WWU Have Done?

[kngtmat]

I traded my better American made 65 Schwinn for a less than great late 80's Taiwanese Schwinn that needed a tube & new cables to shift gears to a guy that doesn't have a home and even did the get on his knee asking if I would trade it so he could have a bike that was safer to ride?

 

[PCHiggin]

No Way...

would I give my good bike to a bum.He probably sold it the same for cigarettes,booze or drugs.

 

[Larmo63]

That's a tough one...

I don't engage with homeless people. I had a guy sponge $10 off of me, he said his car was broken down. I said I would drive him back and he said he needed more money. This was outside my bank on a Friday, right after I got paid. (I actually WORK......) So I ask what kind of car it is?, and I go to look for it, no car. I drive back to the bank, of course, he's long gone. I did catch him 2 years later getting off of a bus in another city, and I went up to him and confronted him, uh rather forcefully in front of my son.

Of course he was broke, didn't have my money, and I scared the holy sh*t out of him. My son thought I was a tough guy.

So, I don't engage.

At all.

 

[tpender3]

I would have:

It depends on the circumstances. Offer to repair his in exchange for him working off the repairs. That way you can tell if he looking for a easy way out.

 

[old hotrod]

This is a tough one...if you feel better for helping this guy and you truly believe you helped him, then good for everyone involved and it doesn't matter what we think. There are homeless that need and appreciate a little help to get by or get ahead and there are many more that claim to need help and are scammers.
On the negative side, there is a food court area near my work with several fast food restaurants. I have been hit up many times by a woman with a small baby strapped to her chest in a sling. She carries a cardboard sign with "homeless deaf mute need help for baby-God less" in pencil. People routinely give her money as she cruises through the area. One day I caught her getting into a very late model mini van outside the area with I assume her husband and several more kids. The van was better than anything I was driving at the time. She could very well have been telling the truth but I seriously doubt it...
For me, I would help someone but I probably wouldn't help a total stranger due to too many stories like Larry's. I have a buddy I went to school with that is now homeless...I have offered any and all bike parts and services whenever I see him and he has yet to take me up on it so there are prideful homeless people...or our schedules haven't synched up but I will help if I can..

 

[militarymonark]

regardless how you help anyone, its eaiser to walk away happily knowing that you gave a little vs thinking about what he may have done with the money.

 

[militarymonark]

I traded my better American made 65 Schwinn for a less than great late 80's Taiwanese Schwinn that needed a tube & new cables to shift gears to a guy that doesn't have a home and even did the get on his knee asking if I would trade it so he could have a bike that was safer to ride?

now what would be really cool is to fix the taiwanese bike up and trade it for another bike that might need some work for another needy person to ride. Imagine the impact you may have. The Boise Bicycle Project does this type of thing and its really a cool deal and the best part is everyone wins.

 

[Boris]

I would have said, "sorry, but no".

 

[jwm]

This is a tough call. Unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances could leave any one of us broke, and homeless. On the other hand, there are plenty of homeless folk who ended up in their situation by virtue of their own efforts, or lack thereof. The question becomes- what does one do when confronted with such circumstances? Me? If I were that desperate, I'd swipe a squeegee from a gas station, and go door to door offering to wash windows. I'd offer a burger joint owner an hour's worth of janitor work for a bite to eat. I'd hang out at Home Depot with the wetbacks, and take whatever day labor I could scrape up. I will (and have) occasionally given food to a homeless guy, but never money.

JWM

 

[kngtmat]

It was my only bike that was rideable, the other two that were are not my bikes and I didn't have any cables to fix it.

I don't have much myself but just lucky to have a place during these times that I pay my way by fixing their car & the house and the bike was given to me last year, it had a Shimano 3 speed on a non Schwinn rear wheel.

Edit All times are GMT -8. The time now is 11:09 AM.: This is the bike, 1988 Schwinn Woodlands which is in a bit of better condition.