Should you donate to homeless people?
By: Ruthless Giving
Tags: Donating, Homeless, Charity, Ruthless, Giving

Written by, Gill Tataev founder of Ruthless Giving.

Modern society must do all that we can to help the less fortunate, and there are more than enough resources to ensure that everyone lives a safe and contented life.

We task ourselves with distributing these resources in the best way possible. And the truth is that the five dollars you place in the hand of the person living rough on the streets just isn’t an efficient or effective donation.

Here’s why donating directly to homeless people isn’t a great idea, and how to do better.

Your donation is just not enough.

“I hope they don’t spend it on drugs” you quietly think to yourself as you hand over your cash. Indeed, there’s a chance that they’ll spend it on much needed food. But is that actually any better?

Sure, it’ll fill their belly for a night. But that belly needs to be refilled the following night, meaning you’ve done nothing more than postpone the problem for 24 hours, probably less. What’s more, major cities — where almost all homeless people live — usually have good soup kitchens or food bank systems, where the homeless can feed themselves for free.

And let’s say your initial fears are well founded, because you’ve stumbled across an addict going through some serious withdrawals. You’re human, you want to help someone who is obviously in pain, so you hand them some cash knowing full well that they’ll spend it on alcohol or drugs. But at least they’ll feel better, right?

Yep. For another few hours. And then the cycle starts again. You’ve inadvertently prolonged their agony, giving them an easy option when the more difficult one — getting off the gear — is far better, if more painful in the short-term.

Fixing a symptom, not the cause

FACT: Homelessness can’t be entirely solved by money.

There are a number of reasons that a homeless person might end up on the streets: drug addiction, neglect, mental health issues, plain old bad luck. Money can certainly fund solutions that address many of these causes, whether via government programs or charitable organizations, but success is not guaranteed. At the end of the day, we can only help people that want to be helped.

In addition to all the help, there are resources available — shelters and food banks to get by, libraries to learn and upskill, thrift shops to buy cheap clothing for a job interview, a wealth of government programs designed to offer support — but in most instances this is not enough.

You’re creating a path of least resistance

If a homeless person knows that they can earn $50-$100 by putting their hand out on a street corner, thus getting through another day, where’s the incentive to change? It’s not a great existence — nowhere near — but in many cases it’s not bad enough to compel them to change.

By handing out money no questions asked, we’re unintentionally creating a path of least resistance, making it less likely that a homeless individual will seek better alternatives to their current situation. Desperation is a powerful motivator, and ideally the short-term pain results in long-term gain.

What do we do?

Want to help the homeless? Grab a friend and take a day out of your schedule to talk to someone you’d like to help, clean him up, get some clothes, print a resume, and advise on some free resources that they can use to kickstart their new lives.

Not ready for that yet, but still want to make a difference? Look into local charities that battle the problem and see if they’ve had any success. At Ruthless Giving, we constantly look for effective ways to give, feel free to share your findings with us and let’s battle these problems together.

This article is sponsored by People’s Foundation.