Do you give to panhandlers?

[ShazzieB]

51. I do sometimes.

We don't get that many around here, and the ones I do see are never obnoxious or threatening and very appreciative, more often than not. They tend to stand on street corners, and it feels relatively safe and easy to hand them a bill out the window as I drive by.

When I used to work in downtown Chicago, it was a different story. I would encounter multiple panhandlers between the train station and my job, every damned day. There was no way I could give all of them money, and trying to figure out which ones might actually be legit was impossible, so I kept my wallet in my purse for the most part. I like helping people when I feel reasonably sure they aren't just grifting, but the sheer volume was overwhelming.

I love the city, and I really enjoyed working there. That is one of the few things I don't miss about it.