About ten years ago I had a conversation with a homeless person who both sold and contributed to a newspaper for the homeless. I asked him why he and other homeless people didn’t simply rent a 2 bedroom apartment in the “diverse” section of town, which at the time would have gone for $400-$500. With four people in a two bedroom, the monthly rent would have been only about $100 per person a month. To me, that would have been very affordable- and better than living in the woods.
The reply was that he didn’t want to live in that part of town. [I lived three years in the “diverse” side of town, so I can’t be accused of suggesting he do what I wouldn’t do.]
When I was a college student on a visit to NYC, I once was approached by a man who claimed that he was stationed at Fort Dix, had gotten robbed, and needed money for a bus ticket back to Fort Dix. He said that he would repay me. As a minimum wage dishwashing job was putting me through school at the time, repayment sounded good to me. After I handed over sufficient money for a bus ticket, and he requested more, I began to suspect this was a con.
It was a con. I never got my money returned. But it was to the good. While I may occasionally give food to panhandlers, I no longer give money out. Nor do I feel any guilt for not doing so. Fool me once…
In NW Ohio, a way of panhandling is to stand and hold a sign at an expressway exit. They almost always seem to have a theme: kids, homeless, a specific hardship, and say in the last line: “God Bless”. I have quit responding directly, prefering to give to the Salvation Army.
We have 6 or 7 panhandlers in town. I’ve offered to buy them lunch, but all they want is cash which I never hand over.
Panhandling is a business. As the result of my experiences with aggressive San Fran beggars in the 1990s-twenty years ago- I give to no bums, make no eye contact, no matter how wretched they look.
This is a matter that cries out for clarification/investigation. It would not surprise me to learn that urban panhandlers were organized, much like streetwalkers.
Anyone who has lived for very long has seen them: The panhandlers on the city sidewalks, the moochers at freeway off-ramps, the aggressive beggars in seedy parts of town. It’s impossible to tell which is a fraud and which isn’t. I used to feel it necessary to give some money. No more! I give to no one on the streets. In my area the Salvation Army and a religious home for the homeless actually take care of people who are down and out. All my charitable giving now goes to those causes. If people didn’t give to the street hustlers, their income would dry up and they would have to find another line of work.
After I retired I decided to try to do some work at the local food bank and with Habitat for Humanity. It didn’t take me long to become disillusioned with charity cases. Many of the people seeking food at the food bank walked out with boxes of food and got into their nice late model trucks or cars for the drive home. I brought this up with the managers. Their answer, “We can’t check them out and we give to anyone that asks.” On a bulletin board near the door of the food bank there was a list of local organizations that were offering help to those in need. About fifteen churches, and many other groups were out there taking care of the needy. (and the not so really needy) I was impressed by the plethora of organizations that were trying to help people. We really are a generous people.
Habitat for Humanity does some good work, but some of it is wasted. I was really enthusiastic when I started with them. The familes who got the houses were supposed to do a lot of sweat equity work so they would appreciate them more. For the most part it didn’t happen. We volunteers just pitched in and got it done. Unfortunately, some of the houses were in bad shape just a year after the families moved in. A few were foreclosed on. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Maybe Habitat has had better luck in other areas of the country.
It’s been my observation over the last twenty years that the people who are down and out, but have some ambition and care about their own pride, will work their way up and find a way to better themselves. Too many will stay stuck in helplessness. Too many who could do better will find a career in scamming the charitable instincts of decent people. It’s a pity, but that’s the way it is.
Happened to be in Mexico City some years ago, watching an older, weather-beaten woman begging. She sat on a bench with her hand out, otherwise doing nothing. I figured out, with the help of my Mexican friend, how much money she was getting.
Didn’t mean much until I spent some time in a supermarket pricing things. She was doing far more than okay.
It fits that you post this right before Easter. Shows all you need to know about conservative morals. Keep your heart tight and your purse tighter. Your Jesus had a name for that — Pharisees.
Jesus was a Pharisee.
He was practicing the self-criticism of a highly respected and valued leadership, one which set the standards while having a healthy dose of tolerance because of their view of human nature, which view prompted them to be more critical of themselves than anyone else. Most of the sayings of Jesus weren’t new but repetitions and modifications of older and traditional sayings.
