Thames Reach has issued a warning to the public about the links between begging and hard drugs.
The charity is worried that the public fails to understand that giving money to people who beg can have disastrous consequences - it will end up lining the pockets of drug dealers and could end up killing the person you are trying to help when they overdose.
Spokesman Mike Nicholas said: "All the evidence from our outreach teams indicates that people are not begging because they're sleeping rough but because they have an addiction to heroin and crack cocaine. Please don't hand over money. Buy people food, make a donation to a homeless charity, but don't hand over your money.
"According to an eminent London GP working with intravenous drug users, their average age of death is just 31. This is pitiful. It's time we challenged the myths that perpetuate about begging in London in 2010."
Homeless people can in fact normally claim benefits and most rough sleepers don't beg. Evidence from police sources indicate that the majority of beggars are housed and have an addiction to heroin and crack.
Thames Reach is worried that people’s generosity will backfire over the Christmas period and end up in more deaths in hostels and on the streets.
Read an article that featured in the Observer newspaper this Sunday exploring the links between begging and hard drugs
If you want to help Thames Reach and the work we do you can donate online
