Most people feel they have to help those in need in one way or another. The problem is how to help them. This problem generally arises when there is a person sitting on the side of the road wearing ragged clothes and holding a cardboard sign asking for some form of help, almost always in the form of money. Yet something makes the donor uncomfortable. What will they do with this money? Do they need this money? Will it really help them? The truth is that it won't. However, there are things that can be done to help those in need. Giving money to a trustworthy foundation will help the helpless, something that transferring money from a pocket to a man's tin can can never do. So why shouldn't people give money directly to beggars? There is a common belief that homeless people simply spend their hard-earned money on cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. There is debate as to whether or not this belief is based on any truth. A group from San Francisco decided to find out. They found that “25% are alcoholics” and “32% are addicted to drugs” (Keyes), so they stated that homeless people spend most of their profits on food. However, other surveys state that approximately “80% of people who beg do so to support a drug habit” (Doward). So here are two sources that disagree with each other. Which is valid? The first results were obtained after a team of GLS researchers interviewed homeless people on the street and obtained results based on their answers. The second conclusion was made by examining police records. In places where begging is illegal, police arrest beggars and, among other things, perform a drug test on them. The results of the second statistic were deduced from these... half of the paper... and from those who know how to handle the situation accordingly. Don't hurt those who need help by giving them money, help those who are suffering by giving money to honorable helpers. Works Cited Doward, Jamie. “Homeless charity tells people not to give money to beggars at Christmas.” The Observer. December 18, 2010. Web. February 6, 2014. Keyes, Scott. “Everything you think you know about beggars is wrong.” Think about progress. October 30, 2013. Web. February 6, 2014. Lou, A. “Should I Give Money to Homeless Beggars, Especially Children?” intentional. November 18, 2013. Web. February 6, 2014. Malanga, Steven. “The plague of professional begging.” Summer 2008vol. 18, no. 3. City newspaper. Network. February 6, 2014.Mitchell, Joe. Interview. February 6, 2014Stallman, Richard. “Answering beggars.” Richard Stallman's personal site. Web. February 6, 2014 http://www.doe.org/rwa.cfm February 6. 2014