| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/13/2008 3:59:12 PM | Seems that in some cities in N America begging is a career choice and not a last resort like in the third world.
In Toronto I talked to a guy who lived on the outskirts of the city collected welfare and panhandled his way to a nice income.
I have seen kids barely past highschool age panhandling. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/15/2008 8:53:50 PM | i usually do or try to the sad thing is i never have cash sometimes i give them 20 bucks just hoping that karma will do me some favors...yeah im that selfish
Well ... is that karma working for ya?? 
i think its great how people blanket all these beggars in the same category to be honest its just a way to help yourself sleep at night and hold on to your spare change
A fool and her money will soon part.  | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/17/2008 12:33:20 PM | Well, with the risk of being carjacked at an all time high, I wouldn't offer any assistance to a person I didn't know on an exit ramp. I have extended the hand of fellowship to people on the street when shopping downtown, but then only if they allow me to pray with them before I give them any money.
cheers~~ | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/17/2008 1:42:25 PM | I have gone to fast-food chains and bought coupon books for food. Then, when I see someone who really looks destitute I give those so they can have a warm meal. I also cut coupons from my local newspaper and take them to a local church that collects them and distributes them free to people with low incomes, including too those who are on food stamps. It can really help the funds they do have go further. Sometimes I also use newspaper coupons for food items even though I do not use those items. Instead I drop off a few bags groceries at the local food kitchen....some groceries een have bins now where people can drop off food donations (it's easy to drop in a few cans of hearty canned soup, peanut butter, cans of tuna fish).
In these hard times, there are many people who are just one paycheck away from being hungry and homeless. It's not that they do not want to work or are too lazy; it is the ugly head of company layoffs and closings spurred by rising enery costs. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/17/2008 4:12:58 PM | Reader's Digest sent a reporter out into the homeless world for a month after stripping him of EVERYTHING but the clothes he wore.
A month later, he returned with a knapsack full of new, warm clothing, a tent, sunglasses, a new winter coat...He also came back 20 pounds heavier and in better physical shape than when he left.
Oh..and he also came back with $750 in CASH in his pocket. He reported that when "working the street", holding signs, washing windshields, etc...He averaged about $20 an hour. This was in the 1980's. (He did file an article for the magazine after returning, detailing his "homeless life".)
He didn't work everyday. He didn't have to. He went where he wanted with new-found friends who showed him where to get all sorts of handouts free. They schooled him in how to stand, what to say, what expression to keep on his face when "working", as well as what, who and where to avoid.
Most importantly, they pointed out known pushovers who habitually gave handouts to the "more unfortunate".
I watched the "crew" work the local mall once. A car circled around with two males. They'd pull up to one driveway and the passenger gets out, replacing the sign holder who then gets into the car. After a few minutes going through the fast food drive-through, the car goes to the next mall driveway. The passenger exchanges places with THAT holder, etc...etc... I was fascinated and watch them for over an hour. Up until then, I was stupid enough to hand out my hard-earned money to one or two panhandlers.
I have no doubt they also averaged $20+ per hour each. But these days with more people onto the scams, I imagine it may be a little less. I personally don't see as many anymore, now that the economy is slowing.
Maybe "real jobs' finally became more profitable.
Sorry, but I view them as scammers and quick-buck artists. Some have worked the same corners for a couple of DECADES now. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/17/2008 7:45:37 PM | | A Homeless person reached into a womans mini van in west PAlm beach and was Shot in the leg, by the person in the vehicle behind her. The driver in second vehicle yelled to back up and homeless guy reached into her van and he shot the homeless person in the leg because he thought the guy was trying to carjack the woman in first vehicle. Oh and second vehicle was not a police or law enforcement officer!! Just an over concerned citizen!! | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/18/2008 4:38:54 PM |
I know downtown Cincinatti i see it all the time, im talking about on an EXIT ramp.,or other place unavoidable like this.
OP, you poor thing but there is hope and understanding.
Being a retired truck driver living near a larger city when I did work I would always have a sammie, crackers,cookies,fruit what ever for the down and out and would give it to them in lieu of giving them money.
Or, when some would give me the bs I would tell them to meet me at the local diner and buy them lunch but most would refuse my offer.
Now when you think about it there are folks who are working full time and not on the exit ramps begging but are talk pills because they are sad and need something to help them make it to the next day and
then there are folks who are on exit ramps who are not working but are sad and need something to get to the next day. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/20/2008 5:32:22 PM | LOL, Jim, why am i a "poor thing" ?
I was just wanting others opinions and i did get a diverse variety! Thank you much
Today, my kids and i went downtown to the ZINCINNATI FESTIVAL. O my , what a site to behold!
