The Dilemma of Helping Beggars in Berlin: Cash or Donations in Kind?

In Berlin you meet beggars every day. But how should this be reacted to? Are donations in cash or in kind better? The most important questions and answers.

Berlin – the city of beggars. As a resident, hardly a day goes by that you don’t meet someone in need of help. People beg in the federal capital – on local public transport, in front of supermarkets, in cafés. Some passers-by are happy to make a small donation, while others are now just annoyed. The question of conscience remains: Should I give money to beggars?

Caritas has a clear answer: yes, you should. Because “anyone who has to beg or even lives on the streets knows best what he or she needs at the moment and how the little money that is available to him or her has to be spent.” At the same time, the welfare organization of the Catholic Church gives the citizens of Berlin a few tips to take with them.

Many passers-by wonder whether it makes more sense to give the begging people a donation in kind. A sandwich, for example. Or a hot coffee. After all, donated money can also be spent on unnecessary things such as alcohol or cigarettes. The problem, according to Caritas: “What if it’s the tenth coffee and the sixth roll that day that the begging person gets as a gift, and they therefore end up in the garbage?”

According to Caritas, donations in kind are only okay “if the person I want to help has expressly asked for them. It’s similar to vouchers. They patronize begging people and deny them the right to make their own decisions.” Donations in kind to organizations that collect them in a targeted manner and according to the needs of those in need are very welcome.

But then the question remains: How much money should I give to people in need? pennies? Two Euro? Ten euros? In the end, of course, that’s up to you. Caritas on this: “The question is, what can and do I want to afford? Most of the time I give so much that it doesn’t hurt me. But I can ask myself whether I couldn’t be more generous considering everything I do for myself Spend money. With a begging person I could invest in humanity and solidarity. Not bad investments.”