It may be helpful to consider how vulnerable women and children feel, for whom such people are more than a nuisance and are often a threat to their safety. I think it’s important to consider that women and children have a right not to be accosted in public, even if they decide not to give something to a panhandler.Bootstrap wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2026 3:19 pm wrt the title of this thread ... homeless people are not the main consumers of drugs in our country, though they are very visible. And panhandling is uncomfortable, but it is exactly what beggars did in the day of Jesus, the same beggars we are asked to give to.
I think it's helpful to think of the poor as people we should minister to, not as a nuisance to be dealt with.
Overall, giving cash to such people tends to simply extend a problem, and the right thing to do is either connect people to supportive services or else volunteer / donate to local agencies that can do things right.
My nearest town and city have a 100% service rate when it comes to “homelessness”. That means anyone who wants to be housed, is, although that comes with rules like not fighting, using drugs, and so on. People who are unwilling to do that are dealt with by law enforcement until they are uncomfortable enough they simply leave the area. I think that’s a good approach.