And yep. beggars holding signs on every single corner. . . There's a black guy and his little boy , about my little boys age who plays drums at every event. i see them at Newport on the Levee alot too, and my kids drop $ in for them , they do a darn good job, but im wondering for that poor little boy, dont he get bored? Is the kind of living his dad wants him to have to know all his life??? | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/20/2008 6:05:17 PM | | There was always guys by the off-ramp next to where I worked with signs asking for help.One day I asked 2 guys 1 older 1 young if they wanted to come work for 10$ a hr at my work.I un-load trucks & they were not too dirty.The older said" I'll get in trouble if I work cause I'm on SSI for disability" so I told him its cash under the table.Then he said "I got a bad back" The younger one just said "NO" His sign said"Will work for food or $" I guess it was B.S. There was another guy around who never asked for anything no sign or any of that,he would be by the gas station in front of my work,we all bought him coffee,food,gave him smokes,he never asked.He was so dirty it was scary I'm not even sure what color he was.He had that YELLOW POLICE TAPE the DO NOT CROSS kind as a belt.My girlfriend talked to him got his name, saw him on ThanksGiving day & told me "We should help him!" So we took him clothes & food & I told him he could come to my pad ( I lived across the street ) I would let him shower & give him more clothes in the morning then take him to work with me.I went back in the morning he had the clean clothes on over the dirty ones & refused the help.I got so upset after trying to convince him I wanted to kick him,but its his life. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/20/2008 6:18:08 PM | | Pray with me or you get no help??? WOW that is awful.That sounds very inhumane & selfish on your part.A ultimatum is that what jesus would do."If you want to see again or walk again then pray with me or your out of luck?" GOD HELP YOU.You help cause its what is right not to recruit for a cause.That gives RELIGION a bad name.And its why I think RELIGION is not good.WHO NEEDS A BOOK TO TELL THEM HELPING IS RIGHT.Thats your idea of extending a had? It sounds like a hand out at best not a hand up.If you know what the diffrence.I'll pray for you & you can keep the money. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/20/2008 11:11:08 PM | | Funny. I once got into a verbal fight with a beggar. I had just statred work and I was pretty broke myself. So after many days of seeing the same beggar on the same corner. He started screaming at me " why don't you ever give me money! You see me!" I said " I said yeah, I see you everyday and that's the problem !" Go getta a job like the rest of us ! He continued screaming at me and people were just laughing, as the situation was somewhat funny. Well, at least I never saw that man again, as he deserted his corner. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 5:26:21 AM | It amazes me the comments made by the
Well fed
Well warmed
and well housed people.
I work in the social services field in a homeless Shelter.
I guess it is easy for you to just sit in your car and pass judgement! Because you have all the answers and are well versed and educated with homelessness.
Most of these people are not lazy, they are not avoiding working because they feel being on the streets is more enjoyable. Most of them want to work, but they suffer from illness, disease, addiction (this is a illness not a way of life), sexual abuse etc. So many things with these people have to be unraveled before they can even begin to work. Homelessness is not just low income/lazy people. I have seen Drs, Lawyers, police officers, War Veterans and firemen come through the system.
Granted there are a few who abuse the system, but thats in every walk of life.
In Ontario there are many sevices available for the homeless population, but it still falls short. Our government closes psychiatric beds, hospital beds, cuts funding or does provide enough for these people to get the help they need. There isnt enough low income housing, and shortage Doctors who will provide the care the people need.
Some people stay on the welfare system as it pays better than a 10.00 an hour job with no medical benefits. On welfare they get free benefits that will cover dental care, prescriptions and glasses. There is no incentive to go off it if you have a family member who has special medical needs. If the government would allow these people to work at 10.00- 12.00 an hour and cover a large portion of the medical coverages and daycare then maybe some of them would be less of a burden of the system, get the work experience and have the opportunity to be proud of their accomplishments while providing a large portion of their families income by working.
There is no easy answer or quick fix, it is our government and politicians that need to be aware of the real issues that are out in our communities. It is easy to say get a job or pretend homelessness does not exist. The homeless get shunned from emergency rooms, they cannot get a psychiatrist because no one will refer them, etc. It is way bigger then just driving by in your car and throwing out a loaf of bread, buying a lunch, or yelling at them to get a job.
If people had time to Volunteer at a shelter, become a peer mentor or a friend to someone who needs an advocate who wont take advantage of them, that then would be time well spent. Maybe then there will be one less person offending you by holding a sign on an EXIT RAMP asking for money on your way to work.
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 6:11:25 AM | I refer them to homeless shelters.
If these people are truly hungry and homeless, there are shelters here that provide for them. The catch though is that they cannot be intoxicated or drugged up for entry. So they have to get off of what they are on and the help will be there for them.
The thing is that some of them would rather stay drunk and brave freezing temperatures rather than sober up and get a warm bed. Last winter, a few of them were found frozen to death so now the police make foot patrols in and around the city to find and get them inside during those months. Not to a shelter mind you but the drunk tank. It's better then nothing I suppose.
