Ds wants to give some of his pocket money to homeless people

[Wupity]

He has asked to go in to town to do this before Christmas. I am not sure if we should do this or if there is a better way of him to donate? Any ideas? He is 11

I agree with giving directly to the homeless, your son is old enough to understand they may choose to spend it on drink or drugs.

If he wants to give directly I'd suggest a hot drink/food. I'v done this a few times and they've always been very grateful.

Our local homeless charity has an amazon wishlist for Christmas, loads of stuff on there like sleeping bags, lynx gift sets, chocolate, socks. I'd probably steer him towards that. It's lovely he's such a generous child.

.. the majority of temporary accommodation are rampant with drugs/alcohol, they're merly a roof over their head and a bed to sleep in - majority of residents would prefer the freedom of the streets, hence 'entrenched homeless'. You have to be on deaths door to get into detox.

However external agencies and a competent supportive support worker are a step in the right direction.

It's tough on the streets, similar to being a soldier on assignment - most entrenched homeless people just live each day in their dream world of a ubiquitous future for all.

Giving hats, socks etc... These kind of things, although done with great intentions, is another way to stop people accessing services that can help them.

The boy needs to visit a shelter and ask them what he could do. Not some ridiculous "Christmas giving" stunt to make him feel good.

Your son is such a thoughtful, compassionate boy! Maybe you could buy and make some food to give out and say think how much more it would mean that you’ve put some effort in, and how much warmer the homeless person would feel with a full stomach?

My SIL, an ICU nurse, gave a homeless guy some money and the next day he turned up in ICU in a bad way having OD’d. She felt really guilty.

I used to buy a guy McDonald’s and a tea and he was pleased with that. I’d ask someone if they wanted food and get them that.

What a gorgeous boy you have raised.
Could he buy some coffees, snacks and gloves/hats for people instead of giving money? Then suggest he donates the bulk to a homeless charity.

We have a local scheme where people can make Christmas boxes for the homeless. Perhaps he could make one of those if you have a similar scheme?

Maybe buy food and a drink rather than giving cash or something else the person needs.

Buy a Big Issue.

What a lovely lad you have.

Your local night shelter will be opening soon. Contact them and ask what they need, or what he can bring as an extra treat that they can give out. It might be that something simple like a tub of Heroes will go down well with those who have to spend the night.

Keep it low key with him though. There's a lot of instagramming and 'look at me-ism' going on at the moment about giving to the less fortunate. It's really disrespectful and making the story about the giver. We all get a good feeling from helping others, it's not entirely unselfish. But there has to be a line.

Giving food, yep - again, it possibly stops them needing to access shelter services where they can get help to actually get off the street. If they don't need to go to a community café/foodbank/night shelter etc they can remain invisible

Giving food and hats doesn't get them off the streets. It also means they have more money to use for drink/drugs/whatever.

Ideally, give your time or donations to a local homeless charity. Ones where volunteers walk the streets and intervene and actually help. Or pay for a bed for the night at the local shelter.

Do what we did, find out about Night-Stop Schemes in your area - offer your spare room to a young person facing homelessness for the night. It might be enough to prevent them being on the streets even for 1 night. We did this whilst our scheme was open - and just the offer of the room though the service stopped around 10 young people sleeping rough - and they didn't even stay with us. Because the mediation service helped they young person with their family and they continued to support the families to keep families together. https://www.depaul.org.uk/nightstop/

if you absolutely feel the need to give directly to the person - then maybe consider a first aid kit.

IF your lad truly wants to help - do it so it will help the people he wants to help. Not just to make him feel good by giving someone £10.

I would let him do it. I don't want other people to mandate how I spend my money. Why should homeless people?

I would get him to give a packet of biscuits or some chocolate as well.

Alternatively- this is a charity which gives money directly to the people who need it. www.givedirectly.org/

There is the other issue of giving money directly to the person - you have no idea if that person is
-genuinely homeless/ trafficked/drug addict/sex worker etc

You could be inadvertently supporting the human trafficking trade by giving people this money.

Your son sounds lovely, you’ve brought him up well.
Ziplock plastic bag with a pair of socks, gloves, some mints, sweets, energy bars instead of money.
If he can go to the supermarket with you give him a fiver / tenner to choose items for the food bank. My dgc were much younger when I did this with them and I was surprised how much thought they put into their purchases.
He can donate to a local shelter.
There is also this website where you can choose items to donate https://www.givetoday.co.uk/donate/

I work on a hot food counter in a supermarket. A number of customers tell me the item they are purchasing is for a homeless person outside. A hot drink is also a good idea.

I agree. It genuinely sickens me that we have any homeless people at all in a country this rich. If a person wants to blot out the shittyness of their situation for a few hours by spending it on alcohol then why not?

People saying not give as people might spend it on alcohol/drugs. Surely it's more dangerous for a homeless person to be thrown into withdrawal suddenly?

True.
I went to India on business a few years ago and the woman who was looking after me specifically advised me not to give money directly to anyone begging for that reason but to give to a reputable charity - I picked a hospital that provides free treatment for those unable to pay. I found it really hard, especially to ignore children, but sadly a lot of them are being exploited and even for those who aren't the problems are so huge that an individual donating to another individual makes no real difference. It does do more good to donate to a faceless charity even though it feels impersonal.
I know it's not quite the same here but sadly this sort of thing is becoming more prevalent and can't be ignored. I would definitely give to a charity that supports the homeless or if he really wants to make an individual gift then give something practical like food or clothing rather than money, so that you can be reasonably sure that the person you want to benefit actually does so.

It's more dangerous to be in the streets full stop. By helping charities, they can at least help with resources and services to attempt to get people off streets and getting support they need.

A mars bar and a cup of coffee isn't doing anything to help anyone except the person giving - they get a warm fuzzy feeling thinking they're helping. They're just not.

Because if you genuinely want to help people that are homeless, then do it properly. Not by giving £5 to a random person on the street who may or may not be homeless, may or may not be trafficked, may or may not be vulnerable to sexual assault that night.

Give the £5 to the charity who will bring the person to a safe place. Who will sign post to services, who will mediate in family disputes etc.

Give the £5 to the charity who will bring the person to a safe place. Who will sign post to services, who will mediate in family disputes etc.

Who will cream off at least 20% to pay salaries and for admin. No thanks, I’ll stick with the sandwich and coffee.

@00100001 I don't really know enough about it if I'm honest - the most common thing homeless people are asking for in my city is money for a bed for the night in hostels etc. I do agree there needs to be more support offered but someone going into active withdrawal while on the street seems like a pretty dangerous position to be in and I wouldn't resent them using my money to avoid going through that.

She give the money to the hostel. It really is the best way to help