Buying items for the less fortunate we find on the road.

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darsben

darsben

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2018
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Location
Central NY in summer beautiful Casa Grande AZ in w
We buy items at the dollar store for the less fortunate we find along the road. We find them camped in national forests, on beaches and stranded along the road. Some of these stories I have already shared.
So today we went to the dollar store and started buying things for my October migration.

Some of the item I buy are
Dry dog food in small boxes.
Easy open cat food and dry cat food.
Small containers of shelf stable milk and dollar store cereal
Tuna fish in foil packages
Generic saltines
Dollar store trail mix.
Bottled water.
generic rice krispy treats
sale items from walmart or groceries
When we see some one we feel in need my wife and I make up a small goodie bag of item we think they might need and give it to the needy.

Maybe others will do the same

Start small. If you give it all away you can get more or donate to a food bank somewhere if you do not use it all.

There are a lot of people stuck places that can use the help



 
How can they afford to have pets and cell phones (which I'm sure they have) if they can't even provide for themselves?
 
It?s not unusual to see homeless people with pets, and they are usually very well cared for. These are real emotional support animals, unlike the ones being brought onto airplanes.
 
Great idea, please never give money. Most of the people in the streets are addicts and giving money does more harm than good.
 
darsben said:
pet for companionship.
Bush phone which is free. Commonly referred to as an Obama phone but. that is a misnomer..
Click to expand...
Correct. Most people now consider a cell phone as a life necessity because they need a mode for communication to find a job. We may or may not agree, but that is the government's argument for subsidizing the program.

Often, they are taking care of stray animals, not outright adopting them. Even in my small town, lots of people let their cats run outside with or without a collar. There are also lots of homeowners that don't like to collar their pets because it wears down the fur around their neck. I see a lost animal post on the local classifieds about once a week and the picture almost never shows a collar on the pet.

I love OP's suggestion. I have thought about doing this for the panhandlers on my way to work. You never know who is in need or who is faking it for a handout, so I figured if I give them gift boxes of supplies with a note asking them to pass it on if they don't need it, it puts a whisper of guilt in their heads for abusing it when there are people that need it.

We don't see many people camping near campgrounds. The homeless usually stay out of sight because they are shamed, but if we see someone struggling, we are more than willing to lend a hand and invite them to sit by the fire with us. Our group usually dry camps, so we are typically better prepared with air compressors, tools, etc. Sometimes people just get too excited to leave the city for the weekend and they forgot a tool or to check the air in their tires.

I have really been on the fence about getting one of the cordless Ridgid or Ryobi air compressors. They are louder than I like for regular use but I don't need a generator to run it and cords wont limit where I can take it.
 
My experience has been that those panhandlers you see WILL NOT accept the supplies.  My belief is they are not in need so they will not take anything but cash.
One time in Nashville we were parked in a Walmart while shopping. I was sitting at the table inside when there was a knock at the door. A man and a young girl where asking for a handout. I told them to hold on I would get the something. They could see me through the now open door. I started to make up a goody bag. When I got done less than a minute later they had walked away. I called to them to come back, they just kept walking.
As for homeless in campgrounds go down the Natchez Trace and stop in the CG's on the Trace Look carefully you will see old guys/gals living in there cars.
If it is a pay CG you will not see them but in the dispersed camping areas of the National forests you ill find many. Those are the ones I want to help
I really do not care the persons circumstance or if they really need it I give because I have been blessed with enough to be able to do this.


WHO AM I TO JUDGE THEM
 
Agreed. When I worked in the metro area years ago. Someone was out on the corner holding the sign. Literally all I had was one of those trident gum cups so I asked if he wanted it. He grabbed it, threw it on his bag, said thanks, and within 5 seconds, he was staring back at the other cars and didn't acknowledge me. It was really odd. I couldn't tell if he was desperate and dedicated or just acting. That was when I decided to start giving bags or boxes instead of money.

I do find it odd when I see someone in a nice camping chair though...I couldn't imagine anybody that was homeless spending money that could be used for 2 weeks worth of food on a nice chair.

Another time, I had someone ask me for money at the gas station. He said he drove 45 minutes for a job interview and forgot his wallet. I wasn't going to give him cash because I couldn't figure out if it was the truth or a story, so I just told him to pull up to a pump and I put in enough gas to make it home. Plus, I don't carry cash on me anyways because its too easy to blow it on things like soda at the vending machine at work.

**If you do this for a stranger, I recommend prepaying. If you use your card at the pump, it invites that awkward moment when they approach the amount and you aren't sure if they are going to stop. He did stop on the cent and it worked out, but I didn't have much in my account, so if he kept going, I would have overdrafted.
 
