Reducing Scammers Within Charity

• Notice: This is not specific to homesteading or survivalism but is aimed towards those who are looking to set up assistance to help the needy, feel free to skip it if you wish.

It comes as no surprise that in both good times and bad times, there are folks who will see your kindness and take advantage of it. When my mother used to drag me along to her WIC appointment to pick up food, there was a line of folks around the building and almost everyone looked destitute. Nowadays, you can look through any line at food giveaways and know that there are folks who are either outright scamming the system or who can’t budget to save their lives.

As someone who was raised up in a criminal element, allow me to shed some light on how you can reduce this type of person who deserves no quarter. You need to remove emotion from the equation because this will serve no one and will only further allow your efforts to be take advantage of.

• Make filling out paperwork a mandatory requirement to receive any food assistance. Inquire about their address, income, how many individuals they have living with them, etc.
• If you are a church, your priority should be folks who actually attend then followed by members extended families and then the community. You want to see to the needs of the elderly and the children within your church first, then expand out towards the community at large.
• In easy-to-read letters (don’t put in tiny font at the bottom), in their original application let them know that your organization/group will only be able to rotate assistance for 6 months and then they will be removed for 6 months off after which they can reapply.
• Put limits on how much groceries they are allowed to take away, so that no one is shortened because of a greedy person taking more than allowed.
• Keep an eye on the expiration date for shelf stable items so that those items don’t get left on the shelf and when they are close to expiration date you could simply give them away as extras.
• Do not allow people to get out of their cars, insist on curbside pick-ups and the reason for this is that there is a large uptick in parents training their children to steal. It may be that those children start out not wanting to steal but remember that these lessons are usually taught over time. In addition, this should allow for faster processing through the lines and help reduce traffic issues.
• Require anyone that gets hand-outs to attend financial classes that will be hosted at the pick up site, once a month. Set a requirement that the person who attends the financial classes be at least high school aged. If anything, you will be able to help the next generation hopefully avoid the pitfalls that put their parents where they are.
• Consider starting a community gardening space and insist on families volunteering for 30 minutes each week to help grow additional crops for families who get assistance from your organization/church.
• If the person is unemployed, inquire as to how many interviews they had this week or where they dropped off resumes this week. The goal is to get people off supplemental assistance, not allow them to sit on it for years.
• If you receive large truck shipments of food via 18-wheeler, consider adding a requirement that those who receive handouts assist in helping unload and pack up boxes for needy families.

But won’t all this discourage people? Yes, yes it will. I was raised up as a WIC kid, who lived on food stamps and were surrounded by folks who were criminals, so I can certainly give my 2 cents on how to avoid being taken advantage of.