How do you honestly react to homeless people on the street?

[MrsBrentford]

I watched a documentary, can’t remember which, about homeless people and how they feel totally invisible, and inhuman and that made me feel shit.

Thought about my own behaviour and how I occasionally give money or food but more often than not I hurry past and avoid eye contact.

So this year I have decided to make eye contact, smile and say hello to every homeless person I see in town (and there seem to be an increasing amount in my town ).

Is anyone else guilty of this?

Well the £120 million they are about to spunk on the Festival of Brexit could go a long way................

Smile
Eye contact
Quid if I have one
Say ‘god bless , take care ‘

I make my kids Give the money if with them

Just give them a "sorry" and walk on. There are lots of charities that help people sleeping rough and most homeless people are aware. I think a lot of beggars have some sort of dependency issue which is why they beg for money but will happily accept food.

My mum says the genuine ones have dirty long nails. Not sure why she’s come up with that theory, but round my area I’ll always buy them a meal deal or something from greggs. Small high street and 4 regulars, doesn’t cost me much especially when I’ve seen them huddled almost out of sight when it’s been freezing genuinely camping out in the woods by the park. I feel sorry for them and wish I could do more but unfortunately there’s no help where we are for the vulnerable and homeless

I mostly feel guilty and torn over what to do.

There used to be a homeless chap in my university town who sold the Big Issue. I always bought it from him. He was utterly hilarious. He did stand up comedy as a means of enticing you to buy. It was far funnier than many very successful comics. I often wonder what happened to him. I just did a quick search online, and I am pretty sure this is him, though I can't recall his name from when I was a regular buyer:
Big Issue seller wins dream place at Cambridge

I pass 3 or more homeless people at least every day, just within 10 mins walk of the house. We always say at least 'hello' to those we recognise as regulars, and smile at the others. If we're not running for the train we stop and have a chat, discuss the weather, the book they're reading or something. We sometimes share food/ice creams. Buy the Big Issue obviously, but we don't give money directly. Instead we give money to the local shelter and also donate regularly to the food bank.

A few years back there was a kid, sleeping rough near our house. He hadn't been on the streets long and was quite naive. We gave him some hot meals, let him use our shower, offered him a shirt for a job interview and worked on his CV with him. Eventually he went back to his family. We were glad to help and I think we stepped in at just the right time.

I don't see the need for all the simpering. They're just people. I'd stop for a chat, share cigarettes or offer a coffee if I was getting something for myself but to walk around in some virtuous cloud of self satisfaction for offering a pitying smile to some poor sod who's life consists of sitting on the cold ground all day probably feeling out of their mind with boredom, hunger, withdrawal, loneliness is pathetic.

If I catch someone's eye I'll smile or say hello, unless they look intimidating in some way, in which case I'll quickly avert my eyes. That applies to anyone whether they look homeless or not. If someone looks threatening then I'll try and steer clear from them but that's also true regardless of whether they look homeless or not.

I used to feel so sad for every homeless person that I saw and every person I saw begging. Then my brother came very, very close to being street homeless and all because of his own selfish, abusive behaviour and it did change me a bit. I'm not cold-hearted and I know every person has a different story. I still feel sad, and worried too in the cold winter months. It just made me realise that not every homeless person is a tragic victim of circumstance I suppose.

There was a documentary on radio 4 the other week. It’s now on BBCiplayer. It advises not to provide ANYTHING to the homeless so that they seek help from the many agencies that can check them out medically and help them get the support to get them off the streets.

One guy they spoke to offered the interviewer a sandwich and a drink as he had loads! One ex-homeless guy actually said if the people hadn’t given him stuff on the street he would have sought help from the charities sooner; they had actually kept him on the streets due to their generosity!!

It seems the genuine have the many charities to go to and the frauds will just bugger off if we stop encouraging them.
(waits for the angry responses to these facts)

Those with homes and families struggle to get access to mental health care so you really think they'll be pulling out all the stops to help the homeless.

It would be more akin to sectioning rather than arresting I think, but I agree it certainly wouldn't work without a huge investment in support. I like the Finland model better but I can't see our government going for that somehow!

9 times out of 10, I walk past. Because I know for a fact that a large number of them are not street homeless, they’re just begging.

The thing for me is that I’m more concerned about the hidden homeless - those millions of children without a permanent home.

So yes, I would make eye contact and smile at someone on the streets but I’m reluctant to give them money directly.

There's a guy outside our local ALDI, doesn't ask for anything or have a cup out. I've started to stop for a quick chat and I always ask if he'd like something from inside, I don't want to just pick something for him, he's still a person with preferences- every time he's picked Kinder Buenos!

On the flip side there was a woman running round Tesco car park yesterday asking everyone for a £1 for a loaf of bread, I didn't give her anything because it was very clear she was on drugs- a car pulled up next to me and she was banging on the woman's window before she even had chance to get out! I'm not giving money in that situation but if I had been on my way in, I might have said I would buy her a loaf of bread but I don't think that would have gone down well.

