|
|
Many panhandlers are just supplementing their income and unless they give me some quality street performance - and fresh takes on the "my baby's in the car and I need gas" gag are getting hard to find - I don't give them anything.
But the real down-and-outers, the alcoholics, addicts, and mentally ill, aren't going to turn their lives around because someone refused to give them money, or even if everyone refused to give them money. They live horrible lives and they die young and often violently. And while there are programs out there, there aren't enough of them, and in many cases, the conditions for accepting them (separation from their 'spouses', for instance, in the case of shelter acceptance) are unacceptable.
I don't kid myself into thinking that my buck or two is going to make a big difference in their lives, but then neither is the buck or two I leave behind for the waitress at Kelceys. Its just a friendly...
|
|
