Tips from Caritas
Should I give money to beggars?
Beggars on the street – support or ignore?
© Matthias Balk // Picture Alliance
Germany is doing well and yet beggars are part of the cityscape. They are the visible evidence of poverty in our society. The reactions range from pity to rejection, so how do you deal with them? Caritas has a few suggestions.
How do you feel when you see someone begging? Who kneels on the wet and damp floor in pedestrian zones? Pity? Or is it more of a queasy feeling? Do you donate something? Or do you move on quickly?
Beggars make it very clear to us that poverty is also part of our social history. Sometimes she crouches quietly in the city center, sometimes she walks begging through the compartments of the railways. It is easy to argue about how to deal with begging people. In 2018, in the run-up to Christmas, Caritas put together a few tips to help deal with beggars.
1. Give money or move on?
“They only buy alcohol or drugs with your donation anyway” is a phrase when asked whether one should give money to begging people. Caritas is quite ruthless in this regard. “People who live on the street often have addiction problems. They need alcohol to survive, even if that sounds paradoxical at first. Cold withdrawal on the street can be life-threatening,” it says. Even if you would like people to buy something to eat, you cannot influence it.
2. Aren’t donations in kind much better than money?
Counter-question: If you buy the begging person a coffee and a bread roll without being asked, it may be the tenth coffee. And actually humans don’t like anyone at all. Then the donation is of little use. Caritas’ tip: Just ask what the beggar needs. Socks? Razor? New shoes? With a conversation you signal not only a willingness to donate but also humanity. Anyone who finds it difficult to simply donate money on the street can also support clubs or initiatives.
3. Why are encounters with beggars so uncomfortable?
These people crouching on the floor there show us quite impressively that social decline and bitter poverty are very possible in Germany. “Many stories testify to how quickly a ‘descent from society’ can take place. Nobody is born homeless. Usually there are several strokes of fate that come together. Sometimes a moment is enough to set a whole chain reaction in motion: job loss , Over-indebtedness, separation, eviction suits, domestic violence in childhood and adolescence … “is how Caritas sums up the problems.
4. There are more and more people who beg …
Caritas says that’s true. “Not only subjectively, but also objectively, homelessness and poverty have increased. For example, since 2014 there have been no more work restrictions for people from the south-eastern European countries of the EU to find a livelihood, “writes Caritas. In addition, there are poor people who do not immediately show this poverty.
5. Is the need of the people real? Or just played?
“The following applies to every begging person: Nobody lives on the street for no reason. I can understand them or not. There are always reasons why people beg or live on the street,” says Caritas. “Also, nobody begs voluntarily. The life of a beggar is not easy. Many are sick and are insulted by passers-by.”
6. But nobody has to beg in Germany.
Are you sure? Even with multiple jobs, there are now workers who live below the poverty line. Low wages or part-time traps are just two reasons why you can be poor despite having a job. “The destructive thing about such prejudices is that they create their own kind of reality. They form the basis for a mood that blames the unemployed for his unemployment. This fades the awareness of political responsibility for the control of the structural framework conditions and that Awareness of the solidarity-based responsibility for people who are affected by unemployment. Today, only every eleventh Hartz IV recipient is supported with a labor market policy measure, “said Caritas.
7. Are there organized begging gangs?
“People from Southeastern Europe beg because they cannot find a job in their home country. They depend on begging as an income for their families. The bitter poverty and hopelessness in their home country force them to do so. Their strong family and group solidarity means that they go on a trip together, live together and organize begging together. Equating ‘organized’ with ‘criminal’ is not tenable, “writes Caritas. “And let’s be honest: Does the beggar from Eastern Europe, sitting in the forecourt of the station in wind and weather, look like a winner in an apparently pitiful state, with the mug in her hand and the downward gaze?”
You can find the full guide here.
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