Sparing a dime

I gave $10 to a homeless man on Wednesday. I don't tend to carry that much cash on me but I did then and it seemed worthwhile. I was on my way home early from work with my son, we were going to have numerous guests over the weekend and my brother was working on his third turkey that week. I'd bought $10 worth of avocados earlier that day so it seemed like the least I could spare. And really, I don't care what he spent it on. I hope he spent it on food or maybe parlayed his way into somewhere warm to spend the night. I'm not even sure where he would have gone based off that location. But if he spent it all on liquor or drugs, so be it. His life is rough no matter how you look at it. He may not really be homeless. He may not really be a veteran. I don't think it matters. His life is crappy enough that standing out in the cold hoping for handouts was the best he could hope for that day.

I've known people who ignore homeless people. I've even known people be outright nasty to them in areas where there are lots of them. But I just feel sorry for them all. Life has been hard for them in one way or another and maybe they just could use a little kindness.

I know several people who are one supportive person or understanding job situation away from unemployment which could easily slide into homelessness. Bipolar? Depressed? Disabled? No health care? It could happen to so many of us. How far is anyone from a cardboard sign on the highway median? It's scary to me.

Is it just me? Do you give money to homeless people? Is there something else that does the most good?