When we help the homeless, we don’t really think about how the money we give them is actually helping or not, but what if you gave them food or clothing instead? People often say that there are only certain people who really deserve our help; I believe that if you are going to help someone, be smart about it. For instance, a lot of people are reluctant to help the homeless because they are afraid the money they give them will go to a waste. My point is that you don’t have to selectively choose who you can or can’t help, you’re able to help anyone you can without worrying if they deserve it or not; only if you play it smart. There are many different ways people analyze the homeless before they decide to help them, but the best thing you can do is to not give them money, instead you can help them out by giving food, shoes, or clothing.

You may be wondering what is the harm in money? It is a humanitarian act of kindness so what is bad about it? David Durfee, a journalist for AZCentral states, “that the more money we give the homeless the far more that come”. I believe this looks this way because the homeless go to where the money is, and since there are certain areas that have more money, there’s a higher chance that the homeless would find money in these locations. Since people do fall under the pressure by giving the homeless people money in these areas, it is likely that they’ll stay there awhile until people stop giving them money. If you were to replace the money you give them with food or shoes, they’ll be able to move on if they truly need help with the necessities in life.

On another hand, many people can’t stand the idea of giving their money away to the homeless as they might not spend it for good, instead they might purchase unnecessary things like alcohol or drugs.. These people are right to feel this way, but a better solution for them is giving the homeless food, shoes, or clothing rather than money. This act requires a lot more effort, however it does ensure that the money you are donating is not going to a waste. I believe this is much better and the items you bought these people would less likely be stolen as they are wearing it.

If you are passing by a homeless person and you debate on whether or not they need your help, there are other methods that people use to analyze whether or not these people really need your help. Richard Orem, a journalist for Daily Harold says, “One person told me to look at their shoes. If they have newer shoes or shoes in good condition, then they probably do not need help”. There is one main problem with quickly judging someone like this; these people could have bought new shoes the day before, but because someone decided to look at their shoes to determine if they should give them help, the homeless do not get help anymore. Otherwise, this method is a quick way for you to evaluate someone in case you are in a hurry and do not have a lot of time to think. In theory, this is a good template to use, but what would make this observation better is to judge someone by their whole outfit instead of just their shoes.

Everyone should know that despite all that was mentioned, it isn’t completely horrible for you to give the homeless money. It just seems to be in everyone’s interests, including mine, that the money they donate to the homeless goes towards items that are necessary to live a healthy life. This is important because all that we have done now is give them money, and as AZCentral stated earlier, the homeless population seems to rise around areas that handout money. It could be very possible that making these changes could go a long way in getting some of them off the streets. I believe that if we do make this change, it’ll impact the homeless positively as they won’t be inclined to make bad decisions if they are given a path to walk on, which would be the clothes or food that you provide instead of giving them money. Generally speaking, people don’t really have the time to help out the homeless as the encounters people have with them usually occur when they’re busy. So it is understandable if money is all you could give to help them out with, but I believe giving money to the homeless isn’t very beneficial in the long run for the homeless or for you.