I don't live in a town and don't go into a proper city but about 4x/year. I just pass by. I don't have any money to give and am usually moving towards a destination and don't have time to hang round.

All the ones here locally are. Known to be druggies and fake Homeless. 3 actually house share in my DB Road. When the shops shut they all bus or walk home
These are know to be abusive and ask for cash rather than food.

I can hand on heart say there's prob only 1 or 2 genuine ones.

So afraid I do just ignore and walk. I feel threatened otherwise.
I give to food banks and 2 family members do a feed the homeless night each week in the city with food supplied from local restaurants

How many people have a drink regularly after a stressful day yet would judge someone coping with being homeless for having one.

There's a lot of professional beggars in my area, so I don't donate. The council have set up a central online point so you can give money to homeless charities working in the area. The authority plans to eliminate street homelessness within 3 years - not sure how feasible that is with so little accomodation and MH help.

I often give homeless people who board the train some change.

I'm never sure about the ones selling tissues, I'm pretty sure they're part of an organised gang.
But there are some who are asking for change to spend the night in a hostel and I usually give to them.
But I don't always give to the ones on the street (I couldnt afford to give everyone I pass a £1, unfortunately) I do give to food banks and have donated a lot of stuff to homeless shelters and a womens shelter for some rebuilding their lives after fleeing DV.

If I recognise the dogs they share then I ignore them. I know they are not homeless but are beggars trying it on.

If they are new or some of the regulars I know I buy them a hot drink and wrapped food item. Sometimes they want to eat it later if some one else has given them an item already.

I never give them money.

I have given a young boy 20 pound, and another young boy a tenner. There used to be a man who sat outside the supermarket so I would give him the pound from my trolly.
A lot of people who are begging are not homeless. More often than not they are begging for drug money. So that makes me reluctant. I don't have much sympathy for junkies. Too many in the family who ruin people's life's. Can't imagine most of the ones on the streets are any different.
Also a lot of Romanian women in our closest city, sent out by the men who own them, to beg on the streets, which is heart breaking but I don't give money to them because they don't get to keep it.

I chat to all of them, I was homeless at 16 so that’s probably why. My son is a bugger for giving his pocket money/food/toys to anyone who is homeless, he tells them to come and live with us but luckily no one has taken him up on the offer.

In the past I've given food and drinks, but often they have then pushed for money as well, which makes me think they're probably not homeless, but are begging to feed their drug habit. I'm not judging them, but I don't want to fund their lifestyle choice

Recently I was in town one evening and a distressed young woman was asking passers by for help. She was in tears and looked distraught. I asked what was wrong and she said she'd had her purse stolen and had no money to get the bus home. I started to reach into my bag for my purse but as I did so an older woman quickly whispered in my ear "Don't - it's a scam - she's always here!" At that point the scammer turned really nasty, said the woman was a "lying, fucking bitch!" and looked like she was going to hit her. I gave the scammer some change just to stop her getting more aggressive, but felt such a fool. She could have got an Oscar for her acting though - very convincing.

In December I decided to find some genuinely homeless people and give them some gift bags, containing warm socks, food and drink, plus maybe some toiletries and chocolate, just to make sleeping rough a bit more bearable at Christmas. I bought the items and began seeking out the homeless by walking around shopping precincts after the shops closed. I felt sure I would find them sleeping in shop doorways, etc, near the places they beg during the day. There were none to be found. It made me feel quite cynical. I have given the items to a food bank.

I totally understand why people don't want to interact with beggars, whether they're homeless or not, because in shopping centres it's actually pretty normal to walk past strangers without saying hello or making any eye contact, and in the case of beggars, so many of them have an agenda that is nothing to do with being homeless. Also, a smile and hello to a beggar is pretty patronising, unless that is what you do to every stranger you pass, because it's like you think they are so pitiful their day will be brightened up by the crumbs of your attention. Truth be told, most of them would probably prefer you fling some cash in their pot without a word or a glance, rather than bestow a pitying smile on them - they're not begging for your company and probably won't welcome your pity.

Give money or don't - but feel no guilt, either way, because you didn't cause their problems.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I always think that if I got my purse out to give to a beggar they could easily just nick the whole thing and run.

Anyway, the way things are now, if I gave to every beggar I saw I'd soon be joining their ranks myself!

In the words of one street beggar, "You don't have to be homeless to be skint". I'm sure there are some who have homes - but will soon lose them if they don't go out begging. Equally I'm sure there are people who beg by choice, and those who are trafficked and controlled by criminal gangs.

I think a lot of homeless people are out of sight and hidden. I think a lot of people begging have issues but not necessarily homeless

I work with street homeless people and I agree with this. I’d encourage those of you who want to help to donate money, goods or your time to a local charity and not give cash to people begging on the streets .

One of the reasons that the number of overdose deaths go up at Christmas is that well meaning people give more cash which is spent on drugs / drink.

I once gave money to some young bloke begging money for a bus ticket I think. I gave him what he was asking for - he immediately asked for more. That turned me off giving money to beggars.