Addiction was simply an example of why a homeless person might not be able to handle money reponsibly. It was not an assumption about what made them homeless, nor was it a judgement on their character. I don’t disagree with anything your saying, so I don’t see the problem. And I don’t refuse giving any aid. I just think giving to an organization is more likely to help a person than giving to them directly. Maybe if I was handing out in volumes of $1k it’d be enough to change soneone’s like, but obvioualy most can’t afford to do that.

Acknowledging crippling dependence != judgement

Do you know how addiction works?

What world do you live in that a fiver can buy someone a substantive quantity of hard, addictive drugs?

I never claimed this. The accumulation of multiple fivers from different people can eventually get you drugs. You’re also neglecting cheaper substances like alcohol. Basically the money you accumulate from asking for money will get you alcohol/drugs faster than it will get you shelter.

You’re being completely disengenious here and asserting more moral policing.

Where have I inserted my morals here? I do not think people don’t deserve help because they are addicts. I merely acknowledge that they need a different kind of assistance than my pocket change will provide.

Offering food is fine, if they are hungry and they want it. But if they decline food when that is not the type of help they need is not some admission of guilt, as it is so often portrayed to be. Often, they’re rightly skeptical of food from a stranger. Some will accept it to be polite but throw it out for their own safety. It only takes me and ~9 or so other people offering them that fiver to pay for a night’s stay in a cheap motel. Offering supplies if they refuse your food is also great to help them with urban camping, but too many supplies is also a liability where they now need to be concerned about theft. Packing light is just as much a survival tactic.

What a tangent dude. Everything I offer is always based on what they request. I do not ever give them anything they didn’t ask for. If they got something that’s a burden to them, it’s because they asked for it. I’m not shoving food down their throat or forcing socks on their feet.

Nobody has ever gotten a home from food and supplies, but they sure as hell do with money.

Show me the story of the homeless person who accumulated enough fivers to afford rent.

My philosophy only acknowledges my help in passing as what it is: a short term relief for a complicated issue. If they use it for food, it will only last them a few meals at best. The food, however will not harm them. If they use it for socks, they will eventually wear out. Again, the socks will not harm them. If they use it for drugs/alcohol, sure it might give them relief for a while, but it might also just allow their addiction to persist. I just choose not to gamble on the last point by sending my money to nonprofits instead of leaving it up to people who are probably not in the right headspace for responsible decisions. If you want to give them money, fine. But don’t chastise me having conversations with people and need and trying to help them in a way I’m comfortable with.

That is generally true, but not in this context. If you are an addict, having $50 doesn’t enable you to improve your life. It just enables you to buy your next fix. I don’t say this to demonize anyone, but the point is that many homeless have mental or physiological issues that make it very hard for them to spend money wisely. Handing out money is slapping a bandaid on the issue or possibly worsening their situation. Chronic homelessness cannot be fixed by a few good natured individual’s pocket change. It requires actual rehabilitation, which is incredibly hard.

They likely can’t buy shelter with a fiver or whatever you decide to give them either. The truth is that charities, food banks, and churches are much better equipped to supply the homeless with what they need because it isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, which is why I donate to those organizations instead of trying to hand out money.

Let’s also be real: not wanting to enable addictions is not about policing morality. It’s about harm prevention. The drugs and alcohol they may buy with your money is likely to do more harm than good in a very practical sense and has nothing to do with my personal beliefs.

At the end of the day, your money won’t help them a majority of the time. Offering food or supplies gives them the opportunity to tell me what they need short term rather than me guessing or leaving things up to chance. Long term solutions are provided by other organizations, and your money is better spent there.

If someone asks, I’ll offer to buy them food or other supplies. My wife hands out handwarmers during the winter. We used to put together care packages for people, but lost the habit. I don’t give out money because I don’t want to enable addictions. When you offer something other than money, you are able to more easily separate people who want a fix over people who want to improve their situation. Your resources go farther when you help the latter.

edit: One thing that helps people out a lot is buying them public transit passes. It gives them mobility to get to shelter/services they wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

What are your metrics for “effective?” As someone who is both teaching and taking classes currently, I can tell you engagement is pitifully low in online formats. Education is not just about memorizing facts and going through the motions to get a good grade. There’d have to be some amazing innovation in online education practices to convince me it will be the default anytime soon.

Not anymore. They are owned by Songtradr now

You’re ironically perpetuating a myth that cast iron needs special care. You can clean cast iron with soap just like anything else. You just have to make sure it isn’t wet for extended periods of time

Oh you can drink the powder? You don’t need to remove it?

Nope. Matcha is meant to be ground fine enough such that it suspends in your liquid and is drinkable without filtering.

Is there a tea like matcha that would be good to cold brew?

Sencha or any other green tea can be cold brewed. I’ve never done it myself, but pretty sure you just throw tea in some water and let it sit for a while. I’ve never done it myself, so just look up “cold brew green tea.” Granted, this will only be like matcha in flavor and not in mouthfeel. Furthermore, if you plan on adding milk, this is probably not the best route to take since green tea is generally much weaker than matcha, so adding milk eliminates any semblance of flavor from the tea.

It’s that simple

Yep

By immediately you don’t mean in one go right? Like I can drink it in like 2 hours right?

The matcha will settle out if you let it sit. However, you can just shake it up again and then drink it after letting it sit.

Matcha is traditionally made with water. Using milk, like in a matcha latte, is a newer trend. Look up a traditional match recipe using a whisk. Note, I know that most people do this with ceremonial grade matcha, but I’m not sure if people do this with lower grade matcha (for example, the bag you might buy at Costco). It sounds like you are probably not using ceremonial grade, so I can’t vouch for how good it will taste. However it’s still worth experimenting with.

“Cold brew” matcha doesn’t really make sense. The goal of cold brew is to extract flavor from coffee/tea leaves over a long period of time using room temp/cold water. However matcha isn’t really meant to be extracted, it’s meant to be suspended in a liquid and drunk. If you want a “cold matcha drink” rather than specifically cold brew, I would try just throwing some matcha with some cold water in a mason jar, pop the lid on, and shake it up. Then just drink immediately.