How to Help the Homeless (For Real)

You’ve all seen or heard about New Yorkers. The sterotypes precede us as we travel. When I’m in the States people say, “You don’t sound like a New Yorker.” If I’m out of the country, people look at me as if they think I am rich and glamorous, even if I’m just wearing a T-shirt and flip-flops. Much of the world forms their opinion on New Yorkers (if they have one at all) on what they see in movies. Well, I am a genuine New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx. Besides four years of college in Michigan, and a year and a half living in South Korea (that’s for another blog) I have lived here in New York City my whole life. We are every bit as cynical and suspicious as we’re made out to be, especially when people claim they are doing something out of the kindness of their hearts. Like the United Homeless Organization.

Supposedly the organization was founded in 1985 by a guy named Stephen Riley who ran it out of his apartment in the Bronx, and in recent years New Yorkers have seen people on street corners all over the city asking for donations into a water jug on a folding card table. Their mantra was that “every penny goes directly to the homeless.” I’ve lived here my whole life, and I never remember seeing those tables until after I came home from Korea at the end of December 2007. I love people; I always want to help someone. My mother is a social worker who grew up extremely poor, and always taught me to be generous. I’ve always been sympathetic to the plights of others. But I never dropped a dime in one of those water jugs.

The whole situation just felt wrong. What kind of legit organization has people who look homeless themselves soliciting on the streets with empty water jugs looking like they’re about to start playing a game of poker? Turns out the organization’s program director says that’s just the point – every person manning one of those tables is or was homeless, and they get to keep the proceeds to find shelter and food each night. Just sounds fishy if you ask me. According to the New York Times, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed a civil lawsuit back in November against the company, claiming the founders charge the individuals a $15 fee to be out on the street and use the fee money to fund personal shopping sprees or take care of phone and cable bills.

I’ll admit that when this happened I gave myself a pat on the back. I will not be duped, and I do not feel guilty about that. There have been plenty of times, all around the world, when I went out of my way to buy a homeless person food. I have spent many hours in soup kitchens. Whatever I do, I make sure I’m the one doing it. As a typical paranoid New Yorker, I don’t put anything past anyone. If I want to make a difference, I make sure to make it myself. I would never give anyone cash, because they could use it to drink or for drugs, but anyone I’ve given food to was so hungry they ate it right away, right in front of my face. Anyone I ever served in a soup kitchen didn’t come out of his or her way for a fraud--they came for food. If you leave your social responsibility in someone else’s hands you may not only be failing to help, but you may also be hurting yourself. Don’t hand out cash to ease your conscience; give your time to make a difference.

-Vanessa is a blogger for The Sorbate. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.

Related Links

Homeless Organization Called a Fraud, New York Times

Legit Ways to Give, Time Out New York

Texting Wyclef Jean May Be a Waste of Money, Politics Daily.com