Are ';homeless'; people, on average, just as safe to interact with as people that have money and jobs?

I grew up with the message that I should not go near the homeless because they are dangerous and many have mental illnesses. I feel sympathetic for homeless people, and I want to create a documentary to raise awareness of poverty, which is so overlooked in our country, and give a voice to the invisible. Is it safe to interview homeless people, and what can I do to help them feel as comfortable as possible when talking to me about how they became homeless and how they feel about being invisible in our society. Should I offer them money to talk to me/ offer food?Are ';homeless'; people, on average, just as safe to interact with as people that have money and jobs?
A good way for you to go about this would be to work with your local homeless shelter. The people staying at shelters have to abide by the rules, and a shelter is a supervised environment. If you want to talk to people on the streets, you can safely do this on well-populated streets in the daytime. I honestly don't believe that homeless people are more dangerous than anyone else, but people themselves can be dangerous, and I wouldn't want to interview anyone I didn't know at night or all alone.



As for incentives, that's a good idea. The people who do surveys in the mall, and psychology students doing projects, all commonly offer incentives for your time. Maybe you could serve a meal at the shelter for everyone who agrees to an interview, or you could give out gift certificates to a restaurant or a grocery store or to Wal-Mart. $5-$10 is a good reimbursement for 30-60 minutes of their time.



If you are filming, make sure that you have permission from *everyone* who may appear in the film, even if for only 5 seconds. Permission slips are a good idea.Are ';homeless'; people, on average, just as safe to interact with as people that have money and jobs?
People are people. As people, we all vary individually and therefore the answer to your question may vary. Generally speaking, most people are safe to interact with, but anything is possible.
Offer money %26amp; food and talk to them in a public spot, not like a dark alley where they might be tempted to steal your camera to pawn for more money and food.
Well some are in fact mentally ill and might snap and kill you, but the majority are harmless. I find people in general to be dangerous, so I always assume the worst rather you're wearing Dickies eating out of the trash or wearing Kenneth Coles yapping on your Treo.
Hell no



I live around a good amount of them and I hate them



They ******* stink, they all ask you for money



Sure, there may be like 4 good homeless people in the world



Homeless people are homeless for a reason



they suck at life
offer them whatever you want, they can accept or deny, most homeless people are not dangerous, but I wouldn't trust them with my wallet.



The film is going to be a flop, cause not many of us are interested in watching homeless people.
You should get to know homeless people without taking unnecessary risks. Try ';observing'; them, no not stalking but observing. See if they are aggressive or kind. Don't try to talk to someone that looks drunk. There probably in a bad mood. Try doing your research inside a salvation army. There more controlled there.
People with jobs can have mental illnesses and can be dangerous too.

They are human beings too. You run just as much risk speaking with a stranger as you do a homeless stranger.
of course you can talk to homlessness pople and yes, you do have to be careful. as you would any strnager.

homelessness makes people more dangerous because they are in desperate (financial) places in their lives.
Me too! I feel symapthetic!



I wouldn't think that they would be dangerous, i always suspect them to be super nice, because they can't really brag of what they have, they just ask you for money, and I feel sorry for them..I feel really sad once I see someone living in a box..I saw one once when I was in Florida..I felt so sorry for him...



hope this helps!
i would say no, hate to sound like a biggot, but a lot of them have something wrong with them. used to work in a print shop in washington DC and there were homeless people there all the time, they would use a lot of our equipment out back to build shelters out of and them just enter the shop and steal whatever was not nailed down and pawn it down the street. and a whole hord of them would be around you if you ever went outside with for a smoke or with food beggin for some.
I used to get drunk in downtown Portland until the bars closed. I didn't want to pay for a taxi so I would just wait until morning walking around until the buses started running again. And sometimes I would find bums hanging out around the McDonalds and I would just sit there and talk to them. I never got mugged or anything.
yes
In the space of 2 months, a homeless person attacked one of my co-workers outside the building we work in, and my wife got bitten by a homeless person.



Experience shows me that homeless people are nowhere near as safe.
their people

watch a few doucumentaries your self

if not to get more comftarble to better familiar your self with the concept

its like human nature at its rawest

amazing truly

their peopl they have the same motavations as anyone

so greesing their palms with cash would probably help

carry cash no pokects or purses desperation does horid things to a man

btw emotional trauma and mental disabilities knows no class

keep this in mind when your doing your documentary

it dosent really help unless your spiritually, im not

';there, but by the grace of god, go i';
A lot of homeless people come to get out of the rain/ visit my friend at her work. They can have a normal conversation, but from all of them, it DOES seem like they all have mental problems. One of them, whom she tried to be 'friends' with (was always nice, always let him come in the store), was fairly normal at first but then started getting creepy and said sexual things to her, so she got a restraining order against him that he's not allowed on premices. Unfortunately, not one single one of the homeless people are 'normal', at least not to me. Sure, they might seem 'nice' at first, but just from my experience, I now stay away from them and try not to talk to them, because it's clear they ALL have mental problems. Sure, I may feel bad and sympathetic for them, but I do not trust them and I haven't met one yet who does'nt have mental problems. So...I guess, for your documentary, it's fine but just be safe. Each person is different, but honestly, as stereotypical as this may sound, 9 times out of 10, if you give them money, they will mostly likely go and buy alcohol or drugs with it...so to be 'nicer' and benefit them more, yeah, offer to take them out to dinner or whatever and explain what you're doing.
Food would be better to offer them...

Talk to them in a group setting,,soup kitchens, shelters etc. in the daytime with others around..You will be okay.N

Not all homeless people are dangerous, some professionals fall on hard times, go through a divorce, mental breakdown are just some reasons there are people who are homeless from all walks of life.

There are many reasons people are homeless, and you will see its not because they are all addicts or lazy.



Someone said 'everyone is one paycheck away from being homeless'..Not really so if you have family or savings but it can be so.



Great documentary subject..Good for you for wanting to raise awareness of this problem. In the land of plenty for some, no help for others.





When some of the soldiers come home I believe the percentage of homeless will be even higher....unfortunately.
People are homeless for a reason.



If they do not have personal problems, they will most likely, given time, stop being homeless.



the cronic homeless are the ones with the mental problems, drug problems.



Laziness is not a cause of cronic homelessness. Mental problems, lack of self-resourcefullfness(job skills, internal wisdom, self-worth) are the causes of cronic homelessness.



Offer food, keep an escape route, and someone with a wide back and large fore-arms who looks like they can wipe the floor with you- in otherwords, go with a body guard.