What if the applicants for assistance are transients?
For benevolence ministries located near busy interstate highways, the majority of applicants may be transients (people who are passing through town on their way from one place to another). The number one rule is, do not give them cash. And, be sure to check their references. Call people who know them and find out if their stories are true. Also find out if they do nothing but go from one benevolence ministry or church to another. Some transients will use tragic stories that make them appear to qualify for help, and they may use the same stories at more than one ministry in a single town. One way to identify them is to begin an inter-ministry referral system so that you and other individuals or ministries know who shows up at your door. An example of this system is found along Interstate 75 in Dalton, Georgia, where Fellowship Bible Church has joined with other local churches and ministries to create a network that helps prevent fraud. Fellowship Bible Church keeps an extensive file of
