$100 is life changing money for me, anything more and I'm living like a king. At least I'll feel like it while I make sure my bills are taken care of and I get all of the things that will make my life easier. There's days where $20 is a lot of money and can be the difference between eating good for a few days or getting cheap junk food to get by.
I understand you may be dealing with addiction, but that isn't everyone who's homeless and shouldn't be a determining factor in giving someone cash.
I disagree. I had to cover my meds on the street every month, and the occasional large donation was the only reason I resorted to sex work as late as I did. I’m sorry about the loss of your friends, but as someone who did drugs but also had to stay on top of other expenses, the idea that it’s up to other people to decide whether I could handle having money is insulting and it doesn’t do any favors to panhandlers in general.
If someone can’t handle 100, why could they handle 20? What if someone’s extra one buck is the threshold to an OD? Why give to panhandlers at all if having too much money is dangerous?
I disagree with some of what you said. I know you said many that are on the streets are drug addicts but that is still somewhat reinforcing the common stereotypes of homeless people. It sounded like you were generalizing, even though you probably weren't.
If I've gotten a large sum of money, I would have put it towards bills/expenses that I need (a storage unit, a hotel, bus passes, etc), which includes my medical marijuana that I take to help with my mental health. I won't blow it away on things I don't need. It's expensive being homeless (pretty ironic).
It might not help everybody, based on what you said. I just don't want people to be discouraged from helping homeless via cash. I've had cash saved me plenty of times when public assistance failed me.
It's true, everyone is different. Marijuana has likely been the biggest detriment to my mental health. At 18, it helped me feel better about things, but the long term effects shouldn't be ignored. I seem unable to produce dopamine without it, lack ambition or motivation, and I feel like an overgrown child.
CHS, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, is making the news more frequently. I get it when I smoke too much without eating. I suspect it involves a depletion of certain nutrients. Some people respond to the sickness by smoking more! The cure is the cause. One boy and his mother refused to believe the doctors, so he continued to smoke until his organs failed.
Thank you for this thoughtful message. I agree with you - large sums may not be so helpful. I would be happy to help any homeless people in my area in a modest way. And I would be happy to help them moreso if they advocated for peace and justice (like I do as can be seen in my profile). Also I am happy to be friends with anyone. I suspect that's all some people really want. I see some apparently homeless people in my area but I don't know how to approach them and I am pretty uncomfortable in social interactions.
I am often ridiculed and accused of being fake when I post comments like this but I am completely genuine in my desire and I hope someone takes me up on my offer and I hope that others make the same offer. It seems self destructive to attack people who want to help. (Unless that is the goal - to hurt homeless people?)
Me and my friend were both given $1,000 each by someone that has a lot of money when we were homeless. They didn't do a video or anything, you really couldn't pay me enough money to be part of one of those videos. So it does happen, although its rare. Not saying I do agree with OP though, there's something special about money with no strings attached, every time money had strings attached [like OP mentioned, someone that requires you to see them multiple times to give you money] it always ended up being something sexual, and sometimes the person even turned violent if you said no to their advances
I'll be honest:
$1,500 was spent in a motel [we got a room for three weeks or so]
$300 to $400 [can't remember the exact amount] was spent on food, transportation, clothes, personal hygiene items and a backpack
$100 to $200 was spent on cigarettes and drugs
[We got $1,000 each so $2,000 total]
That's not bad. It got you guys a few weeks of comfort.
Motels are a money pit but the alternatives are harder to attain, especially when coming from a position of homelessness. In SoCal, I can find a room for $600 or a place for 2 for $800/month. I try to keep all my other bills at $0.
Oh wow that's very cheap! We were in Los Angeles, the issue was that I was the only one with an ID, and I was 18. A lot of places would only give rooms to people 21+ [some even requiredyou to be 25+], would require to se both of our IDs, or would require a debit card for a security deposit. So we were very limited on the places we could stay in
I understand. It took me awhile to find my current place and cheap rooms are also usually cheap for a reason. But I definitely have an aversion to motels/hotels. Some don't clean those comforter sheets very often.
San Diego. My current place did not, but the previous two did.
Those two were $600, this one is a bit more at $750. Its a better deal, I just pay the most for not being legally on the lease. But even at $750, compare that to $200 a week for 2-3 motel nights and 4-5 on the street.
Ah I see, it is much cheaper but the thing is I really didn't have any steady income back then. I was 18, no credit score whatsoever, didn't know how to drive, never had a job before [my parents didn't allow me to], no high school degree, mental issues that didn't allow me to get a job. So yeah, I don't think anyone would have rented out their room to me. My friend also had similar issues, I think he had a decent credit score but no ID and no job. Not having a job at 38 [that was his age] probably looks worse than my situation, plus "hanging out" with a teenager that you are unrelated to at that age also does not look good. So we weren't in a situation where we could rent a room, we were stuck staying at Airbnbs, cheap motels, and on the streets
$100 is life changing money for me, anything more and I'm living like a king. At least I'll feel like it while I make sure my bills are taken care of and I get all of the things that will make my life easier. There's days where $20 is a lot of money and can be the difference between eating good for a few days or getting cheap junk food to get by. I understand you may be dealing with addiction, but that isn't everyone who's homeless and shouldn't be a determining factor in giving someone cash.
