If you have the means to provide help to someone sleeping rough, whilst this is a great thing to do, giving money may not always be the best option.

• Giving money does not always equate to helping those in need. Sometimes help can be best given through providing resources. For example, food, hot drinks and clothing are all beneficial to those sleeping rough. As we have no prior knowledge of the circumstances that led to them becoming homeless, money may not be the best source of help. This point is picked up on in an article by the Independent which reads ‘providing cash can keep people trapped in the endless cycle of homelessness and rough sleeping, particularly for those who are also battling drugs and alcohol issues.’

Begging is an industry that exploits children, and giving money to beggars can unintentionally support a dangerous substance addiction.

Any beggar evokes sympathy in a privileged onlooker. Beggars with children or child beggars themselves, however, are stronger motivators and easily acquire more donations compared to middle-aged individuals.

• This has been directly exploited by human trafficking cartels that kidnap, torture, and/or otherwise force children into street begging as a money-making scheme.
• This means that the money you give a child beggar might instead end up in the hands of a human trafficker.
• Children in the industries undergo devastating torture. They are sedated and drugged into compliance, which explains the common, easily pitiable image of a mother carrying a 'sleepy' child as she solicits money. Some suffer to the extent of being maimed and wounded to draw more sympathy from passersby.
• According to The Indian National Human Rights Commission, 40,000 Indian children are abducted per year and over 25% are unaccounted for. Some parents even sell or drive their children into begging.

The homeless are often victims of substance abuse, and providing them with money is more likely to fuel an addiction than help the individual. In the United Kingdom, 80% of beggars are begging to support an addiction to crack, heroin, cocaine, and/or other substances. The homeless charity Thames Reach, based in London, presents the growing homelessness problem not as one solved by the random donations of naive passersby on the street, but targeted interventions that bring people back on their feet.

Thus, merely handing a a few pence or rupees to a beggar runs the the risk of encouraging the begging industry. There is also little to no guarantee as to whether the money will be productively and healthfully used by the receiving individual, even assuming the individual is begging for their personal need.

Fortunately, there are several more effective ways to make a positive impact in the lives of those in need:

• Directly providing food, such as fresh fruits, to beggars ensures instead that they directly receive something of value, as opposed to any groups that may be exploiting them. It also ensures that the money is not spent on unhealthy, dangerous, or otherwise illicit substances.
  A personal anecdote: my mother likes to purchase extra mangoes from the roadside vendors and hand them out to children in the area. Their happiness at receiving something that, for us, is a common and easily available summer fruit highlights the profound disparity in our food systems.

• Volunteering at shelters and NGOs that directly work to improve the lives of street children by providing food, shelter, and education will allow you to contribute to their independence and development of vocational skills that can, in the future, draw them out of roadside begging. Food and a home will, needless to say, protect them from numerous dangers.

• When volunteering is not an option, donating to registered and legitimate charities is another way to ensure your money goes in the right direction.

• Reporting child beggars to local authoritative bodies can help initiatives working to take down trafficking cartels. Drawing attention to children in need can help other organisations come to their aid, especially in cases wherein they are showing clear signs of abuse.