Giving Money to Beggars: A Reference Guide

I think that the question of whether or not to give money to someone on the street who asks for it is an important one for people who live in or frequent the city. I’ve found that it comes up a lot in conversation. Everybody has an opinion on it, which is good, because you had better have your mind already made up when someone actually approaches you on the street to ask for change. Stopping to think about it is tacky and it could get you robbed. Also, nobody likes it when you stop walking on a busy sidewalk to think about something. You’re holding up the flow of traffic, damn it. Keep it moving.

In many beggar encounters, it’s pretty easy to decide whether or not to give someone money. Usually, you can just say no and move along. But sometimes there are more complicated situations that may befuddle your sense of morals and ethics. So, in an effort to aid those of you who are unsure about beggar etiquette, allow me to share a few personal experiences and the verdicts I reached/wish I had reached at the time.

Situation 1: Two Loud Fat Ladies Ask Me For Food

I was at a lunch truck in Center City a few months ago, grabbing a quick hot dog while running errands for work. Two fat, middle-aged, unkempt women approached me (I could hear them yelling to each other a block away) and asked me, very abrasively, to buy them something to eat from the truck. “I just want a muffin,” one of them said, “a muffin and a bag of chips.”

When the subject comes up in conversation, I’ve always said that I would give a beggar food or even a Septa token instead of money, so I know that the money isn’t going toward drugs or something. And also, being hungry sucks, no matter who you are.

These women, however, did not appear to be malnourished in any way. They obviously had enough energy to waddle down the streets of Center City, yelling at each other at a completely inappropriate volume. Not to mention, their request came out quite rudely, which was offensive to me. How are you going to ask a total stranger, who has absolutely no obligation to you, to use his/her hard-earned money to buy you something without being the least bit polite about it?

Nonetheless, I remembered what I had always said: that giving food to beggars was usually okay. It wasn’t like they were asking for a steak dinner or anything. When it comes down to it, food is food, and who was I to deny someone a basic human necessity if I was able to provide it? Even though these women looked fat and rude, I had no real way of knowing their story. Maybe they had some medical problems that made them fat and rude and also unable to provide shelter for themselves. So I bought them what they asked for, albeit begrudgingly, and they shuffled on their way.

Verdict: Give food if you can

Situation 2: Sad-Looking Guy Pleads for Change

There’s a middle-aged guy that hangs around Center City who always recites the same plea to no one in particular, but to everyone at the same time: “Homeless and hungry, anything will help.” He never directly asks you for change, so you never feel guilty if you don’t give him anything. I see him around almost every day. In the mornings he’s by the subway, and sometimes he re-words his plea to ask for some change so he can buy a cup of coffee. I have no way of knowing what his story is. There’s no way to speculate what any of their stories are, for that matter. But he’s polite, non-invasive, and clearly trying to get things somewhat together (why else would he need that morning cup of coffee?).

So one afternoon, when I passed him on the corner, calling out his chant, I handed him a dollar. He thanked me profusely, his voice full of bashful gratitude. He was so ashamed to have to be taking money from a stranger, but so thankful that I gave it to him. After so many years spent begging all day every day, and so many people passing him by, he still has enough kindness in his heart to be truly thankful for any donations. That’s a good guy.

Verdict: Give the nice guy money

Situation 3: Guy With A Story Stops To Talk

There’s not that many beggars in my neighborhood in West Philly. But when you do run into them, they catch you off guard, because they’re usually just walking down the street like any normal person, without any overt signs of homelessness. I think that’s how this guy essentially surprised me into agreeing to give him money one afternoon as I walked home from the trolley. He stopped me on the sidewalk- made me pull out my earphones and everything- to explain to me that he’d just gotten out of the hospital and he needed money to get home to Upper Darby. He showed me his hospital bracelet as he assured me he wasn’t homeless, he just needed to get home. I, caught off guard, gave the dude and his hospital bracelet the benefit of the doubt, and handed over a few quarters. Pleased, he thanked me repeatedly as I wished him luck and continued on my way.

A few weeks later, I had a very routine outpatient procedure done at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Upon checking in, they gave me a hospital bracelet that looked exactly like the one the beggar had shown me- the one I had taken as “proof” that he must be telling the truth. I realized that a hospital bracelet easily distracts from the fact that you have no other characteristics of someone who has recently required hospitalization. It’s a lot easier to fake hospitalization than I had originally thought.

Verdict: Consider all aspects before you believe a beggar’s story/ Don’t give money to a guy with a hospital bracelet