Panhandler/Homeless People Rant

[Tromp]

I can already feel the amount of flack I'll get from this post but here goes it:

I work in the downtown distric of some city located in the great state of Florida which I'm sure as all of you know is quite the recreation spot for the nation's homeless people. This particular city has an abundance of them that conveniatly come out around noon, 5 to 6pm, and during the evenings in front the the bars and clubs. In addition to the bars and nightclubs, there are numerous large scale constructions projects going on with the latest condominium/retail craze. It is safe to say that I recognize a lot of the local homeless since I'm out and about during lunch etc.. Once or twice a week I'll walk by this particular homeless person (call him John) on my way to one of my favorite lunch spots. I flip him a bill every now and then so we've become chummy. He's in his late 30's early 40's and very capable in my opinion.

Two weeks ago they start on this huge condo project right near the spot John likes to work. Right above the spot is a huge sign that says "Hiring Skilled and Unksilled Wokers/Laborer" with an arrow pointing to the office.

Today I walk by John and point up at the sign when he asked me for some $. I said, "You don't need to ask for money. Go ask for a job". John proceeds to flick me off etc.. I officially am off the charity to homeless people unless they are in a friggin wheel chair with a limb cut off. My donations will go to actual organizations that use it for the greater good. Not the next forty or pack of marlboro which is normally the f'in case.

[Warriorbird]

Think of it as a sales position. He probably earns more tax free.

[DeV]

When my girlfriend first moved to Chicago she was dropping coin on every homeless person and drifter that crossed her path. It got so bad I flat out told her she couldn't give them anything when she was out with me. This being after she offered to buy one especially destitute individual a hot meal instead of money and he looked as if she asked him to donate his right arm and then declined the meal.

Show me a guy in a wheelchair missing an arm or leg and I'll give him my last dollar.

In other news.. http://www.collegehumor.com/articles/247192/

[Wezas]

I've learned from previous experience, college humor results in:

Websense: The site has been blocked due to: Tasteless

[Drew]

I give a dollar to every homeless person that asks me, I didn't used to but I decided that I have plenty of dollars and sure lots of them don't need to be there, but it's not my place to figure out who really needs the money and who doesn't. You know WWJD and all? Commence with the mockery.

[Kuyuk]

I figure if I have enough money to buy subway, fill my car all the way up, or to rent 6 movies at a time from netflix, no matter how "poor" I may be, I can find some change or cash to spare for other folk. When I visit Syracuse and see a bum, I usually flip em any 1's I have on me.


K.

[Aaysia]

I give when I can. If I don't have I don't give.

[Warriorbird]

I give the homeless guys beer or malt liquour occassionally. Sometimes I'll wander around and hit em all up with cookies or oatmeal bars too.

[Trouble]

Show me a guy in a wheelchair missing an arm or leg and I'll give him my last dollar.

Just because a guy is in a wheelchair doesn't mean he's not a scammer. Disabled people can hold jobs in many cases and are eligible for federal assistance too.

There are organizations that any honest homeless person can turn to for help.


Side note: Overseas, most of these beggars have "pimps" that they have to give a cut of the take to. In some countries they purposely mame/blind people to make them better beggars. Nice, eh?

[Beguiler]

We all know that there are organizations everywhere that are reputable and efficient. They provide food, clothing, rehabilitation services, housing assistance, you name it. The problem is, a lot of the homeless are homeless by choice. After offering to buy some of these individuals meals, and being turned down/flipped off, etc. I have started supporting these organizations, some global, some national, and most local, that help those truly in need. I get the satisfaction of knowing that what I donate goes where it needs to go. Just my take.

[Leetahkin]

I usually have people asking me for money for a train ticket... sometimes when they're already on the train.

I rarely carry cash, unless it's the day to get my lottery ticket.
Debit cards FTW.

[Asha]

I'd sometimes buy two sandwiches at Greggs and drop one into the hand of the first homeless person I see on my break along with a smoke.
If they're scamming then I'm fooled. But I had the extra coin and it's no big.
And to be honest I enjoy doing so. :shrug:

[DeV]

Just because a guy is in a wheelchair doesn't mean he's not a scammer. Disabled people can hold jobs in many cases and are eligible for federal assistance too.
No doubt. I'm 99% certain that if a person is missing an arm or leg they qualify for disability of some sort and are probably already receiving government assistance to supplement a lack of income.

Certain areas of Chicago are nesting grounds for homeless people. While I could afford to give every single one I came across a dollar, at the least, I choose not to. All it does is contribute to an atmosphere that promotes rampant begging.

