Panhandling; a season for Kindness

+1 internetz to you good sir

Please donate to a real charity, not these mooches.

Yes...they are scam artists. Do NOT enable these gangsters.

I have decided to mount a covered cup on my window exterior with my own sign. Perhaps they might "donate" to me while I sit at the traffic light.

how do you know they're scammers?

I finally accepted that most of the panhandlers are scammers when I saw the overweight lady stand with a sign saying "pregnant and need help" every day for almost a year on my way to work.

Either she had the longest gestation period in history, or she was exploiting her shape/size to prey upon the sympathies of people who surely would hand over cash to a woman who was "pregnant and needed help."

I used to be a sucker for these types, but I realize there are plenty of social agencies to help them out. We should not encourage this.

Last year I got off the Wales road exit and crossing the bridge was a panhandler, with a dog, walking to the southbound exit with a sign saying he needed money for dog food. As I crossed the bridge I saw on the northbound exit ramp another man with a dog and the same sign already working the other exit. They were working the same scam on both exits! At the bottom of the hill there was a Northwood police officer who was working a traffic stop. I told him about the panhandlers. When I left the area about 10 minutes later they were getting into their car that they had parked in the Tim Horton’s lot and leaving. Two nights later the news was doing a story on Broadway about a car accident and who do I see walking in the scene behind the reporter, the guys and their dogs. They get around. Take it from an Old-timer, I have heard the same sob stories hundreds of times. At Alexis and Lewis I watched in a parking lot with my daughters as a panhandles who tried to hit us up score with someone else and promptly go the nearest store and come out with beer and cigs. They are all Scammers. Do not give them a dime it only encourages them to keep working the scams.

That's a long walk from Wales to Timmy Ho's that is on Buck and Glenwood. Or did you mean the Buck Road Exit??

I don't even want to go onto my story about the one who flashed me his "wang".

"I don't even want to go onto my story about the one who flashed me his "wang"."

So did his Wang have a large or a small hard drive?

Considering its size (I'm certain he'd blame the cold) I don't think he had much drive at all.

Shrinkage!

One time when I was young, my mom and I were driving somewhere. There was a guy who looked pretty well down on his luck, tattered cloths, long beard. My mom is good hearted but pulled over and gave the guy a $10. I asked her why, if she really felt the guy would end up getting booze with it. Her only response was "That's a possibility, but if his life is that horrible he has to do that for money, if it'll buy him 1 night of chemical happiness then why not".

That stuck with me as an adult, when I was older driving on my own and seeing people like this I remained caution, but still gave a couple bucks here and there. Then one time when leaving work I saw a similar situation. I turned around went to the BK up the street and bought a huge bag of food maybe $15-20 worth of stuff.

Went back, pulled over and handed it over to guy wondering if he's be grateful or toss is because he was looking for booze or drug money. He simply said "Thank you God bless".

I try to keep it logical, if I see some clean teenage kid out in Best Buy asking for gas money when I show up but still there, yes I can guess it's a scam, or similar situations listed above. But more often than not I will give.

Yes I'm a softy and there are lots of needy folks out there. If I have it in my power, or if I have to warm up some soup that night instead of going out I'd rather give. I'd like to think I've done more good than bad.

Than again I'm the one in financial meltdown, so maybe I'm wrong but I don't feel guilty for giving, but understand where many people here are coming from. shrug

INeedCoffee, I'm with your mom.

"Scams?" Yeah, maybe so.

But to make such pronouncements, you're operating under the assumption that you have the right to be the arbiter of what's a "worthy" need and what's an "unworthy" need.

If you're an alcoholic or a tobacco addict, well, then your need is pretty real to you. Same goes for being poor. Since I'm neither addicted nor poor, then by such logic your need isn't important or even real to me, and certainly not eligible for my "approval."

But that's not the point, as I see it. Like your wise mom, I'd rather give both the benefit of the doubt and some cold hard cash.

Too bad social service agencies weren't around a few thousand years ago, so people could tell that Christ guy to shaddup already and instead funnel his good works through a sanctioned clearinghouse like the United Way.

(Sidebar: Did that Jayzus guy ever shut up?? Guy just yammered on and on and on about "the poor" and "the meek" and "the needy" yada yada yada. Thank heaven we only fetishized him instead of, like, taking him literally. Phew.)

Oh. Yeah. And by the way, everyone -- rest up for all that Black Friday shopping so we can begin the celebration of Christmas the way it's intended. That guy on the corner doesn't "need" a few bucks for a 40 or some cigs, but we sure as hell "need" (and "deserve," dammit!) Salad Shooters and more craptastic Sharper-Image type shit, right? Right?

(I don't mean any of this to sound as sarcastic as it must. Truly, I'm just yammering out loud here. Stepping off soapbox now.)

