I need them to be safe where they live when out by themselves and therefore wouldn't want to encourage them to talk to people with often significant mental health and drug/alcohol use.

I have helped my son make donations online to charities and this has helped him manage his feelings. Whilst I want his concern to feel manageable, I don't want him to become oblivious to the the people living on the streets.

Buying food/drinks would be difficult here I am think because of the extent of the problem. I did when I lived in London though.

When I worked in London I got to know a local homeless chap. I bought treats for his dog (she started to wait for me outside the tube!), I bought him warm clothes in the winter and snacks or drinks if he needed it. When he started selling the Big Issue I bought that too. He did get back on his feet. My experiences tell me that money isn't always helpful but not everybody is an addict or alcoholic. Perhaps buy a sandwich or hot drink or some decent socks, personal hygiene items.

True enough, @Georgeskitchen . On a cold winter’s night in London, a dd once bought a Big Mac for someone with a ‘Homeless and hungry’ placard.
He told her to fuck off, he wanted money.

I used to give regularly to a supposedly homeless man with a dog, who was in our local high street for years - until he was ‘outed’ by a local paper, which revealed that he had is own flat (owned, not rented) and a nice stash in the bank.

Nowadays I give only to the Sally Army and charities like Crisis.

I used to give regularly to a supposedly homeless man with a dog, who was in our local high street for years - until he was ‘outed’ by a local paper, which revealed that he had is own flat (owned, not rented) and a nice stash in the bank.

Anyone remember the Sherlock Holmes story The Man With The Twisted Lip?

Do nothing

I usually chuck them a few quid. I know that giving money is not necessarily the best thing but if I was living on the streets I'd probably want to be drunk or high too. I'm not going to get on my high horse about what homeless people "should" be doing.

And I do have a relative who worked with street homeless, she always said that carrying around a packet of cigs always got you far with cooperation.

Nothing.
I had an awful experience with someone very aggressively begging. It really frightened me, and left me shook up for a long time. I still see the chap around my area. He is a known chancer, and I feel like an idiot for giving the little I had at the time.

If you want to do anything, donate goods, money, or time to charities that support the homeless.

Sometimes though just a "hello, I'm sorry I don't have change" or an acknowledgement of the person. They often feel forgotten, ignored, invisible in society. So simply acknowledgement that they are a human being is nice

I usually carry a pound coin in my bag so I can offer it to anyone who asks for it. It's not about the money, it's about pressing it onto their hand with good eye contact, and telling them to look after themselves.