You ever do something like this? What's your story?

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ThePowerOfGeek

Years ago, I tried giving a homeless guy an unopened chicken sandwich I had just got from Burger King. I got two for the price of one, and I didn't want to eat the other one because I was already pretty full.

So I walked out of the restaurant still holding it, thinking I should find a trash can for it. Then a homeless guy came up to me saying he was so hungry. So I thought "well this kills two birds with one stone!" and offered it to him.

He seemed very unhappy and asked if I had money instead. He took the sandwich begrudgingly. Hmmmmm, it was almost like he was lying about being hungry and actually wanted money to buy drugs or something.

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I don’t like these stories. We have to hear one every time a similar situation gets posted.

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I bought breakfast for a couple homeless dudes. Gave it to them. No “thanks” for my effort. They grumpily asked me why I didn’t get them coffee, too. Sometimes people are assholes. That’s all there is to it. Plenty of homeless I’ve given a buck and they said “Thanks.” At a previous job a coworker would take packaged foods that were going to be discarded and give them to homeless at the end of the day. Some didn’t want the food and wanted money, others were happy to have it. IMO they do prefer cash so they can buy what they want or need, and don’t have to worry about whether someone put anything bad in the food or if it’s spoiled.

ThePowerOfGeek

You ever do something like this? What's your story?

The post text literally asks for stories.

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Similar experience. A homeless guy ambushed me at the drive thru asking for money to buy a burger. I told him I'd buy him a combo and he said no, only cash. I gave him the money because I honestly don't care how he spends it, but why ask for a burger at a Burger King of all places if you don't actually want a burger? Now I'm stuck pretending like I'm some gullible idiot to spare him his dignity when he could have just asked for money.

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Meaning he probably wasn't homeless and was just a beggar. I've seen plenty of those sorts in my hometown.

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I was getting Carl's Jr and a dude hanging around there stopped me and asked if he could have some food. So I bought a couple meals and the person at the drive-thru window asked if he had bothered me. I said no and handed the homeless guy his food before I drove away. He was appreciative and said thank you. I guess you just never know... ‍️

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A friend of mine packs backpacks full of blankets, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, etc. and goes around handing them to homeless people around Christmas.

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I don’t know what I said in my reply that made you think I wanted another of these useless stories.

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Sitting outside of a club waiting for friends. It’s late and a guy comes up and asks if I’m ok, if I need an ambulance or something. I must have looked rough. Dude saw that I was just on my phone and apologized before taking off, saying he was just making sure I wasn’t passing out or OD’ing

Not much later I’m walking to meet up with other friends for an after party and see the guy setting up on some cardboard.

I stop and ask him what his deal was, he wasn’t strung out like other homeless around. He told me his story. I said I was headed to Denny’s and would buy him dinner if he wanted.

When we got there he said thanks but he didn’t want to bother my gathering and was going to decline. So I hand him a few hundred bucks that was my party cash. He initially declined but I insisted, because he was humble, genuinely concerned about my drink add, and obviously was going to get himself out of his situation with only a little help and some luck.

I’ve interacted with a number of homeless and never really met another person like that since. I’m sure they are out there, teetering on really hard times.

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There was this dude, Tyler, at my local Skate park who got kicked out by his baby mama and was sleeping in the park, under shelter. We'd bring homie a ton of taco bell tacos whenever we'd go to the skatepark, and offer him rides wherever he wanted.

Homie would complain when we got cheese in the tacos, demand rides, and get a lil violent about us skating too late. Dude became an asshole, maybe baby mama was right to kick him out.

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It happens.

Here's a happier tale to balance the vibe.

When traveling with my family, we often stop for a light meal midway to break up the monotony of the trip.

One time we stopped at a place we don't care for the food, and bought a particularly light meal to settle our stomachs for the remaining minutes on the way to our favorite food stop.

Toward the end of our quick stop, a stranger offered my oldest an unopened burger from his own meal that he wasn't going to finish.

I think he probably noticed our order was on the small side and maybe worried whether my oldest got enough to eat.

My kid was fine, of course, he got as much as he wanted and knew we were stopping soon somewhere he liked better.

But that guy's compassion stuck with me.

So now there's a line item in my budget for donations to a local food shelter. My intent is to always maintain that recurring donation, in honor of that guy's compassion.

Clay_pidgin

That's very sweet of you.

Clay_pidgin

When I was a teenager I used to hang out with the beggars at the major train station in town when I was travelling around to kill time. I bought hot dogs from the cart for a few of them and they thanked me and ate with me, but said they had plenty to eat. Apparently they rented an apartment together in cash with the proceeds of their begging. They weren't living large, they just didn't want to or couldn't work a regular job. I don't regret spending time with them and hearing their stories, and they wouldn't take my money because I was just a kid.

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Most soup kitchens will take packs of socks, sleeping bags, tampons, dog food/etc and make care packages for people that come in.

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Yes, I've painted bicycles a few times. The first one, a '90s rigid MTB I was building up to be my "daily driver" utility bike, I took the frame to be professionally powder coated, which obviously worked great. The second one, a tandem, I spray-painted myself, which also worked fine but I haven't really ridden it so can't speak to the durability over time. Most recently, I tried spraying a frame with plasti-dip because I wanted it to be removable, but it turned out a little too removable: it didn't hold up to being clamped in my work stand, so now I've got to re-do that tube.

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In my city the homeless run a newspaper. Good on-the-street reporting and homeless people can also sell the paper to get money.

Anyways, got to talking to a paper-seller. His story was rough; had a job, a house… and then a major medical event that took his house and all of his savings away in bills. His job fired him for ‘poor attendance’. At least the people at the paper were helping him get back on his feet.

Bought his last few papers so he could go home, but figured he was probably cold and hungry after standing around all day, so I bought him dinner and some new warm socks too.

Hope that guy is doing all right.

Chainweasel

There was a guy outside of Taco Bell in Columbus Ohio who was begging for money so he could get himself a burrito.
So I went inside and bought the man several burritos and soft tacos and a large drink. I walked back out and handed it to him, and he promptly threw it straight in the trash and looked in the eye and reminded me that he had asked for money.

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I semi-routinely get food for beggars. Gift cards, even. I don't carry cash, but if someone says they're trying to get enough money for food, I offer to just buy them what they need. They almost always say yes, and, especially in winter, you can tell it means a lot, at least in the moment.

On my first payday, post graduation, I did this for some kid who seemed clean by really skinny. He picked out frozen chicken nuggets, and seemed just so happy and grateful. That's stuck with me.