Do you ever give money to those guys with signs at stoplights?

Many years ago I was homeless for a few months and I never asked anyone for money, I didn't even consider it. I met a couple of people in similar circumstances who shared the same attitude.

I did see, however, many other 'homeless' people who spent their entire day asking people for money. This was in a fairly small city where you soon start to recognise the same people over and over agin.

For the most part, these people were actually not homeless in the true sense of the word, they were staying in one of many hostels where you get fed, access to a bathroom/shower and a bed for the night. They were people with drug/alcohol probelems who were being enabled by a sysytem initially created to bring about an end to homlessness yet has evolved into one that perpetuates it - because if you are just someone who's made a few bad decions in your life then you will get no help from them at all.

What I would say to you is that if it makes you feel better giving people money then by all means do so. The recipient will also feel better for a while but they'll probably just be digging themselves further down the same hole. In the end, you're making no difference.

I was lucky, I got help from a couple of random strangers who'd noticed me walking around aimlessly. I got back on my feet fairly easilly after that.

Some are not so lucky and those most deserving of a bit of help are most likley the people you never see. And the reason you don't see them is because the genuinely homeless people who can be easily helped are the least likley to ask for it - that's why they ended up where they are.

It depends on the person. In my country it is popular for the poor to sell flowers or snacks at stoplights, and I usually always buy flowers. But in the US it seems most at stoplights are bumming for drugs or alcohol.

That said, I think donating is something that helps you more than them. Generosity makes you feel good, and it lightens your mind.

Yes. Sometimes I also give them bread or other food if I'm driving back from the grocery store. It fundamentally doesn't solve any problem but it at least shows them that someone is willing to give them something and help them out and that might be enough for them to start believing in themselves as well.

I’ll offer food but never cash. In Seattle, we have professional homeless people who do have proper housing. And the state has offices near Cap Hill area where they’ll literally give you decent cash with practically no background check. There are plenty of resources available, though many of these folks are just needing cash for their drug addiction. And hey, we have needle swap programs now too, and you can shoot up in public, live on public school grounds, and even expose yourself in public in front of children. I just don’t hand cash out because it feels like we’re only encouraging or enabling and not really helping these people.

You can find charities that help the homeless. They'd be happy to get the equivalent of $5 a week from you. There are sites that rate charities on how much goes to the intended beneficiaries v. how much goes to overhead, for example https://www.charitywatch.org/top-rated-charities . I suppose that some quite effective local charities might be too small to be rated by such sites, though.

Rarely.

I once gave two jackets, that I was going to donate somewhere, to a guy with a sign. He immediately put them both on.

We keep bottled water and food (chips, protein bars, etc)… in our car and offer them whenever we come across someone homeless. Some take, others refuse. That’s okay. We don’t give out cash though.