Tried to Hire a Homeless Man Today

Originally posted by Dr Expired
To the Op.
Why didnt you offer the homeless guy a way out of his poverty...by offering to support him into gaining his Cabbies License?

Here you're assuming that the OP has the resources to go that far in helping this man. When is enough, enough, and when/how much does the other person need to pitch in to better his life? When someone offers you $20.00 dollars, do you ask him "Why didn't you give me $40.00?"? Take the $20.00, be happy you even got the $20.00 and say THANK YOU!

If he refused that then you tried with earnestness.
I left school at 16 and worked Forty hours a week in a very dangerous environment whilst some of my peers sat back and allowed Mommy and Daddy to support them whilst they partied on through Senior school and University.
Its all about loot , how much you have how much you are willing to prostitute yourself for.
Perhaps the homeless man didnt want to be your whore.
Ever think about that?

So raking leaves in a small yard is "whoring" now? Some people act like raking leaves is like asking them to dig 30ft ditches or performing lewd acts for money. Come on.....

wow, lots of ranting and all going on in this thread, kind of makes me green round the gills.. How about "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".?

Sounds fairly standard.....

A year or so ago there was a guy with the "hungry need money" signs right off the highway. I was about 2 cars back from the light, and the woman at the front of the line gave the homeless man a large brown bag. He opens it, looks inside, and then I see him angrily talking to the woman.

I was thinking maybe she had put a dead rat or dog poo in the bag or something just to mess with the homeless man. When I got up to the front of the line, I asked the homeless dude what the woman had given him.

He said:

"It's a bunch uh crap from sParbucks (the way he pronounced it) it's muffins and cakes and chit what am I going to do with this crap? Does she think I have a fridge?!?!? I don't want this crap do you want it?

Yes, a supposedly broke and hungry homeless man did NOT want a bag FULL of starbucks FOOD that people with good jobs pay good money for. He offered them to me, and I took them. Yes, I got a free bag of delicious starbucks muffins and the like from a homeless man.

When he asked "...what am I going to do with this crap?" I wanted to answer "EAT IT MAYBE" but I figured the idea had already passed through his head. He probably couldn't figure out a way to sell muffins to buy meth, otherwise he would have taken them.

i just feel it is important to point out there are people like this at all levels of society, people who do not want to put the effort in and sponge of everybody elses effort. wether it is the spolit kid who would rather live of mum and dad like pointed out above..... or royal families, or partners who only marry for the 'money' and spend all day shopping.
i bet there are examples of companies sponging of other peoples money to, and then there is the whole royal family debate.

so yes some homeless people do this but lets not forget it is not limited to one section of society.

edit: i mentioned royal families twice my apologies.

reply to post by lifeform11


There are people like that in every walk of life. I work with at least two of them on a regular basis. If it was up to me they would be on the corner with the guy in the OP's story. I don't appreciate carrying another person's weight.

To me there is no difference between the OP's antagonist and the person that does just enough work to prevent getting fired. They both are a drain on the efforts, energies, and resources of other people.

reply to post by onehuman


Ideally, what you did was a smart idea, and if it were more common it probably would have worked. I'm not saying it is bad to give, but I'm starting to wonder if giving the odd dollar or spare change at a highway off-ramp is the best method to helping these people. I think the better idea would be to serve at a soup kitchen, a non-profit, a rehabilitation center, etc. I think decades of street corner pan handling (and probably millennia of begging) have created a subculture that will be hard to break.

reply to post by Sphota


Agreed, I think when people try to help their own situation by going to a rehabilitation or detox center then they have taken the first step themselves and helping them in that situation is going to be more rewarding.

Here in ireland, there have been quite a few stories in the last year or so about supposedly 'homeless' people in Dublin being dropped of in buses in the mornings and fanning out throughout the city center for a day of begging on corners... then at the end of the day, back on the bus and away home! And I have to say that in these stories it was not Irish people that were doing this. It is obviously an organised criminal enterprise which I imagine is making huge money each day and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

I'm more than willing to help people in soup kitchens and rehab centers but will just walk past those begging on the streets. You have no idea who is eventually ending up with your money.

Reply to post by austingoeshard

Can't buy crack with hash browns.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by Wertdagf


Do you hate the homeless or what?

If they'd rather beg than work, so be it.

The only people they're hurting are the suckers that they fleece.

reply to post by James1982


Again, you don't know what this man's situation looks like.

Maybe he hates Starbucks?
Maybe he already ate and needed money for a bus? cab?

Originally posted by onehuman
Being a cab driver, I cant help but notice a bit of the underworld while driving around town.

For this particular post I will be referring to the guy that stands on the corner with his homeless and hungry sign.

We have all seen them. Some of us donate, some of us look the other way. Some of us are grateful that isn't us, perhaps even a few of us smug about it.

Anyhow, the long and short of this post is the fact that I do see these people every day, same place, same sign.

So, today I decided I wanted to work on my yard, get it ready for spring which has finally decided to arrive. I realized being somewhat hampered, I needed some help. Usually I have some kids around, but today I didnt. So, I thought I'll go see if one of those hungry folks would like to make some money helping me. You know, try and give back to the community, yada yada.....

Of I go in search, too the corners I know. Murphy's law, they weren't around until my last choice. After parking and walking a ways to talk to this fella, this is pretty much how the conversation went...

me: "Want to make $20.00 bucks?
him: Doing what?
me: raking leaves
him: How many?
me: $20.00 bucks worth
him: I can make $20.00 bucks standing here in a hour
him: How big is the yard?
me: Small
him: I don't have to bag them or anything just rake?
me: Yes you have to bag them
him: No Thanks

Now I have to be honest and admit I was wondering what the heck is wrong with is guy? Im offering a honest way to make a few bucks, because after all, he is hungry, ( though Im trying to figure that out too, as he can make $20.00 a hour standing on corner, even if he only did it 4 hours, which makes $80.00. Which if he did 4 days a week, would be $320.00.) How can someone be hungry with that kind of money?

