I was in the city this afternoon and I got to thinking about all the people seemingly living on the pavement, or at least off the pavement. Beggars and the like.
I'm sure there are very few who, like Homer hilariously did in the Simpsons, try begging as a way to supplement their income. So there obviously is a big problem out there.
What troubled me was/is how to react to someone who approaches you asking for money and even how to think about them. It's easy to think that they choose to be this way but that, I guess, isn't always the case.
There was always a policy at church that if anyone asked for money for food you don't give them any but offer to buy them something. I like this method as you really don't know what they want the $5 for. And if you buy them food or a train ticket at least you know that.
I often wondered how much difference say $2 would make.
Whenever I walk past someone of this disposition I always feel bad for either brushing them off or ignoring them even. I can't imagine how they got in their situation and how they feel. I know I would feel bad if I were ignored like that.
But I just don't know how to handle this issue. It's too big and wide a problem for me to be able to solve, naturally. Any thoughts or tips?
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