My wife saw a guy sitting on the curb with a sign asking for money for food.  She was going through the drive-through at a burger joint, so got a second combo meal with her order.  When she drove over to him and offered him the meal, he refused it and told her he was vegan.
Seems to me if you were truly hungry, it wouldn't matter.
 
Old_Crow said:
When she drove over to him and offered him the meal, he refused it and told her he was vegan.
Seems to me if you were truly hungry, it wouldn't matter.
Click to expand...
Yup, if they were truly in need, they would probably eat out of the garbage can. I would be real temped to call him out.

Fake panhandlers are taking money away from those that really need it. They are the reason that many people don't give anything when they otherwise would have.
 
Greetings All,

Interesting idea to give them things they need and not cash. I suppose some might sell items for cash to support their addiction but that is an extra step.

There was this so called homeless person at a corner asking drivers for money for several days my friends and I saw during a show. They really looked needed, with ragged cloths and so forth. We kept an eye out. The last day we saw them there and about the time they would disappear each day, a super nice Cadillac stopped and they got in and whirled away. Pretty obviously they were professional pan handlers. Agreed that they take away from those who really need help. Also some people since they don't know for sure won't donate as they aren't sure who is legit or not.

Giving them items of need seems to sort out the frauds from the needy.
 
Found a lady beside the road with a flat tire. Stopped and put on her spare. Followed her for about 3 miles and the spare blew out.
Went to the tire store looking for a used tire that see could afford. None to be had. Her van was about 8 miles from the store.
New tire installed on the van was $225.00. She only had $100.00. I took her $100 and paid the bill. The store manager saw what was going on and reduced the bill by $25.
Store manager thanked me for helping her.
I give her my business card and ask her to send me whatever she could when ever she could.
As of 2 years, I'm short a business card and $100. That was exactly as I anticipated. Have you ever grabbed a bull by the horns and couldn't turn loose?
 
I'm a firm believer that it comes back around.  That might put me in the minority,  so be it.  I've given away more than a few bags of fast food or such to people panhandling, haven't had it refused yet. My better 9/16's is a family nurse practitioner, worked in rehab for a number of years ( no, it's not where we met  8) ).  She says always give those folks food instead of money.
 
House Husband said:
Found a lady beside the road with a flat tire. Stopped and put on her spare. Followed her for about 3 miles and the spare blew out.
Went to the tire store looking for a used tire that see could afford. None to be had. Her van was about 8 miles from the store.
New tire installed on the van was $225.00. She only had $100.00. I took her $100 and paid the bill. The store manager saw what was going on and reduced the bill by $25.
Store manager thanked me for helping her.
I give her my business card and ask her to send me whatever she could when ever she could.
As of 2 years, I'm short a business card and $100. That was exactly as I anticipated. Have you ever grabbed a bull by the horns and couldn't turn loose?
Click to expand...
It is to bad you could not just enjoy the feeling of helping someone but had to make it conditional on yourself.
 
I have a bit of a problem with folks that display signs indicating they are disabled vets and need money. I am a disabled vet and our son is a 100% disabled Iraq war vet. I know there is help for these vets. Maybe I should start carrying VA business cards to hand out. As for the others asking for help, I don?t know what to think. In the larger cities you could go broke ?helping?. Here in Dover there are people standing at busy intersections working in groups. It seems like a business. But do you not help because you have a feeling and then there?s that one person that really needs it, and you didn?t help.
 
My wife and I were in OKC earlier this week. Having lived there for 25 years I noticed all the panhandlers were gone. They got so aggressive OKC passed an ordinance banning them from the medians. 90% were not from OK. A local charity tried to help them with free rides, meals, clothing, and a place to stay. Out of the hundreds of panhandlers they got less than 10 responses. These professionals hurt the people who are truly in need. So never give them cash.

https://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/cover-story-aid-groups-lawmakers-and-leaders-work-to-define-panhandling-while-protecting-some-of-our-citys-most-in-need-residents/Content?oid=2967029
 
Oldgator73 said:
I have a bit of a problem with folks that display signs indicating they are disabled vets and need money. I am a disabled vet and our son is a 100% disabled Iraq war vet. I know there is help for these vets. Maybe I should start carrying VA business cards to hand out. As for the others asking for help, I don?t know what to think. In the larger cities you could go broke ?helping?. Here in Dover there are people standing at busy intersections working in groups. It seems like a business. But do you not help because you have a feeling and then there?s that one person that really needs it, and you didn?t help.
Click to expand...
I ask to see their Vet ID, not one has ever heard of such a thing. Then I call the police. In front of them.
 
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