i have to give his props ..he jas been raising money and acceptin food donations for the bergen-lafayettecoaltion to feed the homeless for what 20-40years.....that's dedication

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Jeez, hadn't seen him in over a year. Guess I got lucky. Well, still doing his usual thing, no surprise there.

And for those new to the area, he has zero connection to Grace Church, or any other charity he mentions.

teddy collects for the bergen-lafayette coalition to feed the homeless.

Teddy is on the PATH train again today, collecting money for Grace Church.

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NYC, NJ and the US as a whole has a pretty poor safety net for the addicted, mentally ill, and homeless compared to most developed nations. For example, America would rather incarcerate mentally ill people for profit, than treat or cure them.

Like most folks, I give to charities directly from my paycheck, and get my tax rebate. I also occasionally give to random people begging. I'm not a sucker for PATH train stories, nor kids bearing candy raising funds for their school team shirts. But I'm happy from time-to-time giving a couple of bucks to someone holding a door for me at a gas station. And I really don't care whether they use my buck or 2 on feeding a habit. Worst case, I've done zero good, other than feed a habit. Best case I've given someone a bit more trust that people care, made them feel a bit more part of humanity, and a bit less likely to rob people that visit the Exxon gas station they beg outside to feed whatever habit they have.

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+1. My wife is a social worker who has worked closely with this population for 2 decades. Most panhandlers are substance abusers and often mentally ill too. If they weren't using they would be able to avail themselves of the many support services in NYC. Not so much support in NJ, but that's another story. However, there's enough support everywhere that no one goes hungry, but they do get mighty thirsty and your change WILL buy them a 40. Give if you want, just realize you're buying them a buzz and not supper.

"Which brings me back to people begging in the US. If someone is asking for a buck or 2, don't fell conflicted about giving them something. For one thing, they are asking. Usually nicely and politely. And not taking by stealing and robbing. How they use that buck or two, is their business. I doubt begging can support a drug or alcohol addiction, and even if it did, why judge? A few bucks to discourage robbing and stealing is probably worth it."

Wrong. Feel conflicted that you are doing the easy thing and enabling someone's addiction, or at a minimum their street lifestyle, instead of giving your time and/or money to a reputable charity. You want to help - volunteer at a soup kitchen, drive a van that picks up the homeless in the dead of winter.

I volunteered at twp major metropolitan soup kitchens for a year. The homeless are diverse just like the rest of us. Some are clean cut and work harder than those of us with roofs over our heads, at legitimate jobs, trying to support themselves or even a family that is living in a van or a shelter. Others are shady hustlers. It runs the gamut.

I don't judge people's lifestyles until they make it my problem. I don't object to polite beggars, especially the ones who greet people or wish you a nice day after you decline to give to them. I have had cordial, even friendly relationships with the neighborhood fixtures wherever I've lived.

But no, I don't advocate potentially underwriting someone's drug habit. It's naive to think that you're not contributing to the problem. You might assuage your guilt for a minute or two but that's all you're helping.

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That is fine - I agree with what you're saying for the most part. What I don't like is people soliciting on behalf of a non-existent charity (and people believing them and donating to it) or on behalf of a charity to which they have zero connection. That is wrong. At least on many of the NYC subways, you have people who are just flat out honest and asking for money for themselves.

Posted from the Big Issue ....apols for it's length
....................................................................................
"One thousand issues and counting - but we nearly stalled at the start"

The Big Issue magazine has been presented to the world 1,000 times. That is a lot of newsprint, and a lot of sales, and a lot of editorial. And a lot of homeless people coming and going, sometimes well advantaged, and sometimes not.

I was pleased to be accosted the other night by a former Big Issue vendor who said: ?John Bird, you?ve heard this a thousand times.? (I hadn?t, but thought, ?Carry on?.) ?You saved my life with The Big Issue. You got me out of grief. You got me stable. I?m now recovering. Thank you.?

The wet kiss was genuine and I think we were equally moved by this little tableau. This, I thought, was why we started. But it nearly never got beyond issue 11 ? our first anniversary issue, back when we were a monthly.

Mr Gordon Roddick of The Body Shop, our co-founder and sponsor, and husband of Anita, said to me in a pub one night: ?I?ll finance you for another three months. You?re losing money hand over fist. You?re helping a lot of homeless people but you?re unsustainable, you stupid arse.? And other words to that effect.

I went back to London from the country pub with Gordon?s declaration of support ringing in my ears. Three months didn?t seem long enough. But for our first birthday three months later we made a small surplus. And since then we have received no money from anyone.

