Well I had a strange, tangentially related experience today. I was in Kohl’s (I don’t like that place but they do often have good luggage sales). I had a 30% off coupon that came to me in the mail, and it was sticking upright from my purse. As I was checking the price of some luggage, a woman came up to me and asked if I had a 30% off coupon and then basically badgered me to let her use it, insisting that it could be used more than once. I let her know I wasn’t ready to check out yet (we were in the back of the store) and that if we were in line together I’d see if I could let her use the coupon. Just then a sales clerk came up who said that they now track the coupons and that ONLY the person whose store credit card is attached to the coupon can use the coupon, and that it could be problematic if my coupon was attempted to be used by someone using a card other than my store credit card. The lady (the customer) insisted that she could use my coupon with no problem and that she didn’t want to pay the price of the running shoes she had in her hand. The sales clerk just kept repeating that she could not use my coupon- that the store tracks the coupon to the associated person’s Kohl’s card. The lady finally walked away with her shoes.
Now plenty of times in the past I have given extra coupons (usually general coupons- not ones that came personally to me) to customers in line, at department stores, supermarkets, etc, and have on occasion asked the sales clerk at the register if the person behind me could use my personal coupon (after I have completed my purchase). I have never had anyone come up to me in the back of the store when I am still shopping and essentially ask me for my coupon (there is little likelihood in my mind that she would have returned my coupon to me if I’d given it to her). And the ONLY reason I was in Kohl’s is because I had the 30% off coupon (and today was the last day). I was uncomfortable with the pushing s’s of this stranger who wanted my coupon. Thank heavens the sales clerk came up when she did.
In our area, there are many people at the intersections near the mall, once I was behind a building on that lot and noticed the shift change, a guy drove up & they traded places and counted out a wad of bills, they are begging for a decent tax free income
Another area near us has 3-4 places where disabled guys in wheelchairs hang out, I have followed a woman driving a van and seen her drop of man #1 and then man #2, so, again, begging for income.
The worst begging I’ve witnessed was in Llasa, Tibet in a touristy area where Han Chinese women were masquerading as Tibetan. After suspecting it was what I had witnessed, I stood back and watched and confirmed that one of these faux Tibetan women was playing with her (probably rented) young child until tourists were in view, when she would pinch the child to induce tears.
@mcat2 I don’t not doubt that most homeless people would love to have a free, expenses-paid home. They might not sleep in it all the time, because many of them would continue to drink and pass out on the street on a regular basis, but I’m sure they would love to have a place to keep their stuff and sleep when they want to.
But the bottom line is that the overwhelming majority of the people living on the street are mentally ill and/or addicts or alcoholics. Giving them money that they can use to buy drugs or alcohol does them no service, and it certainly makes our public spaces far less livable. And it is not uncommon for panhandlers to have housing with a friend or relative; they are merely panhandling to fund a drug and party lifestyle. This type of fraud is the norm, not the exception.
We ought to strictly enforce laws against public drunkenness, at least insofar as people passed out drunk on the sidewalks, etc. A week in jail will at least give these people the opportunity to dry out. And we need to make it easier for family members or society at large to forcibly commit people to mental health treatment. I think homeless people should receive housing, but it should be assigned housing over which they get little or no influence. The worst cases of mental illness should be treated with forced commitment to mental hospitals (which need to be reopened). Those who just get drunk or drugged all the time or who refuse to take their medicine should be housed in rural locations where drugs and alcohol are not readily available, and where they can be monitored and forced to take their medication.
Perhaps, with time, some of these people can be reintroduced to society. If not, they can be kept off the street where they pose a danger to themselves and to others.
Tampa has rules about panhandling. I don’t keep up with them. However, there is a local newspaper being sold to help out would be panhandlers as they sell the paper instead of just getting cash for nothing. Warm climate makes it easier for people to move here and live on the streets with no resources.
There will always be homeless mentally ill people. Families can’t always prevent their loved one from this. They can offer a place to live but it is rejected. Some refuse to take medications that will help them. The alternative is to lock up people who refuse to conform which takes way their rights.
When we were vacationing in Seattle over a year ago My H had a half sandwich he hadn’t touched and was taking back to our hotel. A woman asked for money for “food” but refused the free sandwich- we did not give any. Later a talked with a convenience store clerk near the hotel and he said those people want money for cigarettes and booze- a common problem in the area.
Decades ago while a poor medical student I used to stand in line at a poor area chain grocery store and watch people buying brand name soda and other more expensive options while using food stamps. I internally cringed at how they could have stretched their money much further. I was eating the cheap stuff- not always foods I really liked. But I knew I had a future.
Social services can try but not all are willing to receive services. Mental illness treatment doesn’t always get utilized by patient choice. Some do not want to work and refuse opportunities. Occasionally there will be a feature story about people. One family of four where they refused jobs et al, sigh. Then there are those who try but do fail.
@EarlVanDorn What happens when the family has ulterior motives for commitment? Back when forcible commitment was a lot easier, it was commonly used as a means of disposing of people you don’t like or exerting control through threats to have one committed if they don’t obey. There is a reason it’s so hard to do today.
Also, what happens if I’m estranged from my family? How much influence should my mother have to try and get me committed when I don’t have a relationship with my mother and want her out of my life? Even if she were worried about my mental state in the future, does that override the fact that I stopped associating with her when I was clear of mind and want her to have no input in medical or funeral decisions? How does the law seperate being estranged because of illness or drug use and being estranged because parts of my family are overwhelmingly toxic?
I am very concerned at the idea of giving relatives greater ability to have people committed.
"They knew of cases where those who did the latter ended up getting accused of attempting to poison the homeless after the homeless individual who received the random food/drink that the giver had on him/her got sick or even died not too long after eating/drinking those items. Not worth the potential legal liability and potentially negative public reputation from all that in their view.
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Cite one such case that made it to trial. Otherwise it’s just your imagination.