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When choosing a charity distributor, every effort should be made to find people who know the poor of the community well and are familiar with their situations. If the charity distributor does not know the recipients’ families, their work situation, their debt situation, and their bank balance, it increases the likelihood the money will go to frauds or to the unworthy – gamblers, drug addicts, drunks, or just spendthrifts. Giving charity to the undeserving is not a mitzva but a sin. This is a risk even when the charity goes to those who are truly in need. When givers do not know the recipient well, it is possible they will make things worse, as they may be getting the poor person accustomed to accepting easy money rather than encouraging them to get a job. This is not doing the needy any favor, because it damages their self-respect and their family’s respect for them. It also gets the children comfortable with indolence and may destroy their confidence in their ability to work and support themselves. Therefore, the proper way to support the poor is through wise and responsible charity distributors, who can clarify people’s true needs and identify the best methods to provide for them. A state’s welfare system should do its best to adopt these principles as well.
