What do you think of people sitting on the curb holding signs asking for money?

Question

They have big signs that say "Viet Nam Vet will work for food" or "Three children starving. Need food and money. God Bless". I have stopped to offer food on my way home from the market or a fast food place and they gratefully accept. I know people who have brought them home to work, but they don't work.

But this one takes the cake:
My husband and I were walking thru San Francisco and there was a hippie looking guy sitting on the sidewalk with a hat in front of him on the ground. His sign said "Need money for beer". My husband got such a kick out of his honesty that he put a dollar in the hat!

What kind of experience have you had with this subject?

Answer 1

First off, I am usually suspicious of the "Vietnam Vets" begging. There seem to be a lot of people posing as vets who are not. As a Vietnam Veteran myself, it offends me and I am usually one who would help the down and out.

When I worked in the Chicago Loop, I often would buy a couple extra lunches when I went to a fast food place for lunch. It never took too long to find someone begging to give them to and most of the time, they appeared to be extremely thankful. I avoided giving money because it often fed the addiction to alcohol and/or drugs that put them on the streets. One time, when I did break down and gave a guy a buck who asked for money so he could eat, I was pleasantly surprised to run into him a bit later as I returned fro my errand and he showed me the food he had bought.

I wish there were answers for the homeless and hungry in the US, but, sadly, we appear to care more about maintaining our position as a world power than we do for addressing serious social issues at home.

Answer 2

I, too, have spotted folks who genuinely and desperately need assistance............water, a couple bucks for food. $5 is the world to them and they honestly need and appreciate it and most of the time aren't even asking for anything. They're just sitting around.

I've also been approached by scammers, begging for bogus causes, made up stories. A group exited a car in a parking lot once to hit up the welfare folks who'd just gotten their checks and were trying to get some groceries.

My hubby was approached inside a Cost Plus Import Store by a real rude dude who really cut to the chase, he demanded, "Give me some money". When hubby said, "Uh, I don't think so", made a scene loudly proclaiming, "Yeah like you really need it." He was arrested shortly afterward, guess we weren't the only ones he'd approached with such a high tech technique!!! That happened last year and we've noticed that stores are now prohibiting sellers, and beggars from hanging around even the fronts of their stores. I like it too.

We also have a guy in our community. He's a regular. He has decent and clean clothes and always has his dog with him because he's using the dog as a prop. His sign reads that he's a vet, needs money to get by because the shelter won't allow his dog in.

It's a scam. The ******* lives right here in the community, owns a home, and guilt's his way through probably a pretty good haul of money from people who don't know him or about his true story and can't pass him by without a handout.
It's disgusting. I'm not sure it's legal. Guess I should look into that one.

In these days and times, we're going to be seeing lots more of this kind of thing and each of us needs to be extra wary and "feel" our way through these situations. I think your innards will tell you which ones to help and which ones to stay away from.

Answer 3

We have all seen these type of people. My son had just turned 13 and we were bombarded every block in San Francisco with beggars. The drug addicts receive a check every month from the state, there are so many welfare programs, soup kitchens, churches that will give certificates for groceries as well as money, there is absolutely no excuse for anyone to beg on the streets. They want you to feel sorry for them. Do you think a Viet Nam vet can't get any help from the VA, come on now? While my son was at school in Houston we would drive by several beggars, one particular one with a leg brace while we were getting on the freeway. Everyday he would switch the brace, one would have it on Ext. 5, another one, the next day, the same brace, Ext.9! The brace had an American flag sticker on it, so it was very distinguishable. Give me a break! Their biggest draw is having a dog with a rope for a leash, everyone loves dogs. I can't bare it.

Answer 4

I saw this old guy with a beat up pickup truck going around to different places once. I followed him for a couple of hours and watched what he was doing. What it was he had four or five guys standing on corners or the left turn lanes with signs. He would give them food and leave. About 5 o'clock he drove into the place with cast iron fencing. A sprawling three story house with a four car garage. Parked the truck on the side, went inside. After about 45 minutes the garage door opened and he drove out in a $100,000 Mercedes. My little brother researched him and found out that he owned dozens of businesses and hires guys for about $10 and hour to collect money using all sorts of ploys at the end of the day, if they have less than $80 he lets them keep the money, if they make more he keeps the difference.

