I don’t avoid panhandlers but it’s been a long while since I’ve engaged.
99% of the time, I don’t have cash on me so when I say that I don’t have any change/money, it’s the truth. I pay for everything on credit to accumulate loyalty points because I’m frugal like that.
And being in the suburbs full-time, there are not a lot of panhandlers.
Back when I was used to be downtown all the time, I engaged more by offering to buy a meal and/or coffee. But usually I would get turned down and sometimes cursed out.
After a while, I simply stopped offering.
Instead, I make financial donations to local charities, including those that help the homeless and women’s shelters. And before discarding any items, my first reflex is donate it where it would be useful.
How do you engage with panhandlers on the street?
Marquessa 
Pingback: March Writing Challenge- Day 13: How Do You Engage With Panhandlers On The Street? – K. Phoenix
I don’t anymore some of them are becoming violent.
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Better to be safe than sorry.
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Pingback: #MarchWritingChallenge – Day 13 – How do you engage with panhandlers on the street? – Felicia Denise, Author
A former boss used to hand out $5 gift cards to McDonald’s or Burger King. He even carried bus tokens.
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Bus tokens?
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Yep! Some of the health centers and factors sit on the outskirts of town, and if someone had to get to the doctor or had a job interview, he’d give them tokens to ride the city bus. Really caring man. FYI – the pastor character in ‘Free, a Novel’ is based on him.
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Now I understand. And I’m gonna have to reread Free now. Funny how true life experiences weave their way perfectly into out fiction. 🙂
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I always give money if I have it, which I usually do because I carry cash…but that’s another story. I also remember giving a person $3 and he had the nerve to ask me if I could give him $2 more so he could get a full meal at McDonald’s lol
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Yeah, that’s happened a few times and I’ve gotten cussed out when I said I didn’t have more.
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That’s a great way to handle it!
I was so touched when my daughter saw someone sleeping on the street once when we visited a large city, and she was so upset that anyone had to sleep outside. Post-covid I would love to get her involved in some volunteer organizations to help.
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Your daughter sounds like such a compassionate person. Wonderful in this day and age!
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