tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14761314.post3508308962253805830..comments2024-03-03T04:09:32.429-06:00Comments on Sid is Alive: Monks Sleeping in DoorwaysSidneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16284680909152676159noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14761314.post-89667290326225365272007-11-26T09:34:00.000-06:002007-11-26T09:34:00.000-06:00The post & picture are very sad, lonely. I was hom...The post & picture are very sad, lonely. I was homeless in the past (at the ripe old age of 17,) so this strikes a nerve. Although some people make take money given to them & spend it on booze or drugs, not all do that. Besides, homeless people deserve a bottle or a smoke now & again to dull the pain.Lana Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06975996208260144558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14761314.post-37903095451662952922007-11-25T19:31:00.000-06:002007-11-25T19:31:00.000-06:00This post reminds me that last time I visited Port...This post reminds me that last time I visited Portland, there were a lot of young and seemingly able bodied guys asking for handouts. <BR/><BR/>In Detroit, I pretty much give something to anyone who asks. Not much, maybe a buck or change, though one time I gave a guy a twenty and he said "You must be Catholic," which still makes me laugh (b/c I am ;)Erik Donald Francehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332500850365598564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14761314.post-28377727051459533122007-11-21T20:05:00.000-06:002007-11-21T20:05:00.000-06:00I never used to give handouts to homeless people. ...I never used to give handouts to homeless people. I figured I was doing my duty to feed the hungry and house the homeless by donating to charities that did such things.<BR/><BR/>That changed after Katrina. Like many New Orleanians, we were the recipients of many kindnesses from strangers, including the two-bedroom trailer we lived in without any expectation of payment while our house was not fit for habitation. I started to give handouts then because we both (the beggar and I) had shared a terrible experience, and I landed on my feet and the beggar didn't. The beggar was no longer the "other," but someone like me.<BR/><BR/>I haven't encountered any beggars since moving away from New Orleans. I'm not sure what my instinct to do will be now, since there will not be that shared trauma.Shauna Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871768714926149114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14761314.post-70721275032580961362007-11-21T11:10:00.000-06:002007-11-21T11:10:00.000-06:00I never saw homeless folks in the Metairie suburb ...I never saw homeless folks in the Metairie suburb where I lived, although I don't know if that was because the police moved them along. I saw them in the Quarter a lot and it is a traumatic experience, although certainly not as much for me as for them. It's one of those problems where you want to help but don't really know how to go about it. you can give some money, but does that help really? And there's the personal responsibility thing. Will they spend your money on food, or perhaps on booze. Not an easy situation.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.com