Snack Money

Something weird happend the other night. It was around 11:30 p.m. when I saw a shadow move across the window looking out onto my front porch. This was swiftly followed by a hard knock at the door. As I don't exactly live in the safest neighborhood, this was a little alarming. I walked over to the window to see who it was. I saw a young, innocent-looking guy that I definitely did not know standing patiently at the door. I cracked it a bit in case four or five other guys were hiding somewhere out of sight and ready to barge the door.

Me: "Can I help you?" (Or something to that effect).

He did not speak, but he did hand me a small note.

Small note: "I need three dollars for a snack."

I am not making this up. I looked a little more closely at the guy. He did have a sort of "off" look to him. I began to think that he must be mute and was obviously in need of help. I began to reach in my pockets to see if I had anything to spare. I was stopped quickly by a voice of reason (unfortunately not mine, as I am often a giant idiot).

Voice of Reason: "What are you doing? You can't give him any money!"

Me (Brainless Wonder): "Why not? He seems kind of off."

Voice of Reason: "You cannot go knocking on the door of a complete stranger's house at 11:30 at night and ask for money. I don't care what's wrong with you. If nothing else, it's not safe for him to be doing it. You absolutely cannot encourage this type of behavior."

Me (Slowly Coming Around): "You are absolutely right."

Me (To our late night visitor): "I'm sorry. I can't help you."

He gives me a little okay sign, I cut the porch light off, and my night slowly returns back to normal. I've thought about this incident quite a bit over the last couple of days, and I have come to some conclusions. Well, mostly just one conclusion.

1. I will never give money to panhandlers again.

Well, this does come with an amendment.
Amendment A: Rule 1 is null and void if said panhandler is missing an appendage. I simply am a sucker for a lost limb. I just feel like these people show an obvious need, so I always feel worse if I do not help them.

ANYWAY, I am not a bad person for not wanting to perpetuate this panhandling business. I like to help people. I just don't think that dropping money on someone just sitting on the street asking for it is helping. I used to. I'm starting to understand that giving someone some change at that moment does nothing more than just make you feel a little better about yourself for a few moments. It's the absolute least you can do. You have no idea if that bit of money will help them, or if they will use it to further dig themselves in a drug or alcohol hole. It's like sticking an "I Support the Troops" bumper sticker on your car and leaving it at that. If you supplement your bumper sticker with some Care Packages over to Iraq, a donation to the VFW hospital, a letter to a friend or family member serving, etc....then, yes, you support the troops. If you don't do anything but stick a bumper sticker on your car, the only thing you are supporting is the bumper sticker industry.

There are many organizations right here in Asheville that are set up to help people in need. Habitat for Humanity, The Asheville Homeless Network, The Salvation Army, Spare Change for Real Change and Homeward Bound are but a few places where people work hard every day and volunteer a lot of time to help these people. They need and deserve your support and I know that every dime you give them goes to help the greater good. These are the organizations that will get my "snack money" from now on. I really believe that it is the only way to make a real difference.