By giving money directly to the homeless, it unwittingly teaches them to continue to be homeless. That’s a hard thing to digest, I know. But there are facilities, shelters that need support. They actually give the homeless an opportunity beyond a drink. The shelters give them hope for a real future. The first thing that a homeless person needs to do is go to where the real help is.
Honestly, I’ve worked with the homeless for years. I’ve talked to them, made friends with them, given them jobs. The ones that are on the street are the ones who want to be homeless. The majority of them are scam artists and the likelihood is that they have ten times more money in their pocket at any given time than the person they beg from. The money typically buys drugs for a quick fix. I even know of a few homeless street beggars that have homes, but catch the bus downtown every day to beg for money.
A company I worked for in L.A. did a study on this. They found that the average street homeless person actually made twenty to thirty thousand dollars a year tax free income by begging on the streets. The ones who really want help are the ones in the shelters. They have programs to help educate and assist in getting them jobs.
I wish you well on your potential liveperson investment.