Street Poverty Fund
contributing: GoFundMe, or PayPal me (let me know it's for the SPF)
About
The idea behind this is so I can keep cash on hand to give out to panhandlers I encounter here in Durham, NC.
Last year when I had some regular job income I would keep $100 in cash with me wherever we went, and whenever someone asked for money I would just give them a $20. It was no big deal to me, and I got a lot of smiles. Countless studies show that simply giving people money is the most effective way of ending poverty – the improvements are real and long-lasting – so I think it really did make a difference to the folks I ran into.
My contract job ended in August 2024, and we're back to being on a really tight budget (and accumulated credit-card debt that I wasn't able to catch up with while the job was a thing, it's complicated, don't get me started), so we really can't take it out of our household budget – but that doesn't change the reality that these folks are dealing with, and the fact that our threadbare social safety-net isn't really there for them... and all the signs are that it's only going to get worse.
As soon as the first batch of donations hits our bank account, I'll go to an ATM and withdraw it as cash. We use cards for all our expenses, so there's no problem keeping those separate from this fund.
I'll also try to keep a record of times and places where I give it out -- either here or on a wiki page somewhere (there will be a link from here if that's the case).
Whenever the goal is met and the contributions from it are mostly paid out, I'll increase the goal to allow for the next $100 ATM withdrawal.
Ideally, my hope is that this will help normalize the idea that people on the street are human beings too, that they won't just "spend it all on drugs" (a widespread myth, promoted heavily by the oligarchy), and that those of us who have extra can really help those of us in need without having to go through massive multimillion-dollar charity organizations.
Please feel free to contact me on fedi or at SPFund2025@woozalia.com with questions or suggestions ^.^
Related links:
- my most recent post about this on fedi
- universal basic income article on Wikipedia
- free income article on Issuepedia (a site I run)
Links
- GoFundMe has a description of the fund, and is one way to contribute.
Encounters
2025-03-08
David B came by again, in pain. I grabbed a $20 from our emergency stash because I just couldn't not. After giving him the $20, I asked if I could take a photo of his hands to show people online; he seemed positive about that. I posted the photo on TootCat.
2025-02-15
David B. came by. I told him we were in serious negative cash and I couldn't give him anything, but he said he was in severe pain from his gout, was still waiting for a Medicaid payment (I think? He mentioned Medicaid), had already been to several other houses with no luck and felt like he didn't have the strength to walk to any more houses. As I may have mentioned before, his fingers are seriously messed up from gout, and it's clearly affecting his leg (knee, foot, who knows) joints as well; he's all stooped over, and I don't think it's an act. I gave him $20 which I was keeping in my pocket for social requirements (it's complicated).
2025-01-20
I ran into a guy I often see outside the co-op -- a Black guy who is always on crutches (permanent damage, if I understand right). He's always pleasant and never been negative when I said I didn't have anything for him. I told him I'd been saving this $20 for him, which was mostly true (he was one of two people I'd been hoping would pop up while I still had it, the other being David B.).
Accounting
| date | $ amount given | fund balance | description/notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-03 | 20.00 | 0 | donation to fund |
| 2025-01-07 | 19.12 | 0 | payout from GoFundMe to bank |
| 2025-01-10 | 20.00 | 20 | via ATM |
| 2025-01-19 | -20.00 | 0 | given to a regular outside DCM |
| 2025-02-15 | -20.00 | -20 | gave to David - in pain |
| 2025-03-08 | 240.00 | 220 | allocated from split donation |
| 2025-03-08 | -20.00 | 180 | David, same (see post) |
| 2025-03-28 | -20.00 | 160 | gave to DCM regular |
| 2025-05-23 | -20.00 | 140 | gave to a guy right at the Kent St. driveway exit of the DCM (arguably on public property and therefore not in violation of DCM's "no panhandling" policy) -- he had a sign which said something like "homeless -- anything helps". He gendered me correctly when he thanked me, so that was nice. |
| 2025-06-20 | -20.00 | 120 | gave to DCM regular |
| 2025-07-18 | -20.00 | 100 | gave to DCM regular |
| 2025-07-25 | -10.00 | 90 | gave to homeless Hispanic family outside Sprouts (all I had on hand... except I forgot to check the car, oops) |
| 2025-07-22 | -22.00 | 68 | to David (see Special Fund) |
| 2025-08-16 | -40.00 | 28 | to David (see Other History) |
| 2025-08-21 | -40.00 | -12 | to David again (see Other History) |
Special Fund (David B.)
| date | $ added to fund | fund $balance | description/notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-08 | +250 | 250 | Received $500 donation to be split between David (at least 50%) and other street folks -- I think I will hold off for now on deciding how to split it, and will work that out as need arises. Next time David shows up, I can at least give him the full amount he needs for his meds. |
| 2025-03-10 | -60 | 190 | Apparently his dad just died and people are being uncooperative about recognizing him as the next-of-kin (and his mom died some years ago), so he needed money for something something so he could access his dad's funds and I have no idea if the story hangs together, but he showed me some paperwork and I gave him $60. (Offered $40, he asked if I could do $60, and that's what I had on hand, so...) |
| 2025-04-18 | -40 | 150 | He's still dealing with the aftermath of his dad's death and lack of pain meds for his gout. Siblings are not helping. He asked for $42, but seemed happy with $40. |
| 2025-05-09 | -40 | 110 | Apparently his dad left $30k, and David is the last surviving sibling and therefore inherits all of it. It's in probate (I think), but he's got a lawyer (he showed me the card -- someone on Fayetteville Rd.) who's working on the case. If I'm understanding correctly, what he needed the cash for was to pay the lawyer, but maybe it was something else. |
| 2025-06-18 | -10 | 100 | $10 was all I could find. (Got more from ATM on 6/20.) |
| 2025-06-23 | -40 | 60 | He needed $120 to fix the banking problem he described last time, had already collected $80. |
| 2025-06-29 | -20 | 40 | Wish I had a recorder going so I could write down exactly what he says, each time. |
| 2025-07-21 | -40 | 0 | gave him $40 -- still having trouble with the probate, needs painkillers |
| 2025-07-22 | - | 0 | gave him $22 and change (and a bottle of water) -- ditto, all they can give him is OTC painkillers for some reason. This comes out of the regular fund. |
Other History
- 2025-08-21 David rang the doorbell just as we were heading out for an errand. I gave him $20; he pleaded for another $20, and I had $40 left, so I gave it to him. That honestly seemed to satisfy him; he was saying something about Medicaid not covering his pain meds, and the humid air was making his arthritis extra painful (H had said her joints were hurting because of the humidity this morning, so that's entirely believable).
- 2025-08-16 David came by after supper -- gave him the $40.
- 2025-08-13 Took $100 from ATM, having half-promised David $40 available tomorrow afternoon.
- 2025-03-09 Took out $100 from ATM. $20 to street-corner panhandler near 147, $60 to jar set aside for David, $20 in pocket for general fund. Need to figure out how to keep the accounting straight... maybe what I should do is just allocate $260 (half, but rounding up to nearest $20) for David, in the knowledge that some of the rest of it may end up going to him as well in the long run. (Not going to give him a large lump-sum because I honestly don't know how good he is at managing money. I wouldn't blame him, of course, for not having money skills if he's never had enough to manage.)