There are already so many social programs, private and public, that
are available to those who really need it. The problem is with the
people who don’t want to clean up their lives or who are mentally
incapable of doing so. As a result, they do not participate in such
efforts.
And for many of these panhandlers, they have absolutely no intention
of ever becoming an active part of society. They want cash to
satisfy their desire for alcohol or drugs. Additionally, there are
some who have already sunk all the way down to the bottom of the
food chain that they have discovered that it is not all that bad. So
why bother getting a job and putting in a full day of effort when
people are so willing to give you money on a street corner?
Naturally, poverty warriors don’t see it that way. There are a lot
of people in which their circumstances are not that simplistic or
straightforward.
And I completely agree.
There are some folks who are down on their luck or who have an
unexpected tragedy in their lives. I have also personally known
people who in their childhood experienced their father walking out
(or passing away) and leaving the family destitute with no source of
income. So yes, there are plenty of extenuating circumstances in
which someone may be in legitimate need. And if that is the case, I
vividly remember what the former archbishop of the city I live in
once explained about the needy that come to his Catholic parishes
asking for help.
He recommended that the pastors of his churches hand out a form that
was developed by the chancellery office that has all the contact
information of the local social services that are already available
in the city. There are some things that a church in his archdiocese
can help out with while there are plenty of others services that
different agencies and organizations are better suited to deal with.
However, one nagging issue is cold hard cash. How should someone
deal with beggars who only want money?
I have been in a rectory of a Catholic parish where I have seen a
pastor hand out canned goods and other foodstuff to people at the
front door but not money. I was once part of a Catholic group that
regularly met in a friary (a monastery that houses friars) in a
seedy part of town. People would always knock on the front door but
they usually wanted money instead of foodstuff. The priests and
seminarians there had given cash before but after they saw the same
people buying beer and cigarettes at the local convenience store,
they stopped handing out money.
Churches of different religious faiths have experienced the same
thing.
Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked is an essential mission
for much of Christendom. And long before the rise of big government,
religious charitable organizations have done so much to alleviate
human suffering.
But there is just something about getting duped that rubs me the
wrong way. And many generous people feel the same way because they
want to see their generosity put to good use. And that is the
dilemma with people begging only for money. There are just too many
well documented incidents from television news crews documenting
drug addicts and slackers scamming good-intentioned people by
panhandling.
So am I being uncharitable if I refuse to give money to an
able-bodied person at a street corner?
As for myself, I personally support the approach that many cities
have employed against panhandlers. They cannot get around the
constitutional issue but they stand on firm ground with personal and
vehicular safety. This angle allows municipalities to remove beggars
from busy intersections, tourist destinations, and revitalized
downtown areas. It doesn’t punish them from begging but it prevents
them from soliciting in heavily trafficked places.
The bottom line is that there already exists so much to help people
in need whether it is a government program, private organization, or
a church. Of course it is not perfect but beggars cannot be choosy.
And for the people who want to be helped and have their lives
transformed, these social services are there for them.
And as for the ones who don’t want to be helped, then perhaps it
really is as Jesus once said, “You will always have the poor with
you.”
If that is indeed the case, then I don’t mind driving past someone
holding a cardboard sign and keeping my money safely inside my
wallet.
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