One of the most frequent questions I'm asked when I speak about homelessness relates to the attitude the general public should adopt when they meet homeless people on the streets. They often ask me whether they should give money to homeless people when they beg.

 My thinking is that they wouldn't be asking such questions if they weren't already conflicted to begin with. If the answer were straightforward, they wouldn't bother asking me. After discussing the matter further with them, I often discover that there's an underlying fear based on two main concerns: 1) that they would be giving money to people who would use it to feed an addiction to drugs or alcohol; 2) but then again, it could be that the person may use it for a valid reason – food, transport, or paying towards accommodation. What is certain is that their motivation is to be caring and ensure that they're behaving in a way that helps homeless people.

 Organisations that work with homeless people differ in the guidance they give their supporters about what they can do when they meet homeless people who ask them for money. At both extremes, we have those who advise never to give and those who advise always to give – and they all provide compelling reasons for their stance.

 Those who say not to give at all base this on their experience of seeing people who beg using the money they receive for alcohol or drugs. Feeding such a habit isn't caring at all – in fact, it may have the opposite effect of keeping people on the street longer by maintaining the habit. Depriving people of money could force begging homeless people to choose a different lifestyle, which can help in the long run to stay off the street. Such organisations often favour supporting organisations that help homeless people as a better way to address homelessness. It's tough love. 

At the other extreme, we have organisations that advise their supporters to give money to homeless people who ask for it. Their reasoning centres on the human connection: even in that simple gesture, people can perceive genuine care, which warms their heart and helps them feel valued. Yes, the money may very well end up feeding an addiction, but there's no guarantee it will. And even if it does, what's necessarily wrong about people consuming alcohol, when most people in society do the same? Why must we be so prescriptive about the money we give to homeless people? Even advocates of this liberal attitude concede, however, that they wouldn't want to feed an addiction to hard drugs. 

Both extremes are somewhat caricatured because most organisations aren't quite so rigid – they operate somewhere along a continuum between these positions. 

At the Manna Society, although we haven't necessarily formulated an official policy on the matter, it's fair to say that our natural inclination based on our ethos is liberal. We don't set out to be assertive in our interventions with our service users. We favour creating the right conditions for people to come to terms with their homelessness and address it. We believe that by accepting people the way they are, they'll ultimately end up choosing more constructive ways of living to achieve more independent living. But I've lived long enough to recognise that such interventions work only for some people, not everyone. We're all different, and we all respond differently to situations. This means that for some people, more assertive interventions prove effective. Human beings are complex creatures whose motivations are varied and intricate – no single method works universally. 

This means that charities who advocate more assertive interventions – removing all means of supply for alcohol and drugs – can indeed be a disincentive for some people, which may cause them to reconsider their ways of life. We've seen this when, for instance, the police in some areas choose to move people on when they're sleeping rough. But there are limits to this method, in that such coercive approaches must always be accompanied by possibilities to rehabilitate people and offers of help with housing or detox. When this is lacking, it's perverse, and it can drive people further underground. 

The advantage of a more liberal approach is that when people choose to leave homelessness behind, they tend to maintain this independent living because the decision was genuinely theirs. They've invested personally in that choice, making it more enduring. 

When inevitably asked whether people should give money to homeless people, I encourage them to treat every encounter as a unique meeting with a real human being. Homeless people represent the full spectrum of society – some are genuinely lovely souls who wouldn't hurt a fly, whilst others, like people everywhere, are less agreeable. Some simply want the money; others are lonely and desperately want to connect with people, almost like a cry for help.

Just as we don't donate to every charity we encounter, we don’t have to feel obligated to give to every homeless person we meet. Sometimes the decision is not to give; sometimes it feels right to offer something because we sense the money might go towards food or other necessities. We can get this wrong – it might indeed go towards something less beneficial. But making such a mistake isn't necessarily catastrophic. It's a calculated risk. 

So I don't have a blanket rule to give, but an encouragement to use wisdom and love in our interactions with homeless people.

 If we're serious about addressing homelessness, personal giving must be accompanied by supporting organisations that work with homeless people. It's not either-or, but both. These organisations work alongside homeless people as they come to terms with their circumstances. They help navigate the welfare benefits system, which can be bewilderingly bureaucratic, and assist in obtaining financial help for deposits and rent in advance for housing. Without such professional support, ending homelessness would be vastly more difficult. 

At the Manna Society, we additionally provide healthcare, food, shower facilities, clothing, and access to computers – recognising that addressing homelessness requires meeting people's immediate needs whilst supporting their journey towards independence.