Irene, I was at the 10 and La Cienega/Venice exit. There was a dude with a sign that said he needed cash to repair his spaceship.

That made me laugh, and I gave him my coffee money.

shoptastic, when the body does not receive enough water to keep hydrated, the first symptons are usually headaches and light headedness. I usually keep 3 to 4 12 oz bottled waters in my car.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I'm sure they'd be offended if I tried to give them a left over cold piece of pizza like I've read on the forum.

Who said anything about cold leftover pizza? I give my pizzas away within minutes of taking the required photos which are taken within minutes of leaving the store. Besides cold pizza the morning after a night of partying is the best.

I give to our woman's homeless shelter, have given many nice clothes and coats for our cold winter. Abused woman with nowhere to go gets my heart.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Irene, I was at the 10 and La Cienega/Venice exit. There was a dude with a sign that said he needed cash to repair his spaceship.

That made me laugh, and I gave him my coffee money.

Venice brings out the crazy;s,,,,,,drugs abound and dangerous these days. We used to go there when my daughter was a teen, so much fun and safe. They had kiosks on the beach, I bought a few pieces I still have, shame how it's changed. Does your spaceship need repair, mine does!!!

I need to go to a certain area of town quite often for my job. I was given a tip by a co-worker to leave my shoes, coats and other unwanted items on the Street. I did just that and hope that others benefited from that. I don't have the courage to invite homeless or those appearing in need to accompany me to a food or clothing establishment.

I give money/food whenever I can. I live in a city where the majority of homeless people are Vets. I come from a military family and I have worked at the VA hospital here. The lack of money to offer assistance is tremendous so when I see someone in need I help. It is how I tithe. I don't often give money to my church, but I do try to give at least 10% of my income to the needy.

It's a good life in this country if you don't weaken.

I buy canned and boxed goods then every so often I put them in a bag on trash day. It's always gone. I figure anyone who is earning money picking through trash can use some help.

@whosear wrote:

I buy canned and boxed goods then every so often I put them in a bag on trash day. It's always gone. I figure anyone who is earning money picking through trash can use some help.

Just a FYI, donating canned food to charities is really inefficient due to several reasons. First, charities have to hire people to organize, store, ship(gas is HUGE) and separate canned foods. They have to buy a large warehouse to store it all. Secondly, canned food is not as nutritious compared to fresh foods; they are heavily processed and contain a huge amount of sodium. In many cases, charities prefer cash donations so they can use that money to buy fresh and healthy foods in bulk, thus saving a lot of money.

You can still donate canned foods, but donating money is going to yield a better return.

I think that kind gestures perpetuate kind gestures. Well said OP.

DavePi, you make a very good point about the canned goods.

Actually Venice seems to me to be much cleaner than it used to be. It has always been crowded but the neighborhood just to the east of the beach was a drug infested haven until the relatively low house prices caught the eyes of middle class people who could not afford anywhere else near the beach. Now it is still a mixed neighborhood but each house that turns over is being remodeled and the people moving in are far different than those who lived there before. I had a friend who bought there 25 years ago and she had a crack house on both sides of hers. Now they are probably down to 2 a block instead of every other house. Many of the homeless RV's have been pushed out too, unfortunately now they are closer to where I live.
Honey,I never realized you were in LA until this thread. I probably pass you every day somewhere.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Irene, I was at the 10 and La Cienega/Venice exit. There was a dude with a sign that said he needed cash to repair his spaceship.

That made me laugh, and I gave him my coffee money.

Venice brings out the crazy;s,,,,,,drugs abound and dangerous these days. We used to go there when my daughter was a teen, so much fun and safe. They had kiosks on the beach, I bought a few pieces I still have, shame how it's changed. Does your spaceship need repair, mine does!!!

@SandyF...good to know, when it was so infested with drugs I stopped going...a tourist was shot there a year ago. I'm sure it will be awhile before they get all the druggies out (if ever). The body builders were a kick. I am speaking for Honny, she used to live in L.A., no more, she left us....

My workplace regularly donates food to a local food bank. It's the expired baked goods that are donated. The baked goods can't be sold on the same day as the expiration date. It's the baked bread, cakes, cookies and packaged pastries.

I used to counsel homeless people. Most of them were fighting inner demons such as mental health issues or addictions. All of them were worthy of kindness. I never hand out cash but I have occasionally handed over bags of food. One guy was standing at a stoplight on a frontage road with a sign that said Will Work for Food. I had just left the first of several ff shops for that day, so I handed him the bag of food while the light was red. By the time the light turned green, he had eaten all of one and part of another burger. He was HUNGRY.

I carry around extra cans of chef boyardee that I get on sale for less than a dollar each. Most seem grateful but about 10 percent turn me down.

Re: the apple
Many homeless people have few, if any, teeth. They usually don't have money for dental care.

Thank you for this topic. I have thought often about giving away meals instead of eating them myself (I really don't need them).