[TheEschaton]

The problem is, a lot of the homeless are homeless by choice.

Having volunteered at a homeless shelter in downtown Boston for 3 years - I must say this is complete bullshit. Yes, there are some people who choose to be homeless. SOME at most.

And the whole idea that giving people money promotes rampant begging is a bit off the mark. But it does beg the question of making a person dependent. At the Inn, we always used to say, "Yes, a person should learn to pull themselves up by the bootstraps. But first they need to have some boots with straps on them."

And the apocryphal story about the homeless guy who turns down the meal instead of the money has not been true in most cases I've experienced. It's just one of those one-off stories that people repeat often so that they have an excuse not to give.

-TheE-

[Skeeter]

Have em earn the money.

http://www.bumfights.com/

[Beguiler]

>>Having volunteered at a homeless shelter in downtown Boston for 3 years - I must say this is complete bullshit. Yes, there are some people who choose to be homeless. SOME at most.

The operative phrase 'a lot' did not say 'MOST', 'some' hits closer to the mark. As a regular volunteer at our local PADS site for the last 7 years (churches providind shelter and meals on a rotating basis weekly), the majority of those accepting assistance have no wish to be homeless. And we try to help provide 'boots with straps'.

But I have personally experienced having food rejected when offered instead of cash. It happens. The really hungry will take the food every time. Just means I ran into one of the ones with other priorities.

I'm glad to see that there are so many around willing to help, whether it be with a dollar here, a sandwich there, or hours spent volunteering. It renews my optimism

[Warriorbird]

You didn't mention my offers of malt liquour and beer!

:chuckles:

[DeV]

Having volunteered at a homeless shelter in downtown Boston for 3 years My mom has probably done more volunteer work in her lifetime than anyone I know personally. She has worked with PADS in her area for literally years. Having watched her work with homeless people in the past I can say that it is not so much that some prefer homelessness as a life choice, some just outright reject any governmental assistance programs that are offered to them. They refuse to sleep in shelters because of security concerns or for other personal reasons, which adds to the assumption that they "want to live that way". When services are refused that are readily available or offered with requirements attached and subsequently declined by the individual in need, the aforementioned conclusion is sometimes arrived at even though it does not support the majority of individuals in a similiar position.


And the whole idea that giving people money promotes rampant begging is a bit off the mark. Four words for you. South side of Chicago. Scratch that. Even downtown Chicago is known for its rampant panhandling. Try visting it sometime and give untill your heart is content to every homeless person you find. And when you are done contributing to a greater cause don't think for a second that it stops there. They beg literally all day long and no one is stopping caring people such as yourself from giving. In fact, the city is known for its ridiculously large number of homeless people. It is not unusual to be accosted by pandhandlers begging for change on every block in a downtown area radius. In Chicago, they tend to be more visible and have become increasingly aggressive over the years in their quest for change. http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/29pan.html

And also...

"Evanston asked residents and students at Northwestern University not to give panhandlers money but to direct them to service-agency employees who would take them to shelters and get them off the street.
Evanston ceased to be "a great place for the homeless." Aggressive panhandlers, especially those with alcohol and substance-abuse problems, didn't like getting a flier with directions to a soup kitchen or medical clinic instead of a handout and went elsewhere."




And the apocryphal story about the homeless guy who turns down the meal instead of the money has not been true in most cases I've experienced.

-TheE-I've only experienced it in one case and that was really all it took. It is fortunate that it hasn't been true in most of the cases you experienced.

And despite the stereotype that I hope I am not contributing to, not all homeless people beg and not all panhandlers are homeless.

[Apathy]

If a homeless person has a funny sign, he hasn't been homeless that long.

A real homeless person, is too hungry, to be funny.


Werd. Judging people may be wrong, but the difference in severity between the person sitting on the sidewalk with a cup and the person who follows you for 2 blocks rapping/asking you philosophical questions is pretty explicit. (Chicacgo)

[Alfster]

don't ask me how I know this, but there is definatly bum porn

[Asha]

don't ask me how I know this, but there is definatly bum porn
Link?
Immediately.

[Czeska]

During some of the pagan festivals done in Downtown Cleveland, one of the guys would buy a bunch of burritos and hand them out to the homeless on the square. In that circumstance, the gesture was always met with gratitude.
It's being stalked for blocks and asked for money that I don't deal with.

