Begging for gas money!
 

Beware! I was in the parking lot of Steak & Shake tonight about to leave and a white van pulled up with a male driver and female in the passenger seat. She apologized for bothering me but she said she had been stuck in the area for about 4 hours and her friend was driving her around asking people for gas money to get home! I immediately told her "no I will not give her any money". They left and went to the next people in the parking lot. I then saw they go into the Fresh Market parking lot and started asking people there. I wish I had gotten their licence number so I could report them to the police. Do not give any money to anyone that is asking for it. It is a scam. Just a warning.

I was approached too on 301 two weeks ago. I said no very quickly, very defensively. Later I felt like ......................

I think this same crew was working Oakwood last year. I would suspect they make a good living taking advantage of the kind people around The Villages.

Get over it.


That is the reason it works. Most people are caring. They aren't caring.

ok.....

As soon as season starts they come out. Very often there are two different sets of people begging for cash near Aldis. One very attractive young lady gets into a very nice car. Don't give them money and don't feel guilty. There are many jobs available here if they want to earn money.

Reminds me of the time we were sitting at a Sonic in Orlando on International drive when this guy was going around asking for bus money because he was stranded by a trucker. He was hitting up every one in the lot till the manager told him to vacate. He later took off on a bicycle. Good try.

I rarely say" get over it". It sounds so harsh and I didn't mean it that way.


They are back, the professional folks who beg.


I am sorry that I said it like that.


Just because I debate you, doesn't ever mean I don't respect you and like you.

I know. That's not the first thing I wrote either. But I changed it to ok. No hard feelings. I turn down everyone that asks for money. And than I hear about all the out of work vets and these people living in the woods and wonder what I would do. Five bucks wouldn't make a difference to me,

Just say no

Donate it to DAV, or Wounded Warriors, or Independence Fund---but don't let these scammers get over on you. 95% are not vets, and a lot make a good living off the unsuspecting. Remember the two nuns sitting in Penn Station for 20 years in the 60's and 70's??? For those who are unfamiliar, they sat near the entrance to the Long Island RR tracks and made millions in charity for their order. Turned out they were two homosexual lovers in drag---remember this was before it became "fashionable" to be gay

Have you been to San Francisco in the last 5 years? H2G I was approached no less than 4 times a day. Once I got chased into a hotel by a lunatic who never found me. The pan handlers down here a small potatoes in comparison.

When my son was living in Phoenix, he owned a commercial painting company. One day he stopped at the entrance to I-10 where the homeless people would sit and "sell" the "Grapevine"--the homeless newsletter for $1. He offered this guy a job, training for a trade at $12/ hour in 1996. His response----"that's WORK!!!"

Yes, I was in San Francisco about 6 weeks ago. Stayed for a week at a Marriott near Fisherman's Wharf. I saw lots of pan handlers on the streets with their signs asking for money. However, at no time did any of them verbally ask for money. There was no verbal communication. It was not a pretty sight to see all the pan handlers and homeless. Some are by choice but I suspect most are in need of mental help.

The problem has to do with the gentrification of San Francisco. Take a look at the rent SF Rent History Chart | Unquiet Titles.
My son and I must look more approachable. And it was about 3 years ago.

Panhandlers in the city.
 

Lived in San Francisco for 17 years. Left in 94. Could not pay me to go back there. The city leaders give millions to the street problem. The police are hindered in dealing with the problem.

Yeah, maybe because I was walking my pet emu (as seen in my avatar), the pan handlers were intimidated?

:ho:

Scam
 

As long as suckers give the money it pays more than working.

Not in SF---it's considered "normal" to walk your emu---doesn't everybody have one:1rotfl:

from Everything You Think You Know About Panhandlers Is Wrong | ThinkProgress
In addition, some justify doing little to fight homelessness because, in their view, many homeless people don’t want help and prefer living on the streets. However, researchers discovered that, on the contrary, just 3 percent of panhandlers don’t want housing.
Among the survey’s findings:
83 percent are men
48 percent are African American
31 percent are white
69 percent are single
26 percent served in the military
70 percent are 40 to 59 years old
58 percent have been panhandling for at least five years
53 percent panhandle seven days a week
60 percent make $25 a day or less
94 percent use the money for food
44 percent use it for drugs or alcohol
62 percent are disabled
25 percent are alcoholics
32 percent are addicted to drugs
82 percent are homeless
In total, 146 people participated in the survey.

Is it an Emotional Support Emu? The pan handlers may have been understanding?

:1rotfl: :clap2::clap2::clap2:

I used the link to read the article that you quoted. I think it is important to note that the survey was conducted among panhandlers in the Union Square area in San Francisco. It did not mention how many panhandlers declined to respond to the survey. I suspect that the "scammers" who were not really in need of money would be much more hesitant to answer questions that would identify them as being far from needy.

Also, the people in parking lots around The Villages who are asking for gas money are likely to be much different demographically from the panhandlers around Union Square in San Francisco. Anyone who has spent some time in the downtown area of a large city has likely seen homeless people sleeping on the streets. they are much different from the people around The Villages who are asking strangers for money.

