There’s a good chance (6/10) the money handed to a homeless man will not have a useful purpose

So if you are going to give money that will help out the homeless, your money will be made for useful if it’s toward a professional organization that will ensure your money is being spent wisely

40% are veterans

If you only give to homeless people and not to a foundation where they would actually use your money to help lots of homeless people, you are just trying to get the feeling of guilt off your chest and not actually making a difference.

How often do you see a homeless person asking for money? Chances are at least 6 times a week,  but the real question is:  out of all of those times, how often did you actually donate money?

1/3 of people donate 1-2 dollars when they see a homeless beggar. Science tells us that the main reason for this is because humans (that’s us) experience an uncomfortable amount of guilt when we see someone begging for money and so in order to get rid of the guilty feeling we may experience, some people cave in and donate a couple dollars out their pocket. And yet others may prefer ignoring the homeless, or avoiding them completely.

“Well how do I know that the money they receive will go into something useful?” Well honestly, you really don’t and so it makes sense to feel like donating money directly to a homeless person isn’t a good idea; and there might be some real facts that support not donating directly to a homeless person.

More than 60% of homeless people are substance abusers and 40% of the money given directly to homeless beggars is not going into something useful like food or water. But here’s something you probably didn’t know: 44% of homeless people actually have jobs, but all their funds go to their addictions or crippling debt that they may be burdened with.

So now the question stands: What do I do if I want to donate to the homeless cause, but not lose money to someone’s reckless substance abuse?

Your best bet for wise use of your money is to donate to trusted organizations that will insure that they will be spending your money on the right thing, like housing and food. Althought this is a slower process of money exchange, it is more effective in actually accomplishing the goal of ending homelessness.

Make a note of this too: homeless beggars are kind of like travelers and they’ll stay somewhere as long as they receive money. If they come to realize that a certain spot that they have resided at is successful in bringing in money, they will not leave unless otherwise told to and grow a dependency upon the people to support them. Their unexistent need for actual help leads to no search for help on their account and doesn’t create progress.

You might be asking yourself right about now, “So I shouldn’t help the poor helpless looking old woman who needs to eat?” Well, it’s all up to you but keep in mind that you really don’t know these people and their backstory.