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You might have to fight the Excuse For News panhand...errrr...salesman for the corner space.
I know I've actually thought of using the panhandle method in order to help me come up with the $500 deposit I need for grad school...I don't think I could do it lol
You might have to fight the Excuse For News panhand...errrr...salesman for the corner space.
I had heard they are practically giving Navigator's away these days.
I'll do my part, with the ice, that isThe Plasma Center Princess(self-proclaimed of course) is going to chime in.
Or at the very least, add more ice to your evening tails.
Oh, & Mr. Martini tries to pass out the little cans of beenie weenies, chille, raviolies, and crackers. Only twice in past five years, have anyone accepted them.
I think it is mostly mental illness causing the problem. Mental health reform in this country is of the lowest priority. Back in the 70's and 80's when we were trying not to violate everyone's civil rights, it became very difficult to keep a mental patient in hospital to recieve the treatment they need. Like any other patient, they have the right to refuse treatment. Most of them end up homeless on the streets, and until they become a danger to themselves or others, they are legally capable of making the decision to remain homeless.
I already tried rationale, it doesn't work.
I got slapped down for my "mental illness" remarks. Mentally ill people are perfectly capable of getting jobs, so there!
I'm totally being sarcastic btw, I agree with you 100%
You still got some? I've got plenty of Thunderbird, but no food.
My sister in law usually has a granola bar or two in her car so whenever she comes up to someone that says they need money for food she'll give them one of her granola bars.
Last edited by TMTTRIO; 06-12-2008 at 01:53 AM.
Its one thing to give food/clothes, but money could be for anything for these people. You could be contributing to a fix or a person with a serious alcohol problem. If you really want to help the panhandlers just donate food/clothes and your time to the shelters.
You are so full of . $700-$1000 a day... let's see, even if they sit there 12 hours, which is highly unlikely, that's about $60-80/hour consistently for every hour. Utter ing horse .
One more general note - the utter lack of compassion shown by some people in this thread for people living on the streets is disturbing. I'm not saying that you should give anyone your money or anything like that, but , spare a moment to realise that a lot of these people have had terribly unfortunate lives (mental/physical/sexual abuse, mental illness, PTSD, you name it) and have no way to climb out of the hole they are in. You think the vast majority of these people live on the streets for fun, or by choice? They have none of the things you and I take for granted - a roof, a shower, a bed, food, warmth, safety. Mocking them for the misfortune is just MEAN.
As for the OP, sure, there area few frauds out there, but one of the things that struck me during all of my travels in America was the ubiquitous homeless people. They are EVERYWHERE. You just don't see that in a lot of other developed countries, and certainly not in Australia. We have a homeless problem, but it is nowhere near the scale of what you see in the US.
Someone suggested that it was a joke that homeless people should be given some form of housing. WTF? You'd rather have them all over the streets? That I just don't get. These are people like you and me whose lives took a bad turn somewhere along the way... it wasn't always their fault, and they are not all bludgers. Give them a stable housing situation, and some training, and they may be able to join society again. Have a freakin heart.
Some of us (Americans) may have become "immune" to the panhandlers because in some cities, they are literally EVERYWHERE. But a lot of the callous comments you saw were, IMO, directed toward panhandlers, not homeless people. Not all the panhandlers that are encountered are homeless. They live in homes, apartments etc and CHOOSE to stand on the street and beg for money.
The problem with the shelters that are set up for homeless is that the majority of the people who NEED to be there won't avail themselves because it means strict limitations such as no alcohol, no fighting, no drugs etc. and a lot of the homeless people are alcoholics and druggies. They offer job training and job placement but it means getting up early and going to training and following rules etc. that they just aren't willing to do.
In a perfect world, there would be no homelessness or need to beg for money or food. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world.
RuffNReady has obviously never been homeless, which is great, but it obviously means you have no idea what really goes on.
I went and ate at Pico De Gallo this morning for breakfast to kill some time. When I arrived, there was this guy sitting out front telling me how hungry he was and how he didn't have enough money to eat. I guess to prove it, he held out thirty-six cents (a quarter, a dime and a penny). I had just been paid by a client and I was feeling generous, so I gave him a ten and went inside to eat breakfast.
When I finished breakfast forty-five minutes later, I went outside to leave and that same guy was there. He once again approached me and told me about how hungry he was and how he didn't have enough money to eat. And to prove it, he held out his hand and he had the same thirty-six cents from earlier. I looked at him and said "Umm. I gave you a ten earlier, remember?" The guy just looked at me and said "Oh yeah, thanks a lot" and walked away.
The same here. I don't always give, mainly if i have change or dollars, but i know some are homeless.
I've also bought food and they've graciously accepted.
I've talked to a couple who i know for sure where homeless and both had great careers at one point, but just lost it mentally.
apparently australia is
ing Dateline/ABC did an expose on the homeless and they said some NOT ALL but a small amount of homeless make bank in major cities in huge metropolitan areas. So you ing failed.
Last edited by E20; 06-12-2008 at 02:39 AM.