When my sister lived in Tampa, people would stand at the end of freeway exits with stop lights. Many occasions whers threats and weapons were used to get $$$$. SAD.

I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.

Ben Franklin about 1750, still true today

They are still there from 9:00am til 6:00pm everyday. I also noticed they have added a few additions which looks like a husband/wife combo. Also noticed she is wearing Ugg boots.

Another man also now stands at the Sylvania entrance to the mall across from Pet Supplies Plus.

Noticed they have all changed spots during certain times, and seem to rotate pretty regularly.

Meant Talmadge entrance. Not Sylvania.

Today....two scammers in their early 20's, looking perfectly healthy, wearing PJ bottoms with a homeless sign, at Talmadge and Monroe.

Unbelievable. Culture of entitlement.

I've stopped several "Homeless Veterans" and because of my familiarity with the programs of groups like the VA, Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, NCHV, and Homes for Troops I've asked if they've requested help from these groups.

When pressed on their service time I have found they tend to lack details about their service.

i've noticed a LOT more panhandlers doing the 75/475 exit thing. including odd areas like next to the art museum on collingwood.

I started this thread in about five months ago in November of 2011 noting that the Hispanic male had been working the corners for over 6 months. He is still panhandling these corners so we are now approaching a year. Lately he has been at the Corey Road exit of 475 or at the intersection of Corey and Sylvania. Maybe instead of the police installing cameras they should just hire these guys to walk around with cameras. Hey! That's a hell of an idea...! I need Carty to pitch that one to Mayor Bell!

Upso, Prairieson and I have regularly seen panhandlers at the exit on Collingwood by the Museum for the past 12 years. I can only speak for myself, but I'm typically not inclined to hand out cash. Food, yes. Money, no.

gamegrrl, interesting. it's possible i'm only noticing them because i recently changed up my driving routes to and from work. (i take collingwood to nebraska to get the the warehouse district now, instead of adams or monroe)

Oh yeah, I have been taking the Collingwood exit to work since 2008, and there have been regular panhandlers for ages.

The story I've shared here before about the fake pregnant woman was at that exit.

Saw the best one ever today at the Spring Meadows intersection on Airport Hwy. She had the sign going, leaning on cane, with a little body shake added in for effect.

Was it a couple? Because the one girl I saw with Ugg boots was also wearing PJ bottoms and a sweatshirt. The man she was with was wearing jeans and carrying a book bag.

Also I noticed all their signs have been saying the same thing lately. "Anything Helps".

When I went back out at 6:30 I noticed 5 of the panhandlers were all in a group walking the same way. Wonder if they might all live in the same shelter? Either way their numbers are growing.

"Wonder if they might all live in the same shelter?"

LOL... good one.

Shelter or "Dope House"????

True story - Summer of 2010

I was on Logan St getting ready to turn onto Collingwood and I gave a buck to a panhandler that was under the I-75 overpass on Collingwood and Erie. I turned onto Collingwood and headed towards Monroe St. (was going to the Museum). I saw another panhandler standing at the top of the Soutbound I-75 Exit 202B ramp, but thought nothing of it. Later that night, I stopped by the Fassett Street Drop-In carryout and found BOTH of the panhandlers I had saw earlier that day. They must've been a couple because they were together counting the money up. They were mocking the good people that were "helping" them, and they basically spent all the money on cigarettes, beer, junk snacks, and some lottery. I remember the guy saying "Some idiot gave me a $10 bill!" as he pulled out Hamiltons face and showed it off to the carryout owner. After they purchased their goods and left, I asked the carryout owner about them and he said that they are regular customers who basically hustle people for money looking poor and homeless - and do it well too.

What is really sad is that there are people in this thread who actually advocate giving these thieves money. Yeah...great idea. Enabling scammers. Jesus would be whipping them and driving them off the street like he did with the moneychangers.

Interesting thread today on Columbus Underground regarding panhandling on COTA busses:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/panhandlers-on-cota

If Jesus would show back up and make a visit to Wall Street and D.C., we might have some worthwhile jobs for these people too. In some ways they have a better job than minimum wage at Walmart, and they schedule their own hours too.

Jesus just left Chicago.......and he's bound for New Orleans.

I saw one Sunday morning, standing on a strip of grass next to the approach to Tim Horton's on Glendale. I thought that it was a good spot. Off the main road, but near the people going slower, with cash, about to buy themselves a coffee and a donut. I thought about getting him a donut, but figured it would ruin his schtick.
I should have bought him a donut, just in case it was Jesus in a flannel shirt.

On Jesus: Not sure what jobs He would create. We'd all end up with ministries, I suppose. Most of his friends were fishermen, so I could probably keep my boat.