Has anyone tried to use a homeless person for help?

No way I would do this. Shoot I have had dishonest and incompetent workers with good ratings from well known review lists. Can't see any reason as a caregiver to risk my money, project, caregivee trying to help someone I don't know, who could be a substance abuser, criminal, etc. No background check is ever perfect nor necessarily cheap. People have aliases all the time. Shoot one famous serial killer traveled around with money he got from his will work for food sign. Plus a young girl abducted from her home that was in the news some years ago was taken by some down and out type her dad used to hire for work outside the house, to be a nice guy. People who badly need money can have all sorts of problems. Let some service agency find them jobs where they can be well supervised is my opinion.

The story I was talking about, they got the guy from a soup kitchen. They turned the story around since their dad " didn't need help" they ask if he would help this man earn extra money for his family. Dad had no problem helping someone since he " really didn't need help" it worked just changing the story a little and dad was safe.

Isn't life bizarre... we are needing help so bad, and there are literally thousands unemployed. Glad. the Twisteds would have loved me... I knew this lady for years, I knew her daughter was abusive... I took that live in job for $400 a month, with barely 8 hours a week off, she had late stage Alz.... I would never do it again... but glad i did for her, at least she wasn't abused into her grave... tho they would not listen to me and she ended up passing away with an undiagnosed UTI.....

Surely the people that help homeless people, churches, soup kitchens ect know of someone worthy of a chance.... it would be a lot of checking on your part to find out.... and hopefully some of those employable have registered somewhere for work.....this is an interesting question tho...I know many would love a chance, but what scares me would be if this person was trainable for the situation at hand.... working with Alz in not a walk in the park, or any elder issue for that matter... please, am very interested in what you learn and come back and update us....

Jessie, funny when all the problems began with my twisted sisters, one of them thought they would be able to find someone to come in, provide the 24/7 care, with a room for $2,000.00 a month. And this is the twisted counselor that is so self righteous because she cares so much about the disadvantaged. She did not like my retort of "but today they are living beneath one of the many bridges near here". It is like they both completely understood what they were proposing and expecting but admitting it would make them look bad.

BTW, the man did show up again a few days later to pick up his clothes. He was with his girlfriend. My friend is a 75-yo woman who is caregiver to her very ill husband.

I had a friend who needed a handyman, so she hired a homeless person. The job came with a trailor and the use of their truck. He was supposed to do things like paint and fix the front porch. Long story short, the first bit of money he got was the last bit. He took the truck and headed to the liquor store. The man disappeared for days and my friend discovered the trailer was a wreck. So she had to complete all of his unfinished work, as well as clean up the trailer.

We had thought she was pretty cool to give the man a try. It didn't pay off for her. Would I hire a homeless person to caregive an elder? Nope. Elders are too vulnerable, so the results could be devastating if it didn't work out.

No, but I have tried to HELP a homeless person.

Even if homeless, down on their luck, after a background check you decide to give thie person jobs to do, then a home. What kind of help are you speaking of? Caregiving? That is a 24/7 job168 hours a week? Wonder what labor board would think of this idea. And even if it provides a roof over their heads what sort of training would you require? Is room and board proposed to be compensation for caregiving? You then become an employer with unfair labor practices and responsible for paying employment, social security, disability and unemployment taxes. This sounds reminiscent of slavery to me. Before attempting anything like this I would sure contact a labor attorney!

Bonded and insured goes a very long way with me.

I confess I'm a bit skeptical as well, not only b/c of CWilile's concerns but because someone who is homeless may be fighting battles on so many levels - loss of income, home, perhaps family, anxiety, stress, depression, lack of medical treatment that focusing on work might be overwhelming.

I don't consider these faults but rather indications that some level of societal involvement would be necessary to help them re-integrate.

On the other hand, I have read of many veterans, including women, who have had difficult times after returning from deployment and are working through organizations to get their lives back on track. I would be more likely to hire one of them, or someone who has been vetted by an organization.

If I did try hiring a homeless person, I would only do it for outdoor work, allowing no access whatsoever to the house, even for bathroom privileges. I just don't feel comfortable with a complete stranger in the house unless I know he or she is with a bona fide company and has provided ID.

I agree about live-in but the one I read about was after 6 months of work and a complete background check. I know it's hard to find these few but may be worth doing some checking. The TV feature I saw was in Orlando. They said more there than anywhere else in the state. Hopefully some feedback good or bad. This is a good site for info with caregiving.

I hate to sound like a judgmental bigot, but people are homeless for a reason. It could be drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness or just an inability to conform to society's norms. Yes, there are some that are just temporarily down on their luck, and generally they are the most motivated to find ways to get off the streets and improve their lives. I think offering someone odd jobs is great, having them move in could be fraught with problems.