How can you know if that person in the street begging for money is really a homeless?

Cause i've been wondering.

You don't. That's why I kick all of them and not just the ones I suspect to have a home.

Oh, you're such a man, without a doubt..

@reno117: ..ok? I don't know what you are getting at. Are you saying I am definitely a male? Or are you mocking my joke response? Or what?

You never know which is why I don't give to the homeless

@reno117: Ok.

If they buy crack after getting your money they probably really are homeless.

If they have an iPhone with them then they're not homeless.

Just ask them. They are always honest.

You don't. You're better off donating to a reputable charity.

you dont, but who cares. you dont know em, never will so why care.

Whenever i see someone who looks homeless and their asking i just give them food and water.

idk how to differentiate.

When i'm drunk or just feeling nice, i'll buy a homeless person fast food instead of just giving them money. The way I know if they're faking it or not is the gratitude they show when given the food. Out of the dozen or so times i've bought food for a homeless person, only 3 people (that I remember) continued to beg for more. One begged for more food, and I obliged. One outright refused the food, and one just looked at me with a pissed look and said he knew I had cash on me. People like the latter two are probably the fakers imo lol

When I give, I think of it as an investment that doesn't rely one bit on the heart of the recipient.

Those don't exist.

You either don't know or you stalk the guy for an entire day/night. So if your heart is set on knowing you're gonna have to follow around a toothless guy who smells like piss and booze.

Don't bother to know.

I'd rather give a dollar to a well-dressed professional looking man on the street than to someone looking rough and like a beggar.

@benjamin_poindexter: and how would you know that?

True. Some use it as a business, playing on sympathy and guilt. You might be more confident supporting places that can rehabilitate and house them.

The ones who get pissed off when you give them food or keep begging for money are probably still homeless and living on the street, they just want drugs or booze more than a meal. And this idea that somehow people "pretending" to be homeless are in fact scamming generous, kind-hearted people out of their money and making a comfortable living at it has always struck me as being patently ludicrous.

True, that's always a possibility, but there was something in the way they responded to my offer that suggested they could just as easily feed themselves. And still, I really don't see a legit homeless person, ragged clothes, and everything, turning down a free meal. Well, people do pretend to be homeless......but why do you think it's ludicrous??

Eh....You actually don't know.

Unless you stalk the person during the entire day.

@rouflex: Send them to a Catholic Church. Or offer to buy them the food or whatever instead of giving them the money. If they're real they'll be grateful if not they may not bother after you say that.

I force them to take a home made multiple answer test quiz and then run the results through a sophisticated computer app that will tell me if they are homeless or not. By force I mean I threaten them, that if they don't attempt my 2 hour multiple answer test (with 4 essay questions) that I will call the cops on them for loitering and or push their trolleys carrying their "possessions" over. If they are homeless I offer them a really cheesy and spicy piece of dog burger, with extra pieces of onion, garlic, anchovies, peppers. I mean, homeless people should just be grateful for any kind of food I throw at them right? If they don't accept the food they must be faking… well either offer them food, or tell them I will give them money if they fight and beat other homeless people. I'll record it on my phone for some kind of website… don't steal my idea, I patented it™.

If they are faking it, I laugh at them, for being so desperate to be all dirty and smelly and cold and bare on the street. I mean pretending to be homeless, thats low, I am sure that everything in their life is peachy for them to be "pretending" and lets face it, 99 percent of homeless people are pretending, and the one percent that aren't, are liars, drunks and poor decision makers who deserve it.

Sorry, above is a silly answer.

You should never feel obligated to help a homeless person, but if you do, try and be realistic and try not to judge what they do with the money. Sure they might spend it on alcohol or smokes, but guess what? They are homeless, sometimes some psychological and emotional luxuries make life and cold nights a bit easier to cope with. Another way to help is to talk to them, and see what they need and what kind of help they might benefit from. Are they newly homeless? Are their homeless shelters near by? Are they trying to get back in their feet or are they in a situation where they think they are going to be homeless for the rest of their life? Is it one person or a group of homeless people in the general vicinity? That can determine how you help, whether it means getting them a blanket, warmer clothes, food, maybe you trust them, and think they will use the money to assist other homeless people, maybe they are old and things aren't looking great for their future… so maybe alcohol to ease the pain is actually something that helps them better than a burger might. Or maybe both if you can afford it… then again, if you are in an area with a lot of homeless people, you might not be able to help each one, maybe unfortunately you just have to ignore them all, and donate to a local shelter that will help them in a round about way, or maybe you simply can't afford to and need to look after yourself and your own family first.

Similar also applies if they are just pretending to be homeless. I mean if someone is pretending to be homeless, chances are they aren't that well off. Homeless people are like every other kind of people, some are shy, some are entitled, some are aggressive, some are emotional, some are reserved, some are funny, its why we can get funny signs from some of them, some are cons, some are liars, some are legit, some are sinecure, again, no one should feel obligated or guilted into helping, sometimes its more about how you use probabilities. I mean, sure… the homeless guy on the corner might actually be a billionaire running a scam to make "easy" money, but… if you are willing to lend five dollars to someone you think is homeless… and they actually are, could make their week a lot more comfortable. Its the same as anything else really.

@sc: Not sure if your comment help me at all.

@rouflex: Oh sorry, my comment, it wasn't really for you, more addressing some of the other comments and ideas in the thread. Truth is, you don't know. I mean random strangers in the street, you can't really know anything about them either. The guy at the cafe you get food from, maybe he doesn't wash his hands. Maybe the guy at your comic store is an advanced robot, maybe your next door neighbor is likes vegetables more than chocolate, maybe the next homeless guy you meet is just doing a social experiment, usually you have to go on your intuition, sense, assumptions and ability to learn and interact with others and gauge responses and sincerity from others, everyone, not just homeless.

@sc: Maybe it is important to know. Maybe i want the guy to wash his hands, Maybe i don't care for that robot and that veggie guy as long important stuff doesnt remain unsolved. Perhaps it is not rare and stuff. Eh

Nowadays you can't because hipsters thinks it's funny to dress up and look like homeless people. That said, I think you can tell a homeless person from a hipster if the homeless as bad breath and teeth or generally smells, since they don't have easy access to a shower and toothbrush.

@rouflex: Wanting to know is not the same as being able to know. Then finding out so you know, well for everything, the conditions for finding out will vary. Can get an X-Ray to find out if a person is a robot or human, can spy on a person to see if they wash their hands, can spy on a homeless person etc could ask them, but they might lie, or they might tell the truth, basically its my other reply.

@sc: I don't care if the Hobo is a android or a Human tbh. As long as i help them...

@rouflex: Good stuff!

@sc: You too.

I'd rather give my money to Street performers, at least they're doing something. Playing music, or whatever.

They tend to have bad teeth, some skin problem, and often drink alcohol because life on the street is hard. They often got a dog to defend themselves. They also have bad outfit and awful smell.

The poser tend to have bad clothes, but are rarely really badly clean.

The responses to this thread range from woefully ignorant to offensive.

Holmesian deduction.

take an educated guess

I don't bother trying to figure it out, and just give something anyway. If they're liars, that's their problem.

Agreed.

You don't. There are people in Melbourne who work during the weekday, and sit on the street during the weekend.

The Smell.

This is all everybody needs to know.

if I feel like giving to a homeless person (which rarely I do), I'll stop somewhere and (buy my groceries) and pick them up a bottled water.

Not fond of giving people stuff that they will probably used on drugs or alchohol instead of bettering themselves, so at least water is helping them.