Keep your heart tight and your purse tighter?
I know how that is meant, in a mean-spirited way, but how I interpret that is that I must protect my heart from the nihilistic ugliness of secular humanism and my purse from its administrators.
K. It fits that you post this right before Easter. Shows all you need to know about conservative morals.Keep your heart tight and your purse tighter. Your Jesus had a name for that – Pharisees.
Rather it shows how people draw conclusions from experience. I was a lefty when I gave money to the fake soldier in NYC. Recall that old saying: “A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.” And yes, I have been mugged- and also had a gun put to my temple.
I find it rather amusing that you call me a Pharisee when I have never been a churchgoer.
I contribute money to the Salvation Army, which in its assistance to the homeless does a better job of screening out con men than I can do.
Andate, pues.
This is an old story. Just read the Sherlock Holmes episode, “The Man with the Twisted Lip.”
I never give to anyone on the street, preferring like most of you to give to a true charitable organization. I assume those on the street are cons at best. I wish we would return to the very non-PC term, “Bums” . That’s what they are. They are not “Homeless”. A term that reeks of of recasting these people as victims somehow in need of our deepest sympathies. My kids used to get upset when I use the term when we are driving around, but as they get older they are learning that maybe dad has a point.
I have some relations who are involved in a multi-church effort to provide shelter in the cold months–northern Michigan–and breakfast for the homeless. Sixty-to seventy people a night.
Somewhere north of 99% of them have drug or alcohol problems, or mental illness issues. They could not be “homed” without involuntary commitment.
K, like a good liberal, professes to miss the point in order to make the Other look bad. The reason we should give to con men is…?
See, K., and this is tough to follow, so pay attention: If you give to con men, you don’t have that money to give to those who are actually on hard times. I hope I was clear enough.
Actually, K. knows this. But he couldn’t wait to pretend what was said was different than what was said and so give him something to condemn others for. He knows he’s–as my father says–birdturding.
Leave a Reply
HTML tags allowed in your
comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>
About ten years ago I had a conversation with a homeless person who both sold and contributed to a newspaper for the homeless. I asked him why he and other homeless people didn’t simply rent a 2 bedroom apartment in the “diverse” section of town, which at the time would have gone for $400-$500. With four people in a two bedroom, the monthly rent would have been only about $100 per person a month. To me, that would have been very affordable- and better than living in the woods.
The reply was that he didn’t want to live in that part of town. [I lived three years in the “diverse” side of town, so I can’t be accused of suggesting he do what I wouldn’t do.]
When I was a college student on a visit to NYC, I once was approached by a man who claimed that he was stationed at Fort Dix, had gotten robbed, and needed money for a bus ticket back to Fort Dix. He said that he would repay me. As a minimum wage dishwashing job was putting me through school at the time, repayment sounded good to me. After I handed over sufficient money for a bus ticket, and he requested more, I began to suspect this was a con.
It was a con. I never got my money returned. But it was to the good. While I may occasionally give food to panhandlers, I no longer give money out. Nor do I feel any guilt for not doing so. Fool me once…
In NW Ohio, a way of panhandling is to stand and hold a sign at an expressway exit. They almost always seem to have a theme: kids, homeless, a specific hardship, and say in the last line: “God Bless”. I have quit responding directly, prefering to give to the Salvation Army.
We have 6 or 7 panhandlers in town. I’ve offered to buy them lunch, but all they want is cash which I never hand over.
Panhandling is a business. As the result of my experiences with aggressive San Fran beggars in the 1990s-twenty years ago- I give to no bums, make no eye contact, no matter how wretched they look.
This is a matter that cries out for clarification/investigation. It would not surprise me to learn that urban panhandlers were organized, much like streetwalkers.
Anyone who has lived for very long has seen them: The panhandlers on the city sidewalks, the moochers at freeway off-ramps, the aggressive beggars in seedy parts of town. It’s impossible to tell which is a fraud and which isn’t. I used to feel it necessary to give some money. No more! I give to no one on the streets. In my area the Salvation Army and a religious home for the homeless actually take care of people who are down and out. All my charitable giving now goes to those causes. If people didn’t give to the street hustlers, their income would dry up and they would have to find another line of work.
