Out of gas in Murray KY on way to AZ

coolmom42 wrote:

Gale Hawkins wrote:
A guy was at Walmart trying to raise money for gas and food in a class C so some others helped out and I topped off tank. Hoping he makes it to Phoenix.

Sometimes it's a scam, sometimes it's not.

I figure if I help someone and they are lying/faking, it's on them, not me. If I don't help them, I may have turned my back on someone in need.

A while back a minister who ran a soup kitchen did an experiment. It was in Texas, IIRC. Every time he, and some of his followers, we panhandled for money for food, they hand out a free meal coupon to the soup kitchen. No strings attached, no preaching, just a free hot meal. Six thousand free meal tickets were handed out, a small handful were used! The reason is simple. The vast majority of panhandlers are addicts. Your desire to be sure that you are helping somebody in need, is nothing but assuring that YOUR money is buying THEIR drugs and alcohol.

The best policy is to NEVER hand a dime to anyone who is begging. If they need money for gas, tell them that you are willing to use your credit card to put a few gallon in their tank. If they are hungry, tell them that you will walk them to a local restaurant and prepay for their meal. 99.9% of the time this will get you a response that varies from, "no thanks" to hostility, for one simple reason. You are negotiating with a lying drug addict who has no interest in your charity offering, but wants your cash to score the next fix.