I marked "nothing" on the poll, but that just represents what I hand out of my own personal belongings.

I just gave the last two and a half years to the homeless of San Francisco. I lived and worked in the Tenderloin district, which is the highest per-capita homeless area in San Francisco, at a faith based non-profit org. I worked mostly with meth and heroin addicts, but also experienced my share of crack and alcohol addicts. As a rule I've always stressed to people to NEVER give cash to people on the street no matter how desperate they seemed. It will go to drugs/alcohol 99.9% of the time.

As an organization we used food/clothes/blankets as a type of bait to attract people to us, build relationships with them, then connect them with rehab or other services that they may need. Giving stuff out on the street, no matter how well intentioned, may actually undermine the efforts of orgs who are better able to follow through to help folks. If you feel the need to do something, please donate to a reputable organization. Rescue Mission, Salvation Army, Churches, etc.

If you have clothes to donate, please look to Salvation Army as a first choice as their thrift stores employ former drug addicts as a way to reintroduce them into the working world.

And I also like to say that the most valuable thing you can give to someone is your time. Even giving the ten seconds to say: “No, I can’t give you any money, but have a nice day anyway” is worth more than the $10 bucks in your pocket to someone that truly needs help.

Jeff