Wilson Wilson
Bluelighter
Bang on mate there are some dishonest people out there who just take advantage but as you said they're few and far between. It's blown out of proportion in the media big time. It's not like sitting on the street all day begging for money is a desirable lifestyle. And fuck anyone who is just putting it on, but that doesn't stop me helping the majority who are genuine.
There's been people saying to me I'm contributing to their problems by giving them money. I'm like mate for one thing me not giving them a fiver won't make them turn around and quit smack tomorrow. If they are using the money for drugs, what I've actually done is make sure they're not rattling all night. And frankly if they're sleeping rough I cannot blame them at all for turning to smack. You have to deal with that horrible life somehow. And whatever demons drove them to that life in the first place need to be managed, and clearly the system doesn't give a shit, so there comes a point where they must take it into their own hands. It's sad but it's how it is.
Frankly I think it's pathetic we have homelessness at all in such a wealthy country. We just leave these people to suffer and die on the streets and no one cares.
I can't do much but I do what little I can. I help this bloke make himself some money buying those blues off him, I always give him a bit more cash than he asks for (still works out cheaper than the darknet). I'll give him that phone for free and if he wants to hook me up with something in return he can but otherwise I don't mind. Right now he has one of those shitty old Nokias. I reckon something as simple as internet access will if nothing else give him more contact with the world and a way to look up whatever new batch of pills he gets to see if they're reported as dodgy. He didn't know for example that those loose blues are usually etiz presses until I mentioned it. With a smartphone he could just google the pill imprint or look at WEDINOS.
And yeah if one of them came up to me and was straight up honest like he needed a few quid to stop him rattling I'd give it to him. But as you said that wouldn't work on very many people haha. But for real this is exactly part of the problem. Yes homeless people do use drugs. That doesn't stop them being humans who deserve basic respect. The attitude we have towards drug users today is essentially "it's their fault, who cares if they die?" If that was not the case, there'd be far more empathy for homeless people.
