I tote a bag of apples in my car. Whenever I see someone panhandling, I offer them one.
Jack London:
A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you’re just as hungry as the dog.
If you live or work near any urban area, you’ve encountered folks on the street. Dealing with those asking for or simply needing help is a tricky enterprise. When I was a teenager, I had an experience that shook me to the core.
It was late on Friday night; I had been out partying with my friends. We approached a diner entrance looking to settle down with some eggs and pancakes when we witnessed what looked like a man severely down on his luck. Clothes tattered, he wore a sad countenance and lethargic body language. I labeled him immediately in my mind as homeless.
With some empathy (or, more likely, a guilty conscience), I headed inside the restaurant. My friends and I dug into our late night feast. Our booth had a view of the man outside and, about halfway through the meal, a truck of kids drove by and threw water on him.
My men and I were appalled. We all chipped in, purchased the man a meal and presented it to him on our way out. An hour or so later, after dropping some people off, I witnessed the exact same scenario unfold. Same guy, same group of kids in the truck, same events. It was a scam. From Huffington Post:
After a while, you learn what works,” a panhandler in Florida named Robert Couch told the Tampa Bay Times. Eugene told me he’d been doing the same thing on the same stretch of road near the Charles River for three decades. Like any business, once you’ve developed a process that works, you should either continue doing it, or improve it.
With a freshly skeptical mind, I have since changed the way I offer my help. Some of these men and women are in desperate need of assistance; others are simply savvy businesspeople taking advantage of the system. From the same article:
You can’t get more tax-favored than panhandling. The U.S. Tax Court has held, ironically, that if you sing or perform in exchange for tips, that’s taxable, but if you just beg for money and give nothing in return, that’s tax-free.
I no longer feel the guilt I felt as a teenager, but I still want to positively impact this demographic of people in need. I know that my greatest gift is nutrition and can feel good about offering up an apple. This offer is one without downside. I never feel taken advantage of. I’m confident that one of two things will happen; either they’ll eat the apple and we will both feel good about the exchange or they won’t eat it and I’ll have tried to help.
Nowadays, with a sharpened intuition, I look for folks who aren’t asking but clearly need a meal. I’ll bring them one. These souls are difficult to miss. There is nothing businesslike about them.
I reckon I won’t ever be as hungry as the dog Jack London mentioned, but my bone is healthy fruit and veggies. I’ll continue to look for ways to share them.
Eyes open,
Kap
