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They're hard to distinguish up close, too. No matter how you get there, whether it's mostly by choice or mostly by circumstance, rock bottom will likely involve you doing whatever you can to relieve your misery for a few short hours. I have a hard time faulting someone for short-term behavior when they don't have much of a future to work toward.

But you're (somewhat) correct when it comes to aid. Giving a homeless person 5 bucks won't do anything to alter their condition. It'll fill their belly, at best. But consider what 5 bucks probably means to me or you and what a meal means to someone who can't always count on one.



If you worry about homeless people spending your 5 bucks on booze, go spend that 5 bucks on a sandwich and give them the sandwich.


You need the pick your homeless person carefully if you do this. There's a nontrivial chance it will result in verbal harassment and/or a confrontation.


Maybe first ask if that's ok? "Can I buy you a sandwich" is a lot more friendly than "here's a sandwich".

I've made that exact mistake myself, but I think this may be the better approach.


That does sound like a much better approach.




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