I never give money. NEVER. I try to keep "blessing bags" in my car. They are bags that have a bottle of water, snacks, hygiene items, first aid kit, and socks or gloves(if it is winter). I keep them in my car and give them out when I see people. That way, they can eat, and I don't have to worry about where the money is going to. I had one guy refuse the bag one time, and I knew he couldn't have been that needy if he was refusing food.

I have seen many homeless people in the midwestern metro area where I live and have given a few of them that I have met at the exit ramps to expressways money. However, I am also hesitant to give them anything for the reasons that have been stated by others and because of a couple of experiences that I have previously had with homeless persons and a story that someone told me of their own experience with a panhandler.

I once came out of a bank and was approached by a homeless person who asked me to give him some money so that he could get something to eat. Instead, I offered to take him to a sandwich shop a short distance from the bank and buy him something to eat and he refused that offer and said he wanted money instead. I also used to work at a church which had a kitchen with a walk-in refrigerator and freezer and was approached one day by a homeless man who used to hang around the church and frequently ask the ministers and staff for food and money. I offered to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which he refused saying that he did not like peanut butter and jelly and then asked me if I would instead give him some money so he could go to Subway to get a sub. What I wanted to tell him is that beggars can't be choosers but did not tell him that and did not give him any money because I felt that if he was really hungry he would have accepted and eaten the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Finally, I was also told a story by a woman who followed a panhandler home to a house in a very affluent neighborhood and then knocked on the door to confront the panhandler about that and the panhandler refused to answer the door.

The bottom line for me is that while some people may genuinely be hungry and in need, you cannot know for sure which ones are and that unlike some of the people who have expressed opinions on this topic, I do not believe that giving people money is a good idea because their use of it to buy beer or other alcoholic beverages, cigarettes or illegal drugs hurts and does not help them and merely feeds a destructive and unhealthy addiction and habit. Therefore, I will only give homeless people food.

I guess the needy can live in affluent neighborhoods?

When I lived in Los Angeles, I would have my friends volunteer at Habitat for Humanity on my birthday (the weekend after). We usually rehabbed a house none of us could afford on our professional incomes.

Good description of this place

I offered half my sandwich to a young homeless girl. She told me she didn't eat meat. Wha??? Another person said she'd prefer the cash. I always ask first.

Not the needy but those who are misrepresenting themselves to be needy.

Hungry and needy people can be hungry and needy and not be able to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I can't, I'm not allergic to anything in the sandwich, except I'm sensitive to wheat, but I can not take a bite of or swallow it to save my life. As a child I was forced to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches until I threw up. I can't stand the texture or flavor of peanut butter in my mouth, and just the smell of strawberry jelly or jam will turn my stomach. I do NOT eat anything with strawberries or strawberry flavored, and I haven't in almost 50 years.

I can understand refusing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and in a situation like this I would probably offer to buy her a sandwich at Subway. IF she still only wants cash, she's SOL.

Thank you for all the different answers to this question. They were very eye opening to me. I have given in the past and not given at times as well. I think there are some really great people here participating in this forum. Kudos to you all for sharing such endearing experiences.

Homelessness is a disease like others. It generally is by choice, but not always. There are shelters all over this country. I live in Southern California where these folks are everywhere. They can choose to live in a shelter and have a better life for a short time. They choose to follow no rules. If Honny Brown had someone throw an apple at her, so be it. We are not put on this earth to do missionary work. Go forth and be productive, please. Do your mystery shopping work, enjoy and be productive.
.

There is a sign outside of a particular burger shop that I do in Ga that requests that folks not give food to the homeless people. Next to that sign is a locked container on a pole that we can make donations to the homeless shelter. I have given food to a homeless person, but usually make a donation in the donation box.

I lived there from 1997-2009. I moved to MD when I got married.

@sandyf wrote:

Actually Venice seems to me to be much cleaner than it used to be. It has always been crowded but the neighborhood just to the east of the beach was a drug infested haven until the relatively low house prices caught the eyes of middle class people who could not afford anywhere else near the beach. Now it is still a mixed neighborhood but each house that turns over is being remodeled and the people moving in are far different than those who lived there before. I had a friend who bought there 25 years ago and she had a crack house on both sides of hers. Now they are probably down to 2 a block instead of every other house. Many of the homeless RV's have been pushed out too, unfortunately now they are closer to where I live.
Honey,I never realized you were in LA until this thread. I probably pass you every day somewhere.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Irene, I was at the 10 and La Cienega/Venice exit. There was a dude with a sign that said he needed cash to repair his spaceship.

That made me laugh, and I gave him my coffee money.

Venice brings out the crazy;s,,,,,,drugs abound and dangerous these days. We used to go there when my daughter was a teen, so much fun and safe. They had kiosks on the beach, I bought a few pieces I still have, shame how it's changed. Does your spaceship need repair, mine does!!!

I should give them food AND a reason that they find acceptable? Grow up. I take fast food shops were I have to get a drive-in order and a inside order. I look for a 'homeless' person to give the drive-in order to. So far I've gotten a 'thank you'. every time. My 'explanation' seldom goes beyond "here".