Hence the ongoing issues and the spread throughout the world; the creation of the International Network of Street Papers and the creation of Big Issue Invest, which invests in socially useful businesses throughout the UK; and the thousands of homeless people who have come and gone, using The Big Issue as a stepping stone or, at times, a shoulder to cry on.

The night after I was being pleasantly accosted by a grateful vendor when I was in Inverness. And being mildly scolded for the high price of the paper. ?Folk hav?na the money, Mr Bird. It?s a struggle at ?2.50.? I listened to the man?s plight, which was that he needed to get off the streets. And I told him that we were pushing up the value of the paper to the reader/supporter, that hopefully this would influence his sales in the future.

But there remained the help he needed, not just from The Big Issue, but other agencies. Help for his habit problems, which he freely talked about. Looking at all of the man?s problems, the stiff price of The Big Issue was one among a number.

Nearly 21 years after launch and attaining 1,000 issues is reason for celebration, but not entirely. We still have to find better ways of working with people so they get off the street. We still need to address the problem of how we push up the value of our product so that the public dive on to the Big Issue vendor, thirsty for the next issue. And we still have to invent new means of ?helping the homeless to help themselves?.

Twenty-one years ago there were no Romanians selling The Big Issue. Now we work with a sizable group of people from Eastern Europe. That has thrown up problems for us because some question our take on Romanians.

The Big Issue was started to help decriminalise people; so to feed and tend to themselves, and at times to feed their habits, they didn?t get involved in crime. This sticks in the throat of many.

We work with Romanians because if we don?t their children don?t go to school, and the chance of them getting into trouble increases. Poverty throws up crime and we have to address that, even if it upsets us to admit it.

In 2022 we will have attained our 2,000th issue. I hope we sort out many of the conundrums by then. In the meantime let?s get on with becoming more useful to the homeless and more necessary to our readers/supporters.

Thank you for making this 1000th issue not just an ambition from Gordon Roddick, me and others, but a reality. ?Helping the homeless to help themselves? is still our guiding light. I know it is yours.

John Bird is the Founder of The Big Issue. If you have any comments please email John at: john.bird@bigissue.com or tweet him: @johnbirdswords

Like most people I'm conflicted by people begging, selling candy on behalf of their "sports team", asking for donations for charity x, y, z. One of my grandfathers who died before I was born had a saying - "If you have nothing to give a beggar, don't rip up his little bag".

I traveled to Cairo a number of years ago. A city of about 13 million people at the time. My impression of Cairo, was this would be New York, if New York was the city of the poor and not the city of the rich. There were people begging everywhere. Passing by, I didn't know whether they were simply homeless; the ones with missing limbs must have been war vets. Everyone stopped though to talk to them and give them something - food, cash or simply just kind words.

Which brings me back to people begging in the US. If someone is asking for a buck or 2, don't fell conflicted about giving them something. For one thing, they are asking. Usually nicely and politely. And not taking by stealing and robbing. How they use that buck or two, is their business. I doubt begging can support a drug or alcohol addiction, and even if it did, why judge? A few bucks to discourage robbing and stealing is probably worth it.

And I wish NY had something like the Big Issue to give some dignity to the homeless:

http://www.bigissue.com/about-us

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There is no friggin' way that Grace Church would have ANYBODY, let alone Teddy, solicit for donations on their behalf on the PATH train. That is illegal and it's one thing if somebody does it on behalf of a fake charity (you can't take legal action against something that doesn't exist) but quite another if a legitimate organization has anyone doing it. No way in HELL (pardon the expression) Grace Church would have someone doing that. I am not on the board of Grace Church but what I've posted is a more than safe assumption.

Yesterday, Teddy was on the PATH train again illegally soliciting funds. He was asking for donations to feed the homeless at Grace Church in Jersey City.

Can someone from Grace Church confirm or dispute this?

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I guess he has a life too...just like every one of us.

What a delight to reopen this thread on a Sunday afternoon. As I write this, Teddy is at BASIC cafe sitting just a few tables down from me, drinking a coffee and talking to a couple of supposed friends (who don't seem to be the type who would solicit donations for a non-existent charity, but who knows). I wonder if they know about how he makes his living but no matter, it is amazing to see him in another world, outside of the PATH trains. I had never seen him anywhere else. Maybe he bought a nice place in Hamilton Park with all his illegally obtained donations. I'd post a picture but I'm still getting used to understanding how the smartphone works.

I finally saw PATH Train Teddy. He introduced himself as Teddy as he walked in the PATH car. I felt like I was in the presence of a rock star.