Well what’s the difference between my idea, and all the people who just bang their heads on the sidewalk with a donation bucket in front of them? They’re not claiming anything explicitly.
Yeah, but are you ready to be a moral traffic light???
Ask the homeless around Taipei Main Station (well over a hundred sleeping outdoors there every night) where they’re from, and almost always, it is outside of Taipei in another part of the country. I can conclude only that they’re embarrassed about their situation.
A lot of people talking past each other in this thread. I think part of the problem lies in the fact that there simply is no comparison with the situation back home. I lived in Long Beach for a while in HS. There’s just no comparison with the situation here. I would encourage any having any doubts about the sincerity of the homeless here to go to Taipei Main Station, walk around the station one time, and see if you can spot any scammers, crazy folks banging their heads on the ground, scammers acting like they’ve got some kind of deformity, or whatever. That’s simply not the situation here. Go take a look.
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This is true. Most of the people there, and there are many, look like normal middle-aged to older people who are down on their luck. There does appear to be a lot of alcohol abuse going on, but can you blame them?
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Exactly. I have told you guys that we have tried giving them money and were turned down. We already get money from the government was the reason they gave us.
My neighbor is in a lot of pain, yet she does her best to sell her quota. I bet they would give her the money anyways but for her it is a matter of principle.
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Are there groups that help the homeless here? I’m glad that it is not as big of a problem as in the US, but still, I’d like to help if there was a way to know that I’m really helping and not causing more trouble. The poor will always be with us but I don’t think that it should stop people from trying to help. It doesn’t really matter to me how they got in that situation.
In Honolulu, the local businesses feed them a donut and coffee to get them to leave the sidewalk. In NYC, people get their leftovers in a ToGo bag and place them on top of the trash receptacle and the homeless know it is for them. My dad always bought a meal because if you give cash, they’ll probably go drink or buy drugs. In Shanghai, I like to buy an extra meal and there is always someone glad to take it and eat on the spot.
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Yes. There are several shelters around Taipei Main, as well as a spot where they receive a daily bientang. There is also the association of Big Issue.
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I think my problem is that my “giving bucket” is completely empty after my job drains it, where all I do is help people ( with many who don’t want it). Maybe once I retire I will regain my compassion and be more motivated, who knows?
Thanks! I didn’t know about these.