After I retired I decided to try to do some work at the local food bank and with Habitat for Humanity. It didn’t take me long to become disillusioned with charity cases. Many of the people seeking food at the food bank walked out with boxes of food and got into their nice late model trucks or cars for the drive home. I brought this up with the managers. Their answer, “We can’t check them out and we give to anyone that asks.” On a bulletin board near the door of the food bank there was a list of local organizations that were offering help to those in need. About fifteen churches, and many other groups were out there taking care of the needy. (and the not so really needy) I was impressed by the plethora of organizations that were trying to help people. We really are a generous people.
Habitat for Humanity does some good work, but some of it is wasted. I was really enthusiastic when I started with them. The familes who got the houses were supposed to do a lot of sweat equity work so they would appreciate them more. For the most part it didn’t happen. We volunteers just pitched in and got it done. Unfortunately, some of the houses were in bad shape just a year after the families moved in. A few were foreclosed on. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Maybe Habitat has had better luck in other areas of the country.
It’s been my observation over the last twenty years that the people who are down and out, but have some ambition and care about their own pride, will work their way up and find a way to better themselves. Too many will stay stuck in helplessness. Too many who could do better will find a career in scamming the charitable instincts of decent people. It’s a pity, but that’s the way it is.
Happened to be in Mexico City some years ago, watching an older, weather-beaten woman begging. She sat on a bench with her hand out, otherwise doing nothing. I figured out, with the help of my Mexican friend, how much money she was getting.
Didn’t mean much until I spent some time in a supermarket pricing things. She was doing far more than okay.
It fits that you post this right before Easter. Shows all you need to know about conservative morals. Keep your heart tight and your purse tighter. Your Jesus had a name for that — Pharisees.
Jesus was a Pharisee.
He was practicing the self-criticism of a highly respected and valued leadership, one which set the standards while having a healthy dose of tolerance because of their view of human nature, which view prompted them to be more critical of themselves than anyone else. Most of the sayings of Jesus weren’t new but repetitions and modifications of older and traditional sayings.
Keep your heart tight and your purse tighter?
I know how that is meant, in a mean-spirited way, but how I interpret that is that I must protect my heart from the nihilistic ugliness of secular humanism and my purse from its administrators.
K.
It fits that you post this right before Easter. Shows all you need to know about conservative morals.Keep your heart tight and your purse tighter. Your Jesus had a name for that – Pharisees.
Rather it shows how people draw conclusions from experience. I was a lefty when I gave money to the fake soldier in NYC. Recall that old saying: “A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.” And yes, I have been mugged- and also had a gun put to my temple.
I find it rather amusing that you call me a Pharisee when I have never been a churchgoer.
I contribute money to the Salvation Army, which in its assistance to the homeless does a better job of screening out con men than I can do.
Andate, pues.
This is an old story. Just read the Sherlock Holmes episode, “The Man with the Twisted Lip.”
I never give to anyone on the street, preferring like most of you to give to a true charitable organization. I assume those on the street are cons at best. I wish we would return to the very non-PC term, “Bums” . That’s what they are. They are not “Homeless”. A term that reeks of of recasting these people as victims somehow in need of our deepest sympathies. My kids used to get upset when I use the term when we are driving around, but as they get older they are learning that maybe dad has a point.
I have some relations who are involved in a multi-church effort to provide shelter in the cold months–northern Michigan–and breakfast for the homeless. Sixty-to seventy people a night.
Somewhere north of 99% of them have drug or alcohol problems, or mental illness issues. They could not be “homed” without involuntary commitment.
K, like a good liberal, professes to miss the point in order to make the Other look bad. The reason we should give to con men is…?
See, K., and this is tough to follow, so pay attention: If you give to con men, you don’t have that money to give to those who are actually on hard times. I hope I was clear enough.
Actually, K. knows this. But he couldn’t wait to pretend what was said was different than what was said and so give him something to condemn others for. He knows he’s–as my father says–birdturding.