People who come to volunteer at PLASE often tell me they do so because they see many homeless people on the street and want to do something to help. Volunteering at PLASE is a great way to be a part of the solution to homelessness. Everything volunteers do here, from art projects with our clients to stamping envelopes, contributes to our mission of ending homelessness by serving the most vulnerable of Baltimore
One issue that often arises for people who are committed to helping the homeless is whether or not to give money to homeless people on the street. This is a problem that comes up for me on a regular basis. I’m often asked for money when I’m stopped at a red light or walking along the street, and I don’t know what to do. If I say yes, I worry the money will be used for drugs and contribute to the addiction that’s probably a big reason that person is homeless to begin with. If I say no, I worry I’m denying a hungry person money they need for food. So I decided to ask some of our clients here at PLASE about whether or not a stranger giving them money on the street was good for them in the long run or not.
Of course, there are rarely simple answers when it comes to homelessness, and our clients didn’t give a simple answer to my question. They told me that when people gave them money it went to whatever was their most urgent need, sometimes that was food and sometimes that was drugs. Occasionally people offered to buy them food instead of just giving money, and they were hungry and grateful. Other times, their cravings for drugs were so intense that the offers of food angered them. The clients I spoke with are recovering heroin addicts, and for those unfamiliar with addiction it might seem strange to prefer drugs over food. Heroin, however, produces intense physical cravings, and when those cravings aren’t satisfied users experience painful withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, and cold flashes.
Today, the clients I spoke with are back on their feet and experience the same dilemma the rest of us do when asked for money by a homeless person. They do recommend offering to buy the person food if you are able. They also mentioned that in bad weather a few dollars may enable a person to find shelter, since some people will rent out space to stay cheaply. As recovering addicts themselves our clients sympathize with the people they see who plainly want the money for drugs. Sometimes, they give even when they know the money will be used for drugs. One man I spoke with said that he’d given money to a friend who needed a last dose of heroin before going to treatment. That friend is still clean, so for our client giving his friend money to keep him from going into withdrawals during intake (a long and difficult process) felt like a worthwhile investment.
The most powerful statement I heard came from a client who said that regardless of what the money gets used for, the important thing is that people who give should give from the heart. The dollar you may give, or the time you spend volunteering at PLASE, is a gesture of caring to a person who may not experience that otherwise.
One issue that often arises for people who are committed to helping the homeless is whether or not to give money to homeless people on the street. This is a problem that comes up for me on a regular basis. I’m often asked for money when I’m stopped at a red light or walking along the street, and I don’t know what to do. If I say yes, I worry the money will be used for drugs and contribute to the addiction that’s probably a big reason that person is homeless to begin with. If I say no, I worry I’m denying a hungry person money they need for food. So I decided to ask some of our clients here at PLASE about whether or not a stranger giving them money on the street was good for them in the long run or not.
Of course, there are rarely simple answers when it comes to homelessness, and our clients didn’t give a simple answer to my question. They told me that when people gave them money it went to whatever was their most urgent need, sometimes that was food and sometimes that was drugs. Occasionally people offered to buy them food instead of just giving money, and they were hungry and grateful. Other times, their cravings for drugs were so intense that the offers of food angered them. The clients I spoke with are recovering heroin addicts, and for those unfamiliar with addiction it might seem strange to prefer drugs over food. Heroin, however, produces intense physical cravings, and when those cravings aren’t satisfied users experience painful withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, and cold flashes.
Today, the clients I spoke with are back on their feet and experience the same dilemma the rest of us do when asked for money by a homeless person. They do recommend offering to buy the person food if you are able. They also mentioned that in bad weather a few dollars may enable a person to find shelter, since some people will rent out space to stay cheaply. As recovering addicts themselves our clients sympathize with the people they see who plainly want the money for drugs. Sometimes, they give even when they know the money will be used for drugs. One man I spoke with said that he’d given money to a friend who needed a last dose of heroin before going to treatment. That friend is still clean, so for our client giving his friend money to keep him from going into withdrawals during intake (a long and difficult process) felt like a worthwhile investment.
The most powerful statement I heard came from a client who said that regardless of what the money gets used for, the important thing is that people who give should give from the heart. The dollar you may give, or the time you spend volunteering at PLASE, is a gesture of caring to a person who may not experience that otherwise.
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