Your too young to be filled with such cynicism
I've seen your future it is murder...
I panhandled for about 20 minutes the other day, true ing story, and made $6. I ran out of gas about 25 miles away from my apartment in San Marcos on the way home from work in San Antonio and had no cash whatsoever on me. I had a bunch of dirty clothes in the back of my Trailblazer so I changed into something that looked and smelled awful and I had a poster in there too so I wrote "STRANDED & NEED MONEY FOR GAS" cuz I figured I didn't look homeless enough, and I'm not thin enough to put need money for food.
I mean its not like I lied or anything. I needed money for gas and I spent it on gas. But god damn if you can make $6 per 20 minutes that's a $18 an hour job.
I guess the moral of the story is don't roll the dice on how far you can go when the low fuel light comes on cuz you will lose. 2nd time that has happened to me this year.
While we're on the subject, what about when the fire/police department has a collection drive (you know when the guys are out there with the boots or whatever)? I always try to donate when those guys are out there. Or if there are kids raising money for a trip or something. I've seen that a lot. I usually buy the daily newspaper from the guys on the street corners too, just cuz I'm gonna get it anyway I may as well help them get their quotas. Those are a little more legit than pandhandling and I don't have a problem donating or buying the paper on the street.
What about people who post up around an ATM and try to catch you before you roll up the window as you're about to drive off? This happens to me constantly and I'm about to start banking at a different ins ution because of it. I've got these ers coming up to me trying to sell off stolen TVs and stereos...and you know they post up at the ATM cuz the people driving away just pulled out money. I usually just say yeah I'll check out what you got, and then speed off.
Or what about people that prowl parking lots at like, Wal Mart or the mall and with fliers or CDs from their church. I'd make a donation to a church any day of the week if I had the money to spare, but not if that church is sending shady people to hunt me down in the parking lot and wait until I'm in my god damned car before they even come up to me. There may be a side to this I don't know, but no church I ever went to told me to go try and get people to give me money in a parking lot as a requirement for membership.
About half of the homeless people I've worked with are mentally ill. Another third are people who've been down on their luck. Maybe one-fifth to one-sixth are the incorrigible drug addicts and criminals.
You'd be surprised how many of the homeless are Christians around Houston. So many of them have good hearts but their brains are just too fractured to get their lives together.
There is an outfit down here that feeds the homeless and does worship services daily at the places where homeless congregate. What's interesting about it is that just about everybody involved except the "pastor" are themselves homeless people. They'll go around to the foodservice companies gathering up their excess food for the day that would otherwise be thrown away, or to grocers, etc., get other homeless in contact with social services, work odd jobs on the weekends to raise a little money for the group, etc. I suppose they've got it together enough to find housing if they wanted, but they don't want to leave their people.
The established churches (in this case, evangelicals and Catholics) swoop in and provide hot meals and more workers on the weekends. When things started several years ago, there might have been a thousand people getting fed at least once a week. Those numbers have gone down significantly since then; the ministry has made some good contacts with the city and gotten several hundred people into housing and work programs. Most of the regulars I see now are the mentally ill. The crooks disappear into the shadows when the trailers start showing up.
There are a few young people from megachurch Second Baptist who come and help now and then. They'd like their church to take it more seriously, but the staff was trained at Southern Baptist seminaries where they were taught that ministries like this couldn't possibly be doing any good.
See, that's the deal, they usually bond, like family & look out for each other. They don't want to hurt anyone, and they don't want or need the resposibily of a place to live, or a job.
I know this comment was never directed towards me, but I just had something to add....
Whenever I see a panhandler/homeless person I do what a lot of people here do. Give them some food instead of money. I also send them towards my church, which is known to help people who are in need. If people are in need, and are ready for help they can recieve it. Just like so many of us have quoted previously, "For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in..." Matthew 25:35. I know from previous threads you aren't very "religious," but more a spiritual kind of a guy, but still. I think a lot of us have been going back to this type of thought then just giving panhandlers/homeless what they're asking for directly.
Anyway.
Misfortunes are misfortunes, I am never one to flaunt my "riches" like B2B would say, and I try to give back in any way to all groups that I come in contact with, that's probably why I work on the westside for a non-profit. There are places where these people can go, there are shelters. San Antonio may be lagging in that area, but we're trying to catch up. Like the Haven for Hope that is going to open in spring 2009. I met the organizer of the center a few weeks ago that is going to be located just a little ways away from downtown. It's not only a shelter, it also includes educational faculties, social services, etc. Some people in the area may feel that "not in my backyard" feeling, but whatever it takes to help the people who are "misfortunate" as you say is a step forward.
I give food to the food bank and clothes to the shelters about once a month. It is just my way I guess.
Good post ... except I should take issue about the SBC seminaries. My training in this particular area (mercy ministry) was actually conducted at SWBTS in Ft. Worth, and NOBTS is likewise very much supportive of these endeavors. If there is resistance, it is from the churches in the field, not so much the seminaries.
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