Last year my dh and i drove around giving bums 20$ on thanksgiving. I think we spent 100.00 $ but the looks and smiles they gave us were priceless, we do it every year. I dont mind giving them money, i do mind when they are acting like they are homless, but i think you can tell the difference and even then you are doing a good deed and they will need to answer to god later. I have a couple homeless people i always give money too, they are always by the freeway..one is a old lady..about 60 i feel so bad for i can not help myself i usually give her 40$ i think to myself thats someone grandma,mom,aunt.... and i get so hurt inside. She always thanks me or she says "life is hard" i can not help myself feel sorry for them. I have a wonderful life my dh and i feel blessed we think if you can help out someone you should. I have never seen a homeless person with a pet, but if i did i would help them out.

I didn't read any of the other posts because I didn't want my answer to be influenced in any way.
I personally don't know if i'd help them let alone go up to them. Maybe because I know some people don't want help and they usually beg money and not food etc. One time someone said they wanted some money because they were hungry but when I offered them a slice of pizza they refused it. That just goes to show they weren't really hungry. They probably are saving for something that maybe more self distructive.

As for the dog, my heart just goes out to it. Dogs are sometimes very faithful companions even in the worst of situations. I don't see anything wrong with giving the dog food and water. The homeless guys seems to want to be homeless but he's also responsible for the dog, if you don't feel the dog is being treated fairly there are always places you can call so that the dog can have a better home.

Sometimes I'm not sure if it's fair to judge a person, everybody has a reason for why they do certain things. I feel your heart is definately in the right place but there is only so much one person can do.

Yes, it's just one person but what if everyone thought this way? :( It may not sound like a lot, but all it takes to help ONE person is for ONE person to lend a hand to them. It's easy to be skeptical, but my heart hurts when I see a homeless man/woman that obviously has no where to bathe or wash their clothing....same clothes that I see them in everyday. They are missing teeth, they are thin, they are wearing dirt all over them and the worst part of it....the look of a deep sadness in their eyes....that's the one thing that gets me the most. They are as human as you and I....they do not deserve to be judged. I feel like it is my duty (and honor) as another human being to help them. We can't look at them as 'only' the homeless....they are us, just in a different outer appearance.

You can make a difference.

Tammy, I couldn't agree more. There are so many people right now who are only one paycheck away from the street. If I see someone that needs help and I decide to help I don't care about anything else. They could be sitting in a Mercedes the next time I see them and I still will not question my helping them - once I give something it's done and I refuse to have any regrets.

Absolutely Susan!! The only regret that I would have in this situation is if I didn't help them....but I can understand why some would have hesitation.

I have and will every single time. However, I only give food.
I feed my dogs Merrick and I buy the 20 lb size and I purchase 5 at a time. We have a homeless couple that sit in the burger king parking lot by wallys. I saw them a few months ago when stopped at the light. I drove up to burger king where the woman was sitting with a very skinny dog (was part grey hound I think but still looked boney) I had just been across the street and had picked up my 5 bags of Merrick, bully sticks, and treats for the dogs (6 months worth). Well, I bought whopper meals for the couple, and gave them a bag of the food. Actually I opened it up, put it in the dish while she went and got some more water for the dog. I also offered a free visit to my vet for shots of which they took me up on. So that stop may have cost me in the short run but I know that dog had food for at least 3 weeks and had its shots and a visit to my vet. Later that month I got a call from my vet. They gave the dog a 40 pound bag of science diet and thanked me for caring about a strangers dog.
To me I could care less if they do drugs, the dog loved them and was soo sweet. I did it for the dog and I know I did right.
But I would not give cash. In that way I feel that I did not contribute to them purchasing drugs but gave them a cheap meal and their dog got way better:D.
Most of us are 1 pay check away from being homeless. So I hope if that ever happened to me, that someone would at least be kind to my dogs..:(

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Today, that person is homeless - another day, it could be any one of us. It happens to all different kinds of people, for different reasons.

Great post. I'm with you.

:thumbup:

I always give help. I have bought food for a family once. But I always give a dollar. We have a usual guy that sits on the corner of our highway intersection by where I live and we always give him money. Then in one day we gave out money to at least three different homeless guys. I call it good Juju's. My kids make fun of me but I feel the lord always helps me so why not help others. And I get good Juju's in return. :)

Love it..."juju's". :)

When we were kids, my mom was working a full-time job, a part-time and a temp job to make ends meet as a single parent. She struggled (A LOT) financially! There was a young family that she felt needed help and I remember her sitting and talking to us about giving to this family...which it wasn't much....$20 for groceries. But for mom, at that time, it was quite a bit to her. She did decide to give this to them because she said that their baby neeed formula. She told us that she didn't know how but she just knew that it would work out. A little while after this, she came home and told us that she was sorting books (she worked in a library) and was closing out certain books to make room for new books. She picked up a few books and $20 fell out of one of them.

;)

Bless your mom~ she sounds like a such caring person.:)
I met my homless guy this morning, and he was walking his dog.
I made some eglish muffin with bacon and egg for him. he was happy and gave some to his girl as well. I noticed that he treats her like his skin baby:p