Need help from the B&B Community

Here is the situation. There is a homeless guy that always hangs around an intersection a few blocks from me. Normally homeless people don't phase me but this guy is different. He looks like he hasn't shaved in a few years. My thinking was "this guy would at the very least feel better if he had a good shave."

So my thinking was to ask anyone here at B&B if you have any unused shaving supplies you can donate to this guy....older but clean razors, blades, shaving cream, or anything else you can think of so I can package it together to give to him. Im going to buy a pair of scissors so he can start his beard off with and probably some kind of grooming kit as well.

If you care to donate just send me a private message and I'll give you my address to ship the items. I know its not much but hopefully it will give him a small boost of morale to help him through his rough times.

Thanks for reading.

Have you spoken with him?

How come so down on his luck?

I think he pobably needs food or wants a beer more then a shave.

Yeah but anybody can give him money for beer or food. My thinking was to do something different. Im sure the guy gets kicked out of every store he tries to enter. At least if he improved his appearance he'd stand a better chance.

Not to be too cynical, but I'd wager that your shaving supplies will be sold to buy a bottle of Night Train Express or dumped in the trash 5 minutes after you leave.

Sorry, I'm also going to be a little cynical about his desire to shave... but I'll offer a compromise: buy the guy lunch.

rabidpotatochip said:

Sorry, I'm also going to be a little cynical about his desire to shave... but I'll offer a compromise: buy the guy lunch.

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I will agree. Buy him lunch, sit with him and find out what he really needs and help there. Then later get him a good shave.

The needy/poor are many times innundated with items that mean more to the person gifting than to them. Although well intentioned, it is a very odd scenario.

I have, and will continue to, donate shaving and other personal comfort items to places like the Salvation Army and some other organizations which run homeless shelters where I know the items will be used and appreciated. Nice thought for helping someone, but people have been burned too many times by panhandlers standing on corners looking for handouts.

I agree with others here, buy the guy lunch and talk to him. If you want to donate shaving supplies, donate them to the salvation army, your local homeless shelter, or some other such group. They are more likely to end up in the hands of someone who actually wants them.

Just buy the guy a bic disposable and a travel can of foam. You'll pay less for the whole ball of was than what people will collectively spend mailing the stuff.

Personally, I'd let the pros deal with this, unless you have some experience dealing with mental illness.

The practical side...if he hasn't shaved in a year or more...talk about your beard reduction! Some type of scissors and/or clippers are probably in need. Think about how long your "head hair" would grow without a trim in a year, and then how the beard would be....and we'd hand someone a travel size can of foam and a Bic? Probably isn't going to do much...sort of like spitting in the ocean.

I agree on the lunch thing, or even (to make it easier), just bag up a lunch, a couple of sandwiches, some chips, a cookie, maybe an apple...and hand it to him. Establish a relationship along the way and get to know where his priorities in terms of need are.

I am a bit cynical, having seen much of this myself. I had a guy in the city of Chicago who, for nearly 3 years, always had a stalled car with no gas in the tank, and just needed a few dollars to get his family of 12 out of the intersection. Finally one day I had enough. My car was nearby, and there was a can with gas in the trunk. "I'll do you one better," I announced, "I'll put the gas right in your car...let's go."

That was one mad homeless guy...although in 2008 dollars, that 4-5 gallons of gas was like handing over a fresh "Andrew Jackson!"

Much as we'd like to think that shaving is a basic human need-- it is not. Bathing is not a basic human need. Food, air, shelter, water...these are things that people need.

Since we're largely a community of DE and straight shavers, I'm wondering just what might happen if you got the donation of about 100 DE blades, a trusty old Super Speed and 2-3 straights and just left it with the guy...hmmmmm

Finally-- I made a promise to my kids. If I ever become homeless, living here in the midwest, I'll start out on foot in August, work my way south and west, hopping trains, hitchhiking, walking, etc, South and West until I get to a place where the winters aren't like they are here in Chicago. What's THAT all about? Even if you only walked 15 miles a day for August-October, I think you could get yourself into some warmer weather.

WATCH OUT, OKLAHOMA...Mr. Gillette is on his way!

Dear dengar,

I sit on the board for a non-profit in Oklahoma City called Second Chance Network which is specifically tasked with the reintegration into the workforce of individuals which have "fallen on hard times". I commend you for your intentions and desire to help but would ask you to start by looking at the resources in your community. If you are in a metro area I assure you there are many non-profit agencies working every day to help people such as the gentleman you described.

Lunch and a conversation, with a phone number and directions to a agency, can sometimes make a world of difference in someones life. I recommend involvement of someone with experience in social services as a lot of our homeless and down trodden have mental heath issues.

Best of Luck.

Mr. Gillette said:

Finally-- I made a promise to my kids. If I ever become homeless, living here in the midwest, I'll start out on foot in August, work my way south and west, hopping trains, hitchhiking, walking, etc, South and West until I get to a place where the winters aren't like they are here in Chicago. What's THAT all about? Even if you only walked 15 miles a day for August-October, I think you could get yourself into some warmer weather.

WATCH OUT, OKLAHOMA...Mr. Gillette is on his way!

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DanOK said:

I sit on the board for a non-profit in Oklahoma City called Second Chance Network

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Interesting, very interesting.

Mottern Man said:

Interesting, very interesting.

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Well, it looks like (if it ever happened) I know how to get one free lunch and a good conversation with a fellow Wetshaver:

"Thank you for the lunch and the info. It's really helpful."

"That's okay...that's what we're here for...to help...anything else you need?"

"Well, this might seem odd, but I'd like a couple of 5 packs of some Derbies, maybe some Swedes to work into my rotation...and some Mitchell's Wool Fat soap...maybe a Seville Row brush...(doesn't have to have a silver handle...ANYTHING is fine, or that handy B&B Essential would do in a pinch. I do have some Clubman for everyday, but I could use a bottle of Thayer's (unscented) Witch Hazel, and something a little more exotic...do you have a Penhaligon's catalog I could look at? Thanks."

"Hungry?"

"Yes...but let's talk about how this is cooked...I really can't eat this...could you have it lightly browned, and perhaps a bit more rare in the center? Thanks!"