I knew a man once who had been through Teen Challenge for alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and he told me once to NEVER give any money to the guys begging for it.
He told me that he knew them from the Rescue mission and they have that option. He knew they were drug addicts and alcoholics and that's the only thing they'd be using their money for.
No one is turned away from the Rescue Mission. The reason those guys don't avail themselves of it is because there is accountability and they don't want it.
And he also told me to NEVER feel guilty for not giving them the money.
Hearing it from someone like that was enough for me.
I give my money to the Rescue Mission. If those *homeless* people need food and shelter, they can find it there, like many others who have gone before them. It's there if they really want and really want to try. They don't.
FWIW, this man had turned his life around out of the drugs and alcohol, had a steady, full time job and was supporting a wonderful family.
That is the advice around here too - they have options. We give monthly to a Christian teen homeless center, Union Gospel Mission (men), our church’s alternative teen high school, and our church.
I have been known to give a beggar on the street corner a water bottle out of my cooler on a hot day. Lots of them are scammers too.