Would you help a stranger in need? ⚠️Possible Trigger ⚠️

Backstory: I live part time in a major metropolitan area for school. My city (Baltimore) is known for having a high crime rate (2,027 murders per 100,000) and is ranked the third most dangerous city in the US.

I’m a small woman in the area that has to walk a lot, so I obviously take precautions when interacting with strangers asking for money. There’s also been an uptick of robberies targeting students in the campus neighborhood.

Usually when approached I do not respond and keep physical distance between us when I pass them. But today while walking to my partner’s apartment I was stopped by a lady who appeared to be very distressed. She said she is homeless and had been sexually assaulted, and she’s just trying to get enough money to find lodging by sundown. I’m aware of warnings to not engage with panhandlers but something about this woman struck me. It broke my heart to not help her, but I didn’t have my wallet on me and would have to walk a good distance to grab it from my apartment.

There is definitely a stigma surrounding homeless people and panhandlers, especially in an urban environment. An incident that happened in the area a few months ago perpetuated this fear of homeless people, but it turns out this woman’s family used the panhandler story to cover up the murder:

My questions for you are:

-Would you, or do you already, help strangers that ask for help?

-Do you feel it is worth taking a risk to assist others?

-How can we show compassion towards people in need without potentially putting ourselves in harm’s way?

-What are your general thoughts about panhandling? Do you feel it is a scam or do you think there is an unfair stigma attached to them?