Random Talk & Chat

Good, we'll say no more about it.

Oh, and since I should have said so last night - good luck!

This week has felt soooooooooo long.
Feels like 9 billion years since Monday . Approximately anyway .

FFS Snooks.
Constructing what feels like the longest post in living memory.
Been at it for a few days now and still nowhere near finished.
Snooks 1 - War and Peace 0.
Blame JD Vance. All his fault . Boooooooo .

Just asking for general opinion.

I just gave £15 to a homeless lady on my way back home. I also gave her the address of a local homeless shelter. Should I have bought food for her or offered her a place to stay immediately instead?

I'm thinking not the place to stay tonight but perhaps buying her food would have been better. Bear in mind this is 9:00 on a Sunday night and there are limited options for food purchase.

I can spare the money and I felt ok for giving it. This isn't to make me feel good though, I genuinely want to help someone who I can clearly see needs it. These are human beings after all and surely need help to return to the right path.

So, if you don't mind, your thoughts. Serious replies will be more appreciated.

^^ A very kind gesture to a massive & complex problem, as a country we should be better than this. They say if possible give them food & or a warm drink at this time of year, but as you say not always possible, if they're hungry they buy food. Unfortunately some will look to score drugs.
I came face to face with this a few years back when I walked through the city for work early in a morning, it ground me down over the weeks the sheer numbers of rough sleepers, very depressing.

There are enough heartless sods who resent giving to anybody. Your instinct in the moment was to do the right thing, so you should feel right for what you did, and I hope if in similar circumstances you wish to do so again, that you will.

It is difficult with the homeless when there are often a lot of them - it's not up to you to save everybody. Sometimes I have bought some food for those outside supermarkets.

(02-03-2025 21:56 )Regenerated Wrote:  Just asking for general opinion.

I just gave £15 to a homeless lady on my way back home. I also gave her the address of a local homeless shelter. Should I have bought food for her or offered her a place to stay immediately instead?

I'm thinking not the place to stay tonight but perhaps buying her food would have been better. Bear in mind this is 9:00 on a Sunday night and there are limited options for food purchase.

I can spare the money and I felt ok for giving it. This isn't to make me feel good though, I genuinely want to help someone who I can clearly see needs it. These are human beings after all and surely need help to return to the right path.

So, if you don't mind, your thoughts. Serious replies will be more appreciated.

I believe your response covered two vital bases.
You treated her with respect by not dictating to her what your material offer would be i.e food or something else. By giving money you left the choice in her hands on how to spend it and thereby protected her much cherished sense of independence.
Of course she may spend the money wisely or unwisely but giving her the power to choose is something that will live long in her memory.

Giving her an address for a homeless shelter was unquestionably the right thing to do for a longer term pathway. Shelters like that can provide not only a safe place to sleep but also sometimes signposting to other resources of benefit to someone in that situation.

Proper Wulfrunian spirit shown.
Well done Sir.

(05-03-2025 21:16 )Snooks Wrote:  

(02-03-2025 21:56 )Regenerated Wrote:  Just asking for general opinion.

I just gave £15 to a homeless lady on my way back home. I also gave her the address of a local homeless shelter. Should I have bought food for her or offered her a place to stay immediately instead?

I'm thinking not the place to stay tonight but perhaps buying her food would have been better. Bear in mind this is 9:00 on a Sunday night and there are limited options for food purchase.

I can spare the money and I felt ok for giving it. This isn't to make me feel good though, I genuinely want to help someone who I can clearly see needs it. These are human beings after all and surely need help to return to the right path.

So, if you don't mind, your thoughts. Serious replies will be more appreciated.

I believe your response covered two vital bases.
You treated her with respect by not dictating to her what your material offer would be i.e food or something else. By giving money you left the choice in her hands on how to spend it and thereby protected her much cherished sense of independence.
Of course she may spend the money wisely or unwisely but giving her the power to choose is something that will live long in her memory.

Giving her an address for a homeless shelter was unquestionably the right thing to do for a longer term pathway. Shelters like that can provide not only a safe place to sleep but also sometimes signposting to other resources of benefit to someone in that situation.

Proper Wulfrunian spirit shown.
Well done Sir.

A few years ago I was called upon to do Jury service in birmingham.
I'd would get the train every day around 7.30 in the morning.
I was quite shocked at the level of homeless people around the vicinity of the train station on my arrival.
I was approached by a young couple (BF + GF) asking for money.
I went into MacDonalds and bought 2 hot chocolates.
I gave them the drinks and a tenner as that was the only cash I had on me.
They were genuinely grateful for what help I could offer.
I must admit it did sadden my thoughts for the day knowing their situation.