Should one give money directly to homeless people?

Yes, if you have the means.

I work with a mutual aid group that engages in street outreach. I experience a lot of different cases and pretty much all of them would be benefitted by having more money.

Some people have a job, but not a home, and are trying to get housed

Some people have a home, but not a job and are trying to stay housed

Some people have neither and are trying to stay alive

Some people have both, but are so underpaid for the area they are in and are trying to stay housed

Some people are migrants and it is 100% illegal for them to work in the US and their only source of aid is through asking the community

Not one of them enjoys the situation they are in nor has made an explicit choice to be or stay homeless.

A lot of people who panhandle stay in encampments. These provide a small community with a lot of support structures for those there. There’s often someone who knows how to cook anything with any source of heat, someone who knows how to treat wounds, someone who knows what each person in the camp needs, and someone who’s plugged into the broader community and can get things for those who can’t (not all food pantries or lines are accommodating for wheelchair users and those with mobility issues can have trouble waiting for hours for food or even getting there). My point being that even if your contribution doesn’t help the person asking directly, it likely helps someone they know.

And if you’re worried about the whole “they’ll just spend it on drugs” thing, I honestly wouldn’t. Among the people I work with maybe 1/3 of them use drugs and very very few use anything other than weed. Employed and housed people use weed to unwind, why is it so much more evil if you don’t have a house? And if you’re working with the 2/3 of people that don’t use drugs than it’s not really a concern. I do realize that those numbers might be vastly different in areas that were more harshly hit by opioid issues.

I keep some cash in my pocket specifically in case I run across someone asking for money.

And then I live like a hermit, almost never going anywhere, so it's rare that I actually have occasion to give in that way, but you know.

Also, in my experience, it's not necessarily homeless people who need the money. I've seen people (claiming they're) close to losing their housing who are hoping to raise enough money panhandling to make their rent this month.

Of course, if you are struggling financially, it's definitely very reasonable to decline to give in that context. I suppose if anything feels "off" as well. (Though I wouldn't want to bias folks in the direction of thinking that there may be any reason to be more suspicious of people in need than others.) But over all, I do think it's something that can make a hugely, vitally positive change in someone's basic wellbeing.

Yes.

Yes, they might use it for drugs or alcohol, that's fine, it's as important as food sometimes.

Non profits and charities are great in theory, but most redirect less than 10% of what they receive towards the homeless look at LA's projects as the most glaring example, it "takes" 10 million+ per single housing unit for temporary housing. Not due to cost, but simply corruption at every level. From the non profits involved to the government itself.

Giving directly to the homeless skips all that.

Or to put it another way, you can't fix the problem or treat symptoms by continuing to give money to the cause of the problem. Giving directly at least treats the symptom.

If you want to. It might help.

No. People are strapped in finances as is. My money right now is needed for expenses, I don't have that much disposable income to be tossing it around to people. There's thousands of homeless people out there. They need more help than just a couple dollars.

I personally do not, but I think it's a personal decision. I have a background in working for homeless non-profits. If you have a desire to really help and be part of moving towards a solution, find a local group and donate and/or volunteer with them.

The reality of handing money to someone is at best it's a band-aid, and more often you're just buying that night's substance of choice. No judgement there, if I was homeless and likely not receiving needed medical and mental health treatment, I'd be high and drunk as often as I could too. Hell, I'm high as often as I can be now. Nevertheless though, I feel comfortable choosing not to participate by handing money when asked and I don't begrudge anyone who does.

Yes, it's better to give it directly to the people who need it, when they need it, instead of them having to rely on a third party for help. Donate to organizations that won't pocket most of the money, but if you have a chance to give it directly to someone, I think that's better.

If you want to, yes. When I see them I try and buy them some food. I also give to the local charities which support them.

the biggest failure that happens when we give resources directly to homeless people is not also providing the support systems that prevent the relapse in the first place. we dont provide for social services that give them regular human contact that has been proven to lower drug and alcohol addiction issues.

'non-profits'... charities... are just not enough to provide these services, it needs to be a systemic, over-arching process and not the one-off solutions those 'non profit' agencies provide.

My opinion is no. They can then use it to buy drugs or alcohol, which is unfortunately likely.

Maybe you could donate to some homeless shelter?
Or maybe, you could try asking if you could buy them some food instead.

donate to local nonprofits

My opinion is no. They can then use it to buy drugs or alcohol, which is unfortunately likely.

Maybe you could donate to some homeless shelter?
Or maybe, you could try asking if you could buy them some food instead.