I work near a busy freeway interchange (I-10 and 99) and a guy parks his car daily in the our parking lot and walks to the feeder road to beg. Been doing it for at least 8 months. There is another guy on the other corner who weighs every bit of 350 and often has a giant soda sitting next to him. He holds a sign but is too fat to walk to the car to collect the cash so he has a bucket sitting at the stoplight for convenience.

I once had a lady approach me at a convenience store asking for money for gas. I walked her to her car and asked her to turn the key so I could check the gas gauge. She cussed me out.

No money ever.

wow..maybe we were separated at birth!!

i am such a skeptic!! i did something very similar to a guy with claim to have no gas for his motorcycle. i asked him which bike..i kid you not. he had a gas can, and a motorcycle helmet that was so beat up, without a visor.

he points at a red bike down the street. the latest Ducati. i asked him what type of bike that was..he just started cussing at me.

We had a meeting for our local Porsche club at a downtown area restaurant. As we were standing in the parking lot chatting a guy approached us and saw nice cars and figured we might give him money. He started with the money for food. One of the club members instantly told him, just walk four blocks down that street and you will come to the Catholic Charities they will feed you. Or you can go 6 blocks that way and the Jesus house will feed you, or go down two blocks and turn left and you will come to City Rescue mission. They will help you find a place to stay and get a job. The guy walked of cussing at us.

those ones end up living at my house somehow...

If I were to become homeless, which I won't let happen, I would have the following sign:

I am pulling the weeds and cleaning up the trash on this intersection. I hope that someone will help me financially until I get my life back together. Thank you!!

Get child services involve if you want to do something.

Otherwise the increase in guilty dollars flowing will just keep it happening.

If they won't take specific real help, they are scamming for money. Plain and simple. Involving kids in a scam is extra scummy.

I have had people that said they were hungry accept food only twice. The rest have cus/get mad when I offer to take them someplace to eat.

I have had some strange gasoline related stories, but most of the time if I'm asked for gasoline money they accept gasoline.

I was on the company dime in Baku. There was a beggar at Fountain Square with her child. The child was messed up physically. Like bent.

I gave her 50k Manat. $12. She cried and waved at me all the way to my taxi 100 yards away.

I then found out physicians there make $100 per week. If the giving scenarios could all be like that it would be more gratifying.

I give a few bucks to those on the corner every once in a while if I am in the right mood.

No, not really as you have no idea whether you are helping or hurting...give to a vetted org. that does that as their mission statement.

A very real issue, is in some societies people will intentionally maim young kids because they know the kids will be more effective beggars.

Similar to pimp organizations exploiting women, children will be kidnapped, tortured into submission, and intentionally maimed/broken to make them beggers, and their "owner" gets the kings cut.

Unless you can be truly compassionate in a long term caring way, never just hand out money.

Especially when strange kids are involved.

Take that and give it to someone you can be a part of their life, or some one working but struggling.

Otherwise you may be a part of a very nasty nasty process. :(

I rent the dog for $50 a day. I couldn't get a cat. :D

I fell for that one. Last summer I was in Tennessee and stopped to get gas. Some guy dressed business casual gave me the story he left his wallet at he office and needs $5 for gas. He had a 20 yr. old Honda, I had my guard down and gave him $5. I figured he saw some chump tourist from Canada.

One time someone came up to me saying he just got out of jail and asked for cash.

Normally I say NO. Now it's so bad at one intersection by my place there's a pan handler on every corner.

I volunteer my time to a United Way program where I fix bicycles for real homeless people. It's sad how many people make a living begging for money pretending to be homeless or in some sort of need.

The same guys camp out at off ramps in my part of Phoenix. Someone snapped a pic of one of the guys in Best Buy checking out with a new laptop. Be smart with your charity.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ErwmsqVmWk4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This kid was still in a basket. I would have no idea if that child was maimed that young. Could be?

I did not see a tremendous amount of beggars in Baku, FWIW.

No, no money for panhandlers. I would have to know more about the situation. I'm not going to give money unless I knew that it was going to go for something like food or shelter, but you have no idea if it's going for that or alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, scratch-offs, whatever.

I'd be more inclined to provide food.

No, never give anything to panhandlers.

This reminds me of a somewhat unrelated incident that happened to me a while back. I was walking through the parking lot heading toward the entrance of my local grocery store. I was approached by a woman in her 30s and dressed fairly well. She offered me $20 to blow into her breathalyzer so she could start her car. She claimed to have just eaten soup which is preventing the car from starting. I of course declined despite her shoving a $20 bill in my hand. Telling my wife this story she said I was probably approached because I looked homeless myself. I do tend to wear baggy sweats and walk around unshaven since I retired.


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^^ mind brain dove right into the gutter at the word "blow"..i had to slow it down and re-read.

that is insane!! did she smell drunk? and what type of soup? vodka on the rocks..served up in a bowl?

LOL....I'm gonna start asking panhandlers for money ;)

No she didn't look, smell, or act drunk at all. She looked pretty normal except for running up to me holding a $20 bill. She was violating my comfort zone by getting a bit too close. I didn't ask questions, just politely declined and continued on my way.


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when i was in paris a few summers ago, staying near the modern art museum, i would walk around every morning while the fam was still sleeping. saw the same mom and three little kids packing up what they had and clearing the area every morning, using the pompidu building for shelter. she never once asked me for money but the morning we were leaving, i walked up to her, she didnt speak english and i didnt speak whatever language she spoke and handed her 40 euros and said take this for your family. she smiled and i walked off. that and one time in spain last yr when i saw a mom with her kids sitting across the sidewalk obviously refugees, did i give. wife gives to beggers at the exit ramps when it moms with small kids

I have not carried cash in years.

Problem solved.