Rosemary

I am sure that we are all totally used to seeing people begging for money for food as they do not have jobs. Yesterday it amused to see one sitting with the normal sign but he spoiled the whole image of being down and out by listening to music on his smartphone. Now before people jump down my throat and say that there are many cheap options for the usage and that he probably already owned it and that he needs it to find work I mean that he actually did nothing for his cause by being so open with it. I suspect that many would not give him money due to this.

This spurs me to ask whether you give to beggars or do you ignore them?

Rosemary

bxpuser24710519

I give to ones that are playing good music on the street. When I worked in Aberdeen for a spell I used to buy a young man a coffee and bacon buttie in the morning on my way to work. He appreciated food gifts rather than money as people could then see he did not go drink it or shoot it up his arm or nose. He seemed very genuine, in fact a gentleman. He was a big Issue seller but never asked for money, normally made conversation with you without making you feel you had to give. One day I passed by he was sewing the sleeve of his jacket, I often wondered what became of him. The streets in Aberdeen were very dangerous at night, a lot of homeless people were attacked while they tried to sleep, one was set on fire while I was there. He had minor injuries thankfully. As a rule I do not give to them on the street.

cricketman

The beggars here in Oviedo are almost all Romanian or other Eastern European

And when it is fiesta week, all of a sudden there are 3 times as many! The mafia buses them in

So actually none of them are needy as such as the money they beg for goes to their bosses not to them

Please never ever give money to a begger. If you want to give, then give to the charity organisations or even better, donate food to the food banks

johnnyone

At least they don't have chip and pin readers!

Beggar uses card reader to take donations - Telegraph

HeikeundAlan

sorry but we learned very quickly years ago not to give, we seen it twice here in spain, at end of the shift there where being picked up by a very nice car.
And the second one we found by accident where there lived in a very nice villa there where just coming out to start there shift in town beside the church, we could not believe our eyes.

Horlics

I remember London when homelessness was quite a big problem. I would never give to someone in the street but regularly gave to Shelter through office collections and other events. It was a deliberate choice to donate to the provision of shelter and food rather than a quick fix for one person, and I sometimes suspected a quick "fix" would be where it went.

If sitting in a restaurant I will never give to those who approach tables, because I hate it when they do and because if nobody gave they wouldn't be there.

That said, i recently gave in when in Murcia. It was the third pace I had been in that evening that the same man playing a guitar came into. I joked about being followed and gave something. It also helped move him along because he was dreadful with that instrument. I think the only things worse I have ever heard is anything by Duran Duran.

amideislas

I thought we didn't have that in Europe. At least the last time I said I see a surprising amount of it in Europe, I was more or less shown the door.

Anyway, that's what we pay tax for, innit? I reckon that explains why we aren't all that charitable. We all "paid at the office".

Cman, did you move to Florida?

missile

HeikeundAlan

easy money and no taxman neither

amideislas

I remember seeing a similar news story (can't find it on internet) covering this in San Francisco, where apparently quite a few people make very good money and live very well from it. But unlike this woman, they were completely open about it.

Longlegpete

I was watching a programme on BBC a few months ago, it was about some beggars in London, they were always at the same spots and on CCTV, a few have been caught by HMRC, some we making £400 a day and were banking the money!

We get a few down and outs checking out the bins where we are in Spain, these seam genuine as they keep off the main roads and are just looking for food and drink, I normally stop and give them a few bob and we leave fresh food in bags by the bins, one refused the money and was quite put out by my offer but most are fine

TheLostPhotographer

Seems some people here are getting buskers and street artists (like myself) confused with beggars.

Pretty sure most of the words here have come from Daily Mail type stories rather than life experience. The facts are...

Some of the Eastern European beggars you see in Spain are controlled. Many are sent to work by 'managers'. However, this is very much the minority, and they all make very little money.

I speak with many street beggars. Most of them beg because they get more money that way than playing music to busk. The reality is that most beggars will make about €5 a day. Buskers can make more if they are good and blessed with good people skills. You have to work very long hours in shit conditions taking shit from people just to make enough for a bed and a meal. It is not easy, and there are no posh cars waiting to take you home to your plush pad.

A lot of beggars, buskers, street artists and street vendors get state help. What they make on the street is a bonus and gives them some purpose in life. Most rely 100% on what they make on the street and sleep on the street. The majority are not feeding drug, or alcohol habits. They are simply surviving at a very basic level.

Almost every city in Spain will offer free meals, essentials and beds (where available) to homeless people. Church run charities and Cruz Roja offer invaluable support, but accepting help from organisations like this doesn't do your confidence much good. It can become a trap for many reasons.

Many people see me as a beggar. I don't ask for money. If I have no commissioned work on I sketch in the street and sell sketches - it is my work. People often stop to chat and give a coin if they don't want to buy a sketch. 90% of people see me as an artist. The other 10% read and believe the Daily Mail and live very shallow lives because of it.

As for the smart phone thing; personally I hate them. However, I can see how much they would improve the life of a homeless person. The music. The social contact through FaceBook etc. Just the glow in the dark on a cold January night. All that for just €30 when the cheapest bed I can find in Malaga is €11 a night.

You can be as judgmental as you like, but never forget that nobody has chosen to sleep rough and beg on the streets. More often than not it isn't about gang led begging teams, or drug and alcohol addiction, it is simply bad luck. Mental health issues - depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia... people slip through the safety net and have no other option. It could happen to any of us. We all know that. Those who fear knowing that are the first to point fingers. Don't believe you are immune to life's chances just because you are rich, don't do drugs, or don't drink. The person you are judging could just as easily be you.

Mitzyboy

I think I've told this story before

In Bilbao we saw a woman with her baby begging in the street, looking very sad and sorry. Later, by chance, we saw the beggar in one of the coffee shops, having just handed "her" baby to someone else who was begging, using the baby as something to pull the heart strings.

I'm not sure how many mothers that baby went through in a day, but for sure the beggars themselves took the time to have their coffee breaks

scrubbedexpat095

Especially the last paragraph

Maybe1day

There used to be one outside Lidl Torremolinos about a year ago, She used to have her companion come with his bike and trailer 3 or 4 times a day to fill up with all the stuff she had been given. She has probably retired or opened a supermarket with the donations.I expect she has moved on, the Companion had a bike and large closed trailer with lots of flags and very loud music, are they around your way now?