General Chat

Saw this last evening on tv, where you can buy a free coffee for someone, less fortunate. These will be given to centres and such, to distribute as and when.

As a coffee probably costs at least £1.50, i would much rather that person had food or something more nutritious, for the money. I realise that it is considered a treat to go for a coffee, but even so........

What do others think?

Sue :-)

My son often buys drinks/meals for those living on the street, once when he gave a meal to someone, they said he would of rather of had a beer, but thanked him for his generosity, my son didn't take offence, and he thought how honest the man was :-D

I haven't a problem with a buy a coffee scheme, sometimes it's nice to have something that's a treat, rather than a necessity. :-D

I saw mention of this a while back, and there are pros and cons, but I did think it would help some, especially if it was rolled out to include food.

When I was in Chester the McD's opened early and stayed open very late, in the morning it was busy with people buying coffee or breakfast before work, some of those might be likely to buy an extra coffee ...at the same time some of those who were sleeping rough came in first thing to warm up after cold nights, a coffee for them would really help. or if food was included in the scheme maybe porridge, warming and nourishing.

i got chatting to the elderly lady next in the queue after me in a self service restaurant. She told me that she only went to the restaurant on Tuesday as it was pensioners day as it made sure she had one hot meal a week and got her out of the house and she met people to talk to.She chatted on about the weather etc etc. I noticed that she only had the main course, sweets drinks etc were extra. During our short conversation she never moaned about her circumstances etc just accepted that this was life. When I paid my bill I quietly asked to pay her bill too and asked her if she would like a drink she had tears in her eyes when she thanked me. The next person in the queue asked me outright to pay for his food too. Their tray had a main course a sweet, roll and butter and a drink. I didn' reply to him. Their was so much difference in the attitude of these two people.

I do sometimes buy a sandwich when I see people begging or food for their dog but I never give them money.

Wendy

I also have bought things or something for the dog, for people living on the street locally, one man in particular. He was never rude, always cheerful and friendly, and the dog was a beauty. Unfortunately, havent seen him for a year or two.

Maybe as Rose says, a compromise with food and drink would be better.

Sue

IF we get a summer,buy some bottled water to give ,i did this one year and the lad was so grateful,he had a dog with him so went back in and bought dog food and a tin opener,sometimes people give the homeless food for the dog and they have no way of opening it,i know some of them borrow a dog from a friend to get sympathy,but the genuine ones dont,i sometimes saw the same dog with different people,
In this day and age there shouldnt be folks on the street,if money wasnt spent on overseas aid and£ 10 million funerals we could maybe open up some of the boarded up properties for the homeless to shelter,some have even offered to decorate etc,it would give them a purpose in life.

ok rant over,
wendy(lincs)

Wendy I agree with all you say

(I am also Wendy and I was from Lincs ;-))

I take it you are now in tenerife Wendy,i moved here from sussex,im near to skegness,small village lots of sunny days when others have rain,winds have been wicked this year really biting.
went to tenerife many years ago for a holiday.
a friend was called wendy and we were helping at a school fete and when someone called wendy we both turned round so we suggested using a second name and we both had the same elizabeth so she became liz and it stopped the confusion.

wendy :-S

Wendy I too moved from Sussex to Lincs :-) I moved from Horsham to Holbesch and then Spalding.

EDIT... Yes in am in North Tenerife now

This can be such an emotive issue. Many do not realise how many homeless there are in the UK.
As said earlier, giving a coffee is something that would be very welcome to those on the street. It is a luxury but not only that, the actual giving of something means so much to some. Homeless people are not scroungers, they are not the dregs of society, they are victims of circumstances and any kind gesture however small is, in my book, absolutely wonderful.