Homeless People...
By AmberN
@AmberNormandin (883)
United States
April 14, 2007 10:41pm CST
Here in Oklahoma, ive noticed the rise in numbers of people im seeing on street corners holding up signs. Some of them really look bad off, some of them not so much. I feel like i really want to do something to help them. Like, open up a place where they can come for a hot meal, church, some kind of training, fellowship, etc. But, then i heard that a man in OKC was offered a job and turned it down because he makes more money on the streets than he would at a job!!!! so that makes me say HMMM. I remember one day during the really cold, this poor man was standing out there, holding a sign and trembling from being so cold. I wanted to give him the only cash i had, which only a few bucks, so i turned around and went back and gave it to him. A little while later i passed by him and saw him with a cup of coffee. I felt better, but still i see that same man out there, day after day. I cant help but wonder sometimes if a person out there is really legit or not. I want to help, not be taken advantage of.
3 people like this
4 responses
@ironstruck (2298)
• Canada
15 Apr 07
I remember in one city in my country a woman was pretending to be crippled and walked the downtown streets as if crippled and begged for money.
Many people felt bad for her and gave her money.
Until one day, a woman who had given her money saw her in a downtown department store dressed in nice clothes and buying more.
It turns out she was earning about $2000 per month from her scam and that was without paying taxes.
So watch who you give your money to. A lot of people are just too lazy to work.
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (85661)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I feel the same way, but I can never tell if it is real or what they will spend the money on, or if they are one of those people that news TV tracks and shows them making money on the street and then going to a nice home after they were done peddling.
I think that is why people are encouraged to give to specific shelters. My favorite is the Jesus House, where they can be ministered to spiriutally, mentally, and physically. Since they are running under private donations and no government help, they are a place that is heavily on my heart.
1 person likes this
@AmberNormandin (883)
• United States
15 Apr 07
yeah, i agree. i think i might start donating to the Jesus house so that i can feel good about helping out in some way instead of feeling like im ignoring something that, for some, is a REAL thing---being homeless.
1 person likes this
@jeanena (2198)
• Bucklin, Kansas
17 Apr 07
This has happened to us a few times, My daughter bless her heart gave a homeless man her down coat because it was so cold out ,him and his dog was out in the open.Then i find out later that he is like you say able to get more on the streets than finding a job.It seems so hard to tell when someone is scamming you are not.
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Here in Florida we've had a lot of scammers that have hit the news with what they do. How they will stand out there with signs saying "Will work for food" and of course people give them money. They arrested one guy in a city because it was against the law to do it and he had over $1000 in cash on him at the time. They have shown others out there and they follow them to where they get into brand new cars and go spend the money on things that it wasn't where they needed the cash. For myself I've seen ones out there begging and then later seen them in the stores with much better clothes on, talking on a cell phone and buying steaks or similar. It's very easy for them to take advantage of people because so many want to help out the ones who need it. It's hard to know what to do in such situations. I suppose all we can do is go by what we feel and hope it's right.
