This is a tough situation. I struggle with it myself so i'm not going to say i have a concrete opinion or knowledge but I don't think it worsens the situation. The thing about being addicted to drugs is that an addict will do ANYTHING to get a fix. You not giving them the 0.13 in your pocket potentially keeps them 0.13 short of some chik-fil-a, but ultimately if they're are going to do drugs then it's not because you gave them some change.
Something i did when I was in college and short on cash myself is rather than giving change I would give my time. So often we walk by without even acknowledging the existence of someone asking for change. So I think it does make a huge difference actually treating them like people. Responding with a no is way better than ignoring. Or even just stopping to ask how they're doing goes a long way to humanizing someone that has been treated like garbage.
chwk9163 karma
This is a tough situation. I struggle with it myself so i'm not going to say i have a concrete opinion or knowledge but I don't think it worsens the situation. The thing about being addicted to drugs is that an addict will do ANYTHING to get a fix. You not giving them the 0.13 in your pocket potentially keeps them 0.13 short of some chik-fil-a, but ultimately if they're are going to do drugs then it's not because you gave them some change.
Something i did when I was in college and short on cash myself is rather than giving change I would give my time. So often we walk by without even acknowledging the existence of someone asking for change. So I think it does make a huge difference actually treating them like people. Responding with a no is way better than ignoring. Or even just stopping to ask how they're doing goes a long way to humanizing someone that has been treated like garbage.
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