Donations to charities/causes & giving $ to the homeless

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I want to address this topic.
I think it's understood that people on the spectrum can be taken advantage of at times
as they are already in a vulnerable position. They can be preyed upon and this is wrong.
How many on the spectrum have been the victims of fraud or deceit from others?
I'd like to see statistics, it would be interesting.

At the same time, there are a lot of astute, prudent and fiscally wise people that have autism.
Having the condition does not mean you are easy to part with your dollars by any means.

Today I was on my way to a convenience store and noticed a woman sleeping on a pathway. She was probably in her 20s and
had one of her feet in a walking boot indicating she may have had an injured ankle.

Unfortunately it's a common site where I live to see people passed out from drugs & livings on the streets.
I suspected she may have been an addict though I couldn't tell for sure.

When I was in the convenience store I saw the woman again inside the store. She asked if I could buy her a coffee.
Normally I do not like to part with my cash but I did feel a sense of empathy for her and her situation. I asked clerk how much a coffee cost and gave her $2.

At the same time, I view her behaviour as kind of manipulative. Some people will enter fast food or convenience stores hoping there is a customer who will give them money. They are in the store knowing they do not have the $ to pay for whatever it is they want. Businesses don't like loiterers and this kind of behaviour.

There are numerous social support agencies within walking distance of my neighbourhood that provide hot meals, shelter and coffee. Someone who is begging for money for food in my city is either not aware of the social supports or chooses not to use them and tries to panhandle instead. In my view it's more often the latter. This woman - despite her foot being in a boot - she was still able to walk on two feet and get around.

One other thing I want to talk about is how sometimes, donations are not acknowledged and you are not thanked.
I have made numerous donations to a non for profit associated with Ukraine. As I have part Ukrainian heritage, I do feel connected to the war- even though I was not born there. I made one particularly large donation last year. Large relative to my income. I was never thanked or acknowledged. I was a bit disappointed. I never received a receipt from them either.

I later followed up with the organization and asked them to provide proof that my donation had been used for the intended purpose. They did provide proof.

Or they use those services and get a little bit of cash on the side from panhandling, for..... stuff

exactly, they want to buy drugs

I donate money by direct debit to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and Asthma WA.

I have chronic asthma and I asked Asthma WA for information regarding medication. They turned around and asked for money, huh.

The Cerebral Palsy Alliance were in a small shopping centre and they almost bowled me over when I was on my way to a shop. They were very convincing but strangely didn't know much about cerebral palsy.

They're small donations but I'm not going to add any more charities since I earn very little.

As for people on the street, I rarely have cash on me as I do transactions by card and direct debit. So I don't give money to them.

I don't give money to panhandlers as a rule. It is usually either a scam of some sort or someone looking for drug money.

Recently, I talked to a man who was asking for money outside of a Walmart. I approached him and asked about his reason for panhandling, the man explained that he was a refugee from eastern europe and was unable to work because he had a disability, (I think he was faking Parkinsons trembles or at least haming it up for the show).

Apparently, the Canadian government invited this person over here and now is giving him 1000 (of our tax dollars) for doing nothing. I simply find it offensive that someone that has already gotten more than many poor Canadian citizens is turning around and asking me for more money. Not only that this jerk has also applied for affordable government subsidized housing.

More Autistic/disabled people need to wake up and smell the BS. These people are jumping the line and eating our lunch. And not only is the government letting them get away with it, they are outright encouraging it.

Food banks in Canada have had issues.
https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/viral-free-food-video-draws-outrage-this-is-how-i-save-hundreds-of-bucks

IDK maybe some of them hollywood stars that lost their houses should donate to help california, i know they all also have a house in aspen Colorado or Europe or whatever so I am sure they have some money to donate to the relief efforts to california cause I think the federal govt under tump isnt going to do s**t to help them. And same might be coming for colorado hopefully the late january and februry snows stop us having an inferno like california but idk if we actually even with that will get enough snow...and if the feds wont help California, they sure as hell wont help us if we get an inferno, come summer here in Colorado. People who can should probably donate because the feds aren't going to help states like california or colorado. Because we're not so fond of shipping immigrants away.

so yeah I guess blue states are on their own....idk.