I guess I wouldn't leave my post either. If I put a 40 hour week in doing that I would have $800.00.

Enough on that point, the thing is there were two other guys working the other corners. So I presented the same thing. Long story short, one had a gimp knee,the other one, a bad shoulder. Okay, if you say so, I'll believe.

I will say, I can imagine there may have been a trust factor. I mean I did just walk up out of the clear blue. I could have had my own trust factors being a woman and picking up a stranger as well. I decided to try and get past that. Stupid? Maybe... but I have my senses.

I guess I am posting this because I was shocked in a odd way . I'm not even sure what shocked me more. The fact someone is claiming to be hungry, but wont do some honest work to make a few bucks, Or, The fact this same person makes more then I do standing on a corner.

Can someone tell me what is wrong with this picture?

Jesus 20 bucks an hour getting change + welfare and i cant feed my #ing family right now because of the economy and they are making cuts to our military WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GOD DAMN LAZY COUNTRY

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Reply to post by austingoeshard

 

Can't buy crack with hash browns.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

LMFAO. so true.

Originally posted by The Sword
reply to post by Wertdagf

 

Do you hate the homeless or what?

If they'd rather beg than work, so be it.

The only people they're hurting are the suckers that they fleece.

So you're not one of those suckers who want to help the poor?

you cannot place every homeless person in the same boat.

if you do, you're no better than a racist.

the next time you have some work that needs to be done walk into a shelter and find a single mother with her child. or a family who's down on their luck.
please don't stop helping the homeless. not every homeless person makes $20 an hour. many scrape to make $5.00 an hour ( and they have children )
Each and every person has their own story! each person has an individual dilemma.

keep your hearts open people.

You have been exposed to the Hobo code.I understand the tendency to believe that some homeless are good people down on their luck,PTSD vets getting cornholed by the "man" and such,and this is often true.As a Christian raised American ,I always thought that if Jesus ever came to Earth to tell me something,he would do so as a homeless person,and in a very quiet voice.(WHAT YOU DO TO THE LEAST OF MY BRETHEREN;YOU DO TO ME)But after a careful study of all the hobo world has to offer,I found that a goodly number are what my father used to refer to as "bums".Surly,often drunk and high,and with an ironclad commitment to shirk labor in all its forms,the hobo code is joined at the hip with the hippie code,but the hobos take the cake when the question of commitment arises.I would suggest befriending a railroad security dude(BULL according to the hobo code),and asking him to fill you in on the nuances of the hobo lifestyle.I hope this helps,BOB

reply to post by 547000


Since the OP is alleging that the homeless man is not really homeless, then I am wondering if those people are being fleeced when they give money to one.

Considering minimum wage is only 7 and change

Wow, that's not much!
I think it's more then double here in belgium.

I know someone who goes into bars, plays a few songs on his guitar and walks out with 20 euro's, afther a few hours he's got enough to spend the rest of the evening in a ....bar.
Gues it's better then standing there with a sign. He plays rather good and brings some joy and fun.

I've been poor, at times all I had was a can of sardines and some coffee, but hey, I even miss those days at times.
I never begged, guess I'd rather starve then beg, it never crossed my mind.

I do know someone who lived 2 years in spain as a begger. He told me lot's of things.
Don't believe it when they say there hungry, food is very easy to get. beggers know where they can get leftover food from resaurants, products like canned food from stores that are just a day or so out of date. They exchange information, houses where they give things or money if you ring the door...
It's a very hard world of course, and some need help. 20 dollars for some work is a nice offer, but even if they did want to work, it would only be to buy a cheap bottle of wine with the money.

Some people have made panhandling their career. I watched a show a few years ago where someone filmed a panhandler holding a "hungry homeless vet" cardboard sign. It was amazing (well, not really.) how many people gave him money.

They filmed this guy sitting on a corner for several hours. At the end of the day, they filmed him walking a few blocks over to his shiny black SUV, change from rags into clean clothes and drive to his large home in a secured subdivision to his family.

Now, i don't know the backs story on that guy. Maybe he was some big-shot exec who lost his job and is just trying to keep up the lifestyle for his family. Who knows. Watching the story almost made me want to go out on the street with a bucket and a cardboard sign but I just can't be someone like that.

As somebody who used to live in a homeless shelter in a downtown of a major city I can say first hand that the experiences that most of these people go through are absolutely horrendous. It is so easy to judge and make quick conclusions, but without actually knowing the circumstances and experiences of the individual these quick judgements are extremely harmful and makes the societal problems worse. If somebody was forced to inject drugs at the age of 7 by their parents or was repeatedly raped and beaten day in and out as a young child, ya I totally understand that they are unable to function "normally" without serious love and support, which most of the time is elusive because we are more concerned with giving the wealthiest of the wealthy and the biggest of the big mega-corporations massive tax breaks.

Poverty is the biggest threat to humanity. It harms more people than any terrorist or imperial power could dream of. It exists in every country, in every community and is quite often invisible and silent.

We need to start lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down.

EDIT: The circumstances described above are extreme, yes, but sadly exist much much much more often than you could possibly imagine. Abuse, neglect, and even just the lack of real love, especially in childhood all lead to major mental health issues. And we can't start to address poverty until we actually and seriously address mental health issues.

reply to post by onehuman


If I had a dollar, I would have given it to him. At a busy intersection I saw this young healthy looking man carrying this hand scrawled sign: Not lying Need a beer! He was making good money from what I could see. You know I really appreciated his honesty.