@laureth You are right.
In some places they do have folks who go around and try to find the homeless and let them know where they can get help if they choose to. It’s hard with the mentally ill, though. They may be paranoid or have other reasons for preferring not to deal with social services.
Families—I understand that some families get to the end of their ropes or no longer have the resources (or believe they no longer have the resources) to help a family member. I also understand that there are times when families no longer want to enable their homeless relatives to continue in addictions that make it impossible to get work or support themselves.
A large portion of chronic homelessness is due to mental illness. Other homelessness is usually temporary.
I have often used the excuse that I don’t want to pay for someone’s next fix for not giving money to the homeless. That was when I didn’t really understand mental illness. Now I wonder when is addiction related to factors a person can control, and when is it related to things like mental illness or genes? Further, does it matter why a person is homeless? Does it matter why a person begs?
I can not sort any of that out just in a five second contact on the street. So I randomly give money. I feel a tiny bit selfish and somewhat smug when I don’t give money. It’s not a part of myself that I am proud of. Sometimes I’m in a hurry, and I don’t want to stop and dig out money. Sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes I’ll give a dollar, and rarely, I’ll give a tenner.
I think perhaps I should take a moment to find out what is going on with the person, and to help them get help if they want it, but I have never done that. Sometimes I feel that just looking them in the eye and not pretending I don’t see them is enough, although I know that encourages them to pester me as a softy. There’s one guy where I work who, the first time I said “hello” to him, asked me for a handout. I told him no. Since then, we acknowledge each other, but he doesn’t ask any more. Others know his name since he’s a regular. I wish I knew his story. He seems to have difficulty speaking, and he is given to making odd noises that seem involuntary, as if he has Tourette’s or something.
Honestly, I don’t know what to do—I have so many conflicting feelings about this.