Begging is there full time or part time job they must be pretty good at looking desperate

If you want to help maybe donate to the charities supporting homeless people

We once gave a steer (ground into hamburger meat) to a local food pantry.

The steer was extremely tame. When my niece was about 3 or 4 and lived across the pasture , she adopted it as a pet and named it Cutie Pie. Cutie Pie would follow her around kind of like a dog except. He really enjoyed getting his head and neck scratched and would seek people out to have them do it. When we hauled the rest of the cattle from his herd to the sale ring, we kept Cutie Pie.

After about 12 to 15 years, he was getting really old. He was also quite a bit larger than most steers. We didn't feel like eating what had become a family pet so we donated him to the local food pantry. Out of concern that the steaks and whatever might be too tough, we had all the meat ground into hamburgers by a local beef processor who did the work for free since it was going to the food pantry.

A reporter talked to a guy panhandling and he said he had accomodation and a benefit but begs for some extra cash outside the mall

I remember someone in the comments saying "well your in for a pay cut"

sure enough people stopped giving him money

A great many beggars on the streets and outside of malls probably live better than the people they are begging from.

No I haven't given much money to charities, causes, or homeless individuals. I see that as a job for government and for the wealthy. I might donate to a cause that was putting pressure on government to take from the rich and give to the poor, if I thought the cause had potential for success. But I see myself as one of the have-nots, without spare funds.

I don't like it when beggars approach me for money. Some of them may be genuine but there's no way I can tell whether they are or not. I've had the Jekyll-and-Hyde treatment from some of them, where they'll approach me nicely and then hurl abuse when I say no. Some of them are fond of saying "Thank you, God bless you," when I pass them by without giving them anything. I suspect it's sarcasm designed to make me feel guilty, but I don't know.

One of the things that really puts me off is these sponsored things where somebody does something pointless and gets people to pledge them a certain amount per mile, hour, or whatever. There was one old chap who walked round and round his garden to raise money for the NHS. A lot of people bought into it, but I didn't like the idea of an infirm old man straining himself like that when the real problem was that the Tories weren't funding the NHS properly in the first place.

But I've performed music for free to support a few charities and political causes - Rock Against Racism, Save The Whale, that kind of thing. It seems more appropriate for me to give my artistic work away than to give money away, and I hardly ever get paid for my musical services anyway. I've also performed at events that charge the waged but don't charge the unwaged. And once in a while I happen to take pity on some tramp or other and give them a bit of money, but it's rare.

we envy the wealthy and think if we had there power we would make a change in the world. people in the third world envy us and think if they had our income they could make a difference too

The west is quickly turning into the 3rd world. So, don't speak too soon.

I also live in a city which has a huge homeless problem. I decided to donate more to some local charities that I respected the mission of.
When I donate to a charity, I know I am in control of how much I can give. If I give to a panhandler, there are a lot more unknowns for how it will be used and oftentimes it might fuel a drug habit. I try to send a quick prayer for them sometimes.

One exceptional charity for supporting Ukraine is called "Hope for Ukraine". They have always acknowledged my donations. I have ancestors who were born there too and now I also have friends there thanks to instagram.

Other than that, I enjoy donating to the food bank, salvation army, union gospel mission, and MCC (Mennonite central committee, which helps more internationally)

I like to donate but I also have to be very mindful of my money.

It seems there may be other reasons for not being too sold on what that old chap started:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c86qdq67dd5o
No corruption surrounding the actual sponsored walking about has been reported, but the legacy it spawned seems to have ended up with a lot of money going into the pockets of his family. Again it doesn't seem to have been the old man's fault, as he died before any of it happened.

All that paraphernalia - silly books, mugs, etc. - seems essential to charities these days. Whatever happened to the idea of simply giving money to somebody who needs it?