Should you give the homeless money?

Peter Bis

Back in 2009 I moved to Washington D.C. and worked as an intern for congressman Tom Latham.  While I lived there I got to know a homeless man named Peter Bis that hung out on the corner outside the Heritage Foundation where I lived. As people walked passed he would say hello and tell them to have a great day. He also always gave you a count down till the weekend. He would say, “ Wednesday only two more days till the weekend” then wish me a good day, he would also remind me not too go skinny dipping. Peter was extremely popular, in fact I searched him on google and found articles and radio segments about him. Peter was such a kind person and he never asked for a thing. While I lived there I spoke to Peter almost daily, and I never gave him a dime. What I did do is provide him with lunch or the occasional snack. He was always very appreciative and if you ask me he deserved everything that he received.

So the question that I have is, should you give homeless people money? Many people believe that homeless people abuse drugs and alcohol and would spend the money getting high or drunk. So do you think its better to provide the homeless with food and clothing rather than money or should we not be so quick to judge and just give them money.  Are these people just down on luck or is their homelessness due to their laziness or past mistakes?

I encourage you to google Peter Bis, you wont have trouble finding info about him there are about 5 pages of links. Here is a link to a radio story about Peter and his kindness. http://wamu.org/audio/nw/06/12/n2061208-12727.ram