Answer 5

The first time I saw this, was in Phoenix about 12 years ago.
They stand on the dividers as you are heading for the freeways. That also occurs here as well. We saw this in so
many locations after moving up here. And we also have seen
it as rest stops when traveling. One to mention was a sign in
a rest room, indicating a family had broken down and needed
money to get to a gas station. They had a baby who needed
to get bottle milk, and they were poor. My husband felt so bad
he found the car mentioned on the note, and gave them some
money. Later we found their car had gone. And we later
learned of a well known con game with people doing this for
a living to earn their money that way. Whether they travel and
just pick up money on the road, I don't know. These people
had a faded and dinged up station wagon.
The media up here has exposed those who hang out with
signs on major intersections in and around Portland and
Vancouver. It is a major racket, headed by who knows. There
are people who 'work' a corner or medium location with their
signs. And heaven help someone who also wants to stand
next to them with their sign. They'll fight you for it. It's their
way to earn a living. We notice some who have coffee from
Starbucks in their hand, and having a cigarette. And the
majority aren't dressed shabbily. But most do have long hair,
and mustaches. Whether they turn in their earnings at the
end of the day, or keep what they collect, I don't know. But
it's an organized affair for some locations as we've read.
There was a lady who was retired and wanted to go to
college. And she was interviewed for standing out on the
streets and asking for money to put her through college.
She had worked hard all her life, and never had the money
to afford school herself. So she was now retired, and wanted
to still go to school. So she decided to try her luck pan handling and see if it worked for her, like it does for the
bum types that work the by ways. And she said it has been
the answer to her problem. People have given her money and
they know what they are donating for. More power to her I
guess.

Answer 6

This was not my personal experience but this is the best that I have seen.
I was standing at the bus stop summer of 05.
I live near one of the most congested areas in Boston. Anyway there was bumper to bumper traffic and this kid pulls up in a drop top (not sure what type of car sorry).
So this homeless guy comes up to his car and asks him if he could spear some change so the guy gives him the change and then tells him to hold on.
He goes into his wallet and pulls out a few dollar bills. He then hands it to the guy, so the guy takes the money and says "Hey man why don't you take this back and just give me that 10 dollar bill".
I was so shocked and could not help but laugh.
Poor kid looked at him and just shook his head.

If that was me I would have took the dollars back.
So I will take your advice and just take the money back.

Answer 7

There have been times when I've felt like I was being asked to pay a toll to walk from one place to another in the downtown area a couple miles from my house. I carried small bills and change for a couple of years, and would share with the panhandlers, but I grew very weary of hearing the variations on their tales of woe. I no longer carry cash with me, at all. I simply look them in the eye and say, "Sorry, I do not carry cash". I've encountered several very aggressive panhandlers, and so I am very careful to pay attention to my surroundings. I have run into people who were ill or injured, along with being unkempt and apparently homeless. I call 9-1-1 and stay with them until EMS arrives.

I do donate money to our local health care clinic for the homeless, money to other local groups that assist indigent and homeless people, and volunteer episodically for these groups. I think we could do a better job assisting people with Mental illnesses and addictions; although there are programs, most programs have long waiting lists. On the other hand, there are some people who refuse treatment, even when it is available. Most people in the US are very generous, and there are mulitple government programs. And yet, there are, and will be, people who will not change their behavior....so I do what I can.

Answer 8

I was moving from one house to another and needed some help cleaning up the house I was moving out of.I noticed a dirty woman sitting on the curb holding a sign saying need money to feed baby and she had a dirty little toddler with her.I pulled over and asked her if she would be interested in doing some cleaning and that I would pay her good. She said No, I can make more money sitting here. I just drove off and vowed to never give them money again. I went to a job center and hired a man who was trying to feed his family.I only had to pay him min. wage but, I gave him more.He did a wonderful job.The people begging do not want to work,they want to beg ,and I guess it pays better and its easier.

Answer 9

Near where I live, there's a BIG intersection. I saw a young scruffy guy standing there holding a sign :Hungry. People actually were giving him money! When I came back from the base, there was another guy with the same sign. Guy number one was over on the corner leaning against a van drinking a Coke!
What else gets me is Louis Farrakhan's guys with their little bow ties walking among cars selling a newspaper, incense and oils. One day, there was one of his guys walking in and out of the cars stopped. Across the intersection on the concrete median were two young girls holding up signs for a car wash that was being held at the Texaco on the corner. As I sat there, a cop came up and ran the girls off the median but said NOTHING to the LF nut walking in and out of the traffic!
That's just begging in a different way.
As far as the FOOLS who feel sorry for those DOWN AND OUT HOMELESS VIET NAM VETS....is your middle name GULLIBLE? Anyone can buy a fatigue jacket with some patches on it. Back in 1985, just after I retired from the Navy, I saw one BUM (that is NOT PC for 'homeless')with a sign "VIET NAM VET DOWN ON HIS LUCK" in down town Norfolk one day and stopped and said HEY BRO! When were you in 'the Nam'? He said 74. I asked him what unit and where he was. Well, the unit (forget now) was never where he said he was. They were further north! I told him he was a disgrace wearing that fatigue jacket (oh and the unit he said he was with didn't match the 101'st patch on his shoulder, either!), that men and women fought, were wounded, maimed and died who wore the U.S.Army uniform with pride. I also told him he better get rid of the sign before a REAL Viet Nam vet kicks his filthy, ignorant hind parts. He just snorted, turned around and walked away.
(USN, retired/in-country Viet Nam vet).

Answer 10

I don't pay attention to the guys holding their signs. If they wanted to work that badly, they'd be in line at the Unemployment Office or Job Services, looking to see what was available, instead of sitting on a curb at the road's edge.