THERE can be very few people who, at some stage of their life, have not felt moved by the plight of those who used to be called “down and outs”.

But how should you react when you encounter homeless people on the street?

Do you ignore them? Do you offer them money? Do you buy them food? Do you try to lead them to the nearest hostel?

It’s clearly a dilemma for anyone with an ounce of humanity. And it’s made more complicated by those who falsely present themselves as destitute as a means of profiting from public empathy.

There was one young man, for example, who used to step into the paths of shoppers in Hall Ings and plead for 50p so he could catch a bus to the jobcentre in Leeds – seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was standing barely 100 yards away from the one in Bradford.

Aggressive begging, however, can often be differentiated from homelessness and destitution by the fact that, for those who really are “down and out,” even asking for help can feel like a hopeless gesture.

It’s no surprise, then, that the efforts of Shipley’s three Green Party councillors to try to encourage residents and shoppers not to give money or food to those begging on the street have sparked some controversy.

Kevin Warnes, Martin Love and Hawarun Hussain have asked people to stop giving food and money to beggars who regularly camp out near two of the area’s supermarkets, the Co-Op in Saltaire and Asda, in Shipley.

Instead, they have urged people to donate money to organisations which help the homeless and drug users in the Bradford district.

Cllr Warnes praised people’s generosity for wanting to help but said: “We want residents to be aware that giving food or money to these individuals is not really helping them.

“But we will get to a better situation if we can get these people to engage with the help that is available.

“The vagrancy and begging is obviously a complex challenge with a range of causes and requires repeated interventions and multi-agency working.”

It’s certainly not a problem that will be going away anytime soon: the most recent available figures from Bradford Council, in their annual Homelessness and Housing Options report published in June 2016, showed homeless applications had risen in 2015/16 by 45 per cent compared to the previous year.

So how do those who pick up the pieces, the charities working with and for the homeless, believe we should react when we encounter such people in the street?

A spokesman for Bradford-based charity The Hidden Homeless said they believed it should always remain an individual’s choice whether they wish to directly support a homeless person.

“There are many organisations in Bradford, however, like us who would be happy to receive donations made in lieu,” he said.

“Here at The Hidden Homeless, we work to support those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless by addressing the root causes that have led to their being in that situation. We provide the tools to help our clients break the negative cycles they have become trapped in.

“We don’t provide food or shelter, rather we help our clients to rebuild their lives by changing their behaviours.

“Our mission is ‘Promoting Positive Change’. So, we offer intensive life coaching to address negative thought patterns and behaviours and recovery groups to support those overcoming addictions.

“Our services are delivered in welcoming settings that encourage clients to move forward and rebuild their lives.”

Founded in 1999, the charity Simon on the Streets offers street-based support across Bradford, Leeds and Huddersfield, providing emotional and practical support for those who need it.

General manager Gordon Laing says they believe it is dangerous to stereotype those unfortunate enough to be homeless as being a group who will spend money on drugs, as many seek money for other reasons, such as shelter for the night.

“We do recognise that a proportion of homeless that are seen begging on our city’s streets do misuse substances and that this is a driver for their begging,” he said.

“However, if the public were to stop giving them money, their need for drugs or alcohol would not disappear. They may be driven to find the money elsewhere.

“In essence, we believe that people are free to make their own choice as far as how they spend their money and how they support our homeless, but that they should make this choice in the knowledge that if they do give a homeless person money, there is a possibility that it may be spent on drugs.”

But stopping the homeless begging for money “would have no impact on their substance dependencies whatsoever.”

So, it seems, it’s a matter of conscience. The question is, how will you react next time?