I established a formal policy of not doing business with strangers in public areas - and panhandling is definitely a business. It just happens to be one that works by creating and subsequently monetizing guilt. An adept panhandler will combine the skills of a con artist, a mugger and a thief, so that you are first frightened and thrown off balance by their aggression, then guilted by their pitch, and finally robbed by their sleight of hand.
When panhandlers or other street people behave more aggressively I simply run away like a scared animal. They do not have a moral right to touch or yell at me, but neither do I have the right to use violence against them for that.
The good you need to do to solve "the problem" of homelessness and poverty involves gradual systemic change - handing out cash to one person at one time is going to maintain the status quo. You have no way to know whose story is a truthful one when you are so suddenly confronted by it - it is like making a blind investment. Only invest if you force them to commit time to you. If they refuse they are up to no good and you should run away.
When panhandlers or other street people behave more aggressively I simply run away like a scared animal. They do not have a moral right to touch or yell at me, but neither do I have the right to use violence against them for that.
The good you need to do to solve "the problem" of homelessness and poverty involves gradual systemic change - handing out cash to one person at one time is going to maintain the status quo. You have no way to know whose story is a truthful one when you are so suddenly confronted by it - it is like making a blind investment. Only invest if you force them to commit time to you. If they refuse they are up to no good and you should run away.