Seeking change on our cities' streets

Kirk Ericson | Nov 09, 20230

I’ve made a promise to myself. If I ever see a homeless person sporting a sign that reads “Need $ for cellphone bill,” I’ll surrender $20 right there.

There was a short period when I carried single-wrapped slices of Velveeta cheese in my back pocket to give out when someone asked for change. The cheese was left over from a Halloween when I gave cheese to trick-or-treaters who came to our house. One visitor asked for two slices, maybe because he wanted two cheese sandwiches.

But mostly, I don’t give on the street — maybe it’s 5% of the time. My response depends on my mood, the state of the person asking, time of day, what a sign reads, whether I know them, how they ask.

What I do most of the time, and I bet a lot of people who consider themselves considerate do likewise, is feel sorry for these people. I console myself by believing I’ve done enough just by pitying them.

Here’s a better idea: Journal reporter Gordon Weeks hands out plastic bottles of frozen tap water to homeless people in summer. That’s a gift with a high likelihood of being used precisely as intended.

Here’s another idea: Lots of trees in Western Washington are packed with apples this year. Apples would be a healthful handout, and far healthier than Velveeta cheese.

What makes passersby give to people on the street? Generosity? Guilt? Compassion? Is it a dream of creating a union where the distance between wealth and poverty narrows? Is it a reward for the cleverness of a beggar’s sales pitch?

What motivates people not to give? Selfishness? No spare change to give?

A belief that change-seekers won’t put the money to good use?

Is it those people’s conviction that homeless people are all of one kind: People purposefully incapable of self-reliance? But consider the vast number of unshared character traits of people who have permanent shelter, some of whom were presented with shelter as a birthright.

Why should people who don’t have shelter be considered of one character?

The biggest deterrent to giving likely is believing a beggar will use the money for drugs, alcohol, or worse, cigarettes. Some people don’t want to believe they’re contributing to another person’s destruction. After all, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes are in their price range.

But let’s look at it this way: Let’s say seven out of 10 people you give money to use it on substances that won’t help them get out of the condition they’re in, but numbers eight through 10 use it for food and to set a course for smoother seas. And once people eight through 10 get established, they might patch together a life that’s more meaningful for themselves and others.

Jack Kerouac was once homeless. So was Charlie Chaplin and Ella Fitzgerald.

Was helping seven people get stoned, drunk and hopped up on cigarettes worthwhile because three people did something you consider constructive?

Probably. But if you want to skip the street giving and contribute to groups that help people who help homeless people, that’s worthwhile, too.

In the whole scheme of giving or not giving it away on the street, the only approach that’s inhumane and WWJD (What Wouldn’t Jesus Do) is either ignoring homeless people or viewing all of them with constant contempt.

Do those people have such a high regard for their native self-worth that they could never imagine being in a homeless person’s position? A twist here, a turn there, and any one of us could be sitting on the curb, leaning against a wall, relying on the kindness of strangers. How would you like to be treated then?

The Bible does not contain the phrase, “God helps those who help themselves.”

The Bible does contain the phrase, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”