[Numbers]

I tend to give a buck to genuine homeless people, especially ones that are possibly Vietnam vets (they may have a leg missing, or they may just be in the correct age range). It's usually pretty easy to tell the difference, but it's always useful to have something to compare it to. I grew up in Manhattan, where there were plenty of homeless people, most of them genuine. A lot of them disappeared when Giuliani came into office (still dunno where they went,) but before then, you'd run into one every 10 blocks or so, sometimes more, sometimes less. And there'd be regulars, such as Billy Bogs in the 60's or the couple near Bloomingdales.

Then I left for school at Syracuse University, and the bar/shopping street there, Marshall Street, was a haven for what I call professional panhandlers. They're not homeless at all, they all have homes and clothes and sometimes even cars. Hell, some of those panhandlers probably had more money than some of the students. But they were usually pretty aggressive (much more aggressive than the NYC homeless), would get in your face, walk with you a few feet asking for money so they could buy a sandwich and so forth. But any student that spent any amount of time on M. Street would see these panhandlers get dropped off in cars, and when they felt it was time to cash in, they'd stop into the bodega and come out with a 40.

I generally wouldn't give these panhandlers more than a quarter, just to get them away from me.

Then there's the white kid panhandler. This kid was a riot, and I dunno where he comes from or what the hell he's thinking. In any case, my school building is right across the street from M. Street, and I used to spend a lot of time outside having a smoke between classes. This kid, couldn't be out of high school, gets dropped off by his mother in an SUV, and he's dressed like a normal student, backpack and all. He'll then proceed to wander M. Street asking people for a buck because he either needs to buy a bus ticket back to Rochester or needs to buy gas so he can get back home. After a few hours his mother comes back to pick him up. I fell for it once when he first started showing up and I'd never seen him before, but the second time he asked me, I said to him, "You sure do run out of gas a lot." He acted confused, I told him I'd given him a buck for gas a week ago, and he walked off all pissed. I dunno if he's still around, as everybody in my school had eventually caught on.

There's also the guy who plays guitar in front of the Starbucks. I always drop a buck into his case when I pass. He's actually a decent player and singer, and I'd much rather give some cash to people who at least try to do something for it instead of flat out asking for it.

In any case, the key is to learn the difference between real homeless people and professional homeless people. I always give more to the real ones.

[Augie]

There's also the guy who plays guitar in front of the Starbucks. I always drop a buck into his case when I pass. He's actually a decent player and singer, and I'd much rather give some cash to people who at least try to do something for it instead of flat out asking for it.

In any case, the key is to learn the difference between real homeless people and professional homeless people. I always give more to the real ones.

I totally agree. I would always see this guy down in Key West standing on the street corner telling dirty jokes. He was funny as hell and I'd definitely give him money every time I passed by him.

Or there's the ones that are standin there with a sign that says "Why Lie? I need a Beer!" Those type of guys I'd give 5 bucks to or buy a beer.

It definitely sucks when you see people out there with "Will Work for Food" signs and you try to give them work but they tell you they make $300 bucks a day standing there askin for it.

Plus in South Florida, there's this thing called "The Homeless Voice". This company makes a newspaper and then sends people on the street corners in bright neon colored shirts, with these newspapers, and little Homeless Voice hats and stuff asking to sell their paper for money. Why don't those people who run the paper take all the money for their little shirts and hats and papers they print and turn around and teach these people REAL job skills? I don't see what would be so hard for them to actually get them haircuts and nicer clothing and sit them in a classroom to show them how to get some sort of real job. Instead, they choose to let them be 'more upscale' panhandlers. :nono:

[Apathy]

Street performers are not panhandlers or bums. Don't get them confused.

[AnticorRifling]

To misquote Chris Rock "If your sign is funny you haven't been homeless long enough". I give my money to soup kitchens and inner city outreach programs, as well as donate clothes. I do not give money to people on the street.

[Sean of the Thread]

Fuck giving money to people on the street. However I've grabbed a few value meals from Checkers and passed em out during the holidays.

[AnticorRifling]

I don't feel like quoting but...

Augie said:

I don't see what would be so hard for them to actually get them haircuts and nicer clothing and sit them in a classroom to show them how to get some sort of real job. Instead, they choose to let them be 'more upscale' panhandlers.

To which I say. If you don't see what would be hard about taking someone with mental illness, chemical dependancy, physical ailment, etc, etc and putting them in a miracle class to get them jobs you need a serious wakeup call. Don't assume real problems are solved with fairy dust and happy thoughts. It doesn't work like that. Some can't be helped, others won't let themselves be helped. I'm going to wager a guess that very few people think it's a good idea to live on the streets, then think wow dumb plan, then with help clean up.