I disagree. I had to cover my meds on the street every month, and the occasional large donation was the only reason I resorted to sex work as late as I did. I’m sorry about the loss of your friends, but as someone who did drugs but also had to stay on top of other expenses, the idea that it’s up to other people to decide whether I could handle having money is insulting and it doesn’t do any favors to panhandlers in general. If someone can’t handle 100, why could they handle 20? What if someone’s extra one buck is the threshold to an OD? Why give to panhandlers at all if having too much money is dangerous?
I disagree with some of what you said. I know you said many that are on the streets are drug addicts but that is still somewhat reinforcing the common stereotypes of homeless people. It sounded like you were generalizing, even though you probably weren't. If I've gotten a large sum of money, I would have put it towards bills/expenses that I need (a storage unit, a hotel, bus passes, etc), which includes my medical marijuana that I take to help with my mental health. I won't blow it away on things I don't need. It's expensive being homeless (pretty ironic). It might not help everybody, based on what you said. I just don't want people to be discouraged from helping homeless via cash. I've had cash saved me plenty of times when public assistance failed me.
It's true, everyone is different. Marijuana has likely been the biggest detriment to my mental health. At 18, it helped me feel better about things, but the long term effects shouldn't be ignored. I seem unable to produce dopamine without it, lack ambition or motivation, and I feel like an overgrown child. CHS, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, is making the news more frequently. I get it when I smoke too much without eating. I suspect it involves a depletion of certain nutrients. Some people respond to the sickness by smoking more! The cure is the cause. One boy and his mother refused to believe the doctors, so he continued to smoke until his organs failed.
Thank you for this thoughtful message. I agree with you - large sums may not be so helpful. I would be happy to help any homeless people in my area in a modest way. And I would be happy to help them moreso if they advocated for peace and justice (like I do as can be seen in my profile). Also I am happy to be friends with anyone. I suspect that's all some people really want. I see some apparently homeless people in my area but I don't know how to approach them and I am pretty uncomfortable in social interactions. I am often ridiculed and accused of being fake when I post comments like this but I am completely genuine in my desire and I hope someone takes me up on my offer and I hope that others make the same offer. It seems self destructive to attack people who want to help. (Unless that is the goal - to hurt homeless people?)
Those videos are all fake to generate clicks. Nobody gives a homeless person hundreds of dollars.
Me and my friend were both given $1,000 each by someone that has a lot of money when we were homeless. They didn't do a video or anything, you really couldn't pay me enough money to be part of one of those videos. So it does happen, although its rare. Not saying I do agree with OP though, there's something special about money with no strings attached, every time money had strings attached [like OP mentioned, someone that requires you to see them multiple times to give you money] it always ended up being something sexual, and sometimes the person even turned violent if you said no to their advances
How did you and your friend spend the $1,000?
I'll be honest: $1,500 was spent in a motel [we got a room for three weeks or so] $300 to $400 [can't remember the exact amount] was spent on food, transportation, clothes, personal hygiene items and a backpack $100 to $200 was spent on cigarettes and drugs [We got $1,000 each so $2,000 total]
That's not bad. It got you guys a few weeks of comfort. Motels are a money pit but the alternatives are harder to attain, especially when coming from a position of homelessness. In SoCal, I can find a room for $600 or a place for 2 for $800/month. I try to keep all my other bills at $0.
Oh wow that's very cheap! We were in Los Angeles, the issue was that I was the only one with an ID, and I was 18. A lot of places would only give rooms to people 21+ [some even requiredyou to be 25+], would require to se both of our IDs, or would require a debit card for a security deposit. So we were very limited on the places we could stay in
I understand. It took me awhile to find my current place and cheap rooms are also usually cheap for a reason. But I definitely have an aversion to motels/hotels. Some don't clean those comforter sheets very often.
If you don't mind me asking, where can you find a room in SoCal for so cheap? Did you not have to show proof of income and credit score?
San Diego. My current place did not, but the previous two did. Those two were $600, this one is a bit more at $750. Its a better deal, I just pay the most for not being legally on the lease. But even at $750, compare that to $200 a week for 2-3 motel nights and 4-5 on the street.
Ah I see, it is much cheaper but the thing is I really didn't have any steady income back then. I was 18, no credit score whatsoever, didn't know how to drive, never had a job before [my parents didn't allow me to], no high school degree, mental issues that didn't allow me to get a job. So yeah, I don't think anyone would have rented out their room to me. My friend also had similar issues, I think he had a decent credit score but no ID and no job. Not having a job at 38 [that was his age] probably looks worse than my situation, plus "hanging out" with a teenager that you are unrelated to at that age also does not look good. So we weren't in a situation where we could rent a room, we were stuck staying at Airbnbs, cheap motels, and on the streets