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 6:37:59 AM | i spent the night once in a shelter for battered women and got my prior suspicions and theories confirmed with all the force of a nuclear bomb that people are responsible for creating their own misery. [i will leave the certifiably insane out of this who have an organic brain defect and truly cannot help themselves.] many of the panhandlers in dc are just looking for their next complimentary bottle of t-bird. you can tell because they panhandle near corners where the liquor stores are open 24/7. some show a little more initiative and move around based on the patterns of rush-hour traffic. i will not enable these people by giving them free money.
there are all kinds of ways to help the less fortunate, if that's what you really want to do, and none of them require handing out money to them on street corners. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 11:40:06 AM | | Some very bad stuff happens at shelters.Rape,Assult,Robberies.Most people feel safer on the street.Not to mention what do they do with their stuff? Some homeless have quite a bit of stuff & shelters don't let you move in a bunch of things.Alot of it may appear to be junk but its all they got.I've volunteered at shelters in Los Angeles they are scary. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 12:10:47 PM |
Some very bad stuff happens at shelters.Rape,Assult,Robberies.Most people feel safer on the street.
In Toronto a few years ago a homeless man who suffered from schizophrenia avoided shelters for just that reason was sleeping on a park bench and was jumped by some military reservists and beaten to death. The ones responsible got significant prison time but the point is that for homeless people who fall through the cracks it is hazardous just about anywhere.
I do not suggest that all people who are on assistance are lazy. Especially in these days of plant closings, most just find themselves in a situation that is terrifying and need help. I don't think that the generalization of them being shiftless is being made here.
Most of what appears in this thread are concerning observations made out on the street. Panhandling is obviously a choice made while dropping out of the mainstream by many and a last resort for others. But when you see someone panhandling while wearing expensive clothing and toting a cellphone you tend to get suspicious. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 12:53:11 PM | You know, the human race, like a chain, is only as strong as its weakest link.
There are some people. . .many I'm sure. . .who genuinely need help. Some people don't have a family or friends. I speak of this from personal experience. Then they fall into bad luck and in this country, you need a job to get a place and a place to get a job. That's really something terrible. Some people even work and feel forced to beg because their work doesn't make rent. I currently am homeless. I don't beg, though the thought has crossed my mind. I'd be too embarrassed to. And, no, I don't do drugs or drink. Some man, just from hearing my story, offered me 20 dollars and I actually refused because it's humiliating. Instead, I'm eating corn flour I happened to have mixed with water. I've applied for jobs everywhere around here with no luck and there's nothing close by because it's the desert. I would do absolutely anything for a decent job and a place of my own aside from selling myself. I'd do anything for some gas money to get me out of here so I can find a home. Or for a nice meal like the ones my husband and I used to sit to. I was a young girl with dreams, just like anyone else. . .and my life took a bad turn. Everybody needs help at some point in their lives. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 1:10:54 PM | no. there are plenty of places to get a meal...if I want to gift , my time or items, that's the route I choose. Sheesh...i donate money to social programs every hour I work - its called income tax. I wish more of that donation went to the hungry/homeless in this country.
years and years ago, my roommates and I invited a panhandler to our house for a meal because he claimed he wanted the money for food. He responded that he really wanted to buy a bottle of white port and get drunk. I started looking around and realized he was not atypical. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 1:24:00 PM |
If you work forty hours a week for minimum wage, you can eat or you can have shelter, but you can't do both.
It depends on where you live. I live in a two bedroom town house in a great area with a roommate, and my cost of living is about $600/mo (was $800+ before I found a good roommate) including rent, electric, cable (internet only,) gas, insurance, and food. Minimum wage pays over $1,000/mo here after taxes if you work 40+/week. | |
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| Do you help out people with signs at the end of EXIT RAMPS begging for money?
Posted: 9/21/2008 1:33:08 PM | Raellic? and everyone else too, Im just wondering/? do you think 1000 a month is doable?? cuz i mean, wow, thats impossible to live on that. i have tried! and i have done a darned good job. peepz have told me they dont know how i have managed before, and i chalk it up to good management when i was a child , my parents had 6 kids and only my daddy worked and everyone thought we were "rich'
My mom knew how to budget and we picked up on that and even when i dont have to.....i go to Dollar Stores (not second hand) but Dollar stores. and Odd or Big Lots. i find that the stuff made there is the same exact stuff (same factory even) as those sold at krogers, walmart, kohls and even Macy! yep.
so , you see, sometimes our child hood sticks and Im glad in my case that it did. it has helped me to have a lovely home and have many many extras besides! my kids never do without. They wear nice clothes and have all the extras , like games, cellphones, gadgets etc, and more even than some have.
Haze56, i feel for you. I have been there. . .I know the hardship.
and the feeling you get when people try to help you , it makes you feel an inch tall. You are like me and would rather be the GIVER....:)
some people dont have because they dont know HOW to budget. Im not saying that people can not be down on their luck. BELIEVE ME!! i have been, but i am just saying that with proper management , usually it can be conquered. ;0 | |
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