You're right. The article is about a different group.
The guy that asked me for money at the gas station/market on 301 said he has been driving all night and needed some money for [gas I think or maybe a fountain drink]. He did look exhausted and as soon as possible I said, "I'm sorry, I can't help" and got out of there. I don't know if he was a con man or just a guy that needed 5 bucks.

I (very) occasionally volunteer at a soup kitchen. We serve about 1100 people daily of which a small percentage actually lives on the street. I wish they would allow me to do my own survey. Based on personal observation of those that live on the street and not a shelter.

100% do so by choice.
100% have something going on mentally.
100% are eligible to receive an EBT card (food stamps), but mental issues preclude applying.
100% are eligible to receive welfare in the form of cash, but mental issues preclude applying.

Too many people that live on the street need the services of a mental health professional. Unfortunately, it’s not politically correct to say someone is “crazy.”

As for the gas panhandlers: What I’ve done the last 2 or 3 times I was approached, is to offer to buy the gas for them. I say I will meet you at your car and I will gladly buy you 2 or 3 gallons to get you home. You should see the backpedaling. Well sir, my car is many blocks away it would be easier if you just gave me the money rather than go… Hey it’s no problem, I’ve got a car I can meet you there in 5 mins. Well sir, it’s actually for a friend and she lives pretty far away so she would need more than a couple gallons. No problem, I’ll buy her 10 gals. let’s go. Well sir, my car is not at a gas station. No problem I’ve got a gas can in my trunk, I’ll meet you (I do not offer to give a ride) at your car. Never mind sir.

I used to keep a list of all the local food banks, soup kitchens (btw they serve complete meals) and shelters. I would have several in my car to give panhandlers that approached me. I stopped giving them out because I saw too many of these flyers on the street as trash. I felt that I was the cause of way too much litter.

Personal opinion: if you want to help give directly to the shelters, food banks and soup kitchens. You will have the satisfaction of knowing your money is not being spent on a bottle of vodka or his/her next fix.

When I see someone reach out of the car window to give someone (that is CLEARLY a junkie) a couple bucks, I feel sick. I know the harm that driver is causing to that person with his hand out for money. If a person with arms riddled with “track” marks reaches out to you for money, PLEASE do not give him any. When that person is found dead by overdose on a park bench, you will have the distinction of having contributed to that outcome.

If you feel you HAVE to give something to the panhandler, have a few bottles of water in your car and maybe some self-contained meals. I used to keep several little kits with tuna fish, crackers and a spoon, which are sold in the tuna fish section at the supermarket, but I used to see them littered on the ground at intersections, so I stopped that too. When I’m going into a fast food place to satisfy my personal addiction of diet coke and there is a beggar standing nearby, I’ll buy him a burger and bottle of water. If they are intent on staying out there, at least they won’t be hungry or thirsty.

Sorry for the morbid post but I’ve seen too much while volunteering in a soup kitchen. I just can’t stand it when people have their head in the sand and think they’re helping when in fact they’re doing great harm.

A quick Story about San Francisco. Stayed at the Hilton off Market street. The was a guy panhandling outside the enternce. Very neatly dressed. Went to SF again about two years later and stayed at the same Hilton. Yep, same guy was there!

I don't like being approached by strangers in parking lots or gas stations, etc., but I do sometimes give money to panhandlers who beg at intersections. It doesn't matter to me what they do with the money or if they're truly "homeless." It's still an uncomfortable, tiring and sweaty way to get money, esp. in Texas and Florida. I'm sure they get called names and have trash thrown at them and I'm always very grateful that my life hasn't taken me down the same unfortunate path. Severe mental illness or catastrophic medical bills/financial reverses could still happen to me or anyone.

Even if the beggars use my money to buy drugs or alcohol, I still think that's better than if they rob someone for it.

https://www.facebook.com/hungryandhomeless?fref=nf Florida teacher goes homeless to spread his message

This retired teacher Thomas Francis Rebman has been doing a good job of educating people about the homeless in Orlando and elsewhere.


I have been following him on Facebook for more than a year.

There are scammers out there that will take advantage of people of course. But, there are homeless people who do need help. And, I really doubt if many of them are actually mentally ill. A few are but not that many. My guess is that the life of the homeless is very depressing in itself. Health & Homelessness

I miss having to occasionally use my Trooper voice so when I see someone approaching me, I will use that voice and tell them to "stop right there now". And it does still work. I still don't like someone walking towards me I don't know......

I'll have to try that voice myself.

Did you really mean that? If you did, that's probably one of the most cold and
callous things I’ve ever read. These people need help not money for their next heroine fix.

If you spend some time volunteering to help them (which I have), you will see how giving them money for liquor or drugs is doing them great harm NOT helping them.

One day you might be volunteering to wash dishes at a soup kitchen and you’re called away to help a young man having convulsions. 911 is called and you hope he is still alive when they arrive. You still see blood coming from one of the many needle puncture wounds on his arm. While he has some consciousness you ask what he injected. Where did he get the money? At the intersection, where he gets money for all his fixes.

Some people are part of the solution and some are part of the problem. I’m not sure you’re part of the solution.

What!
 

I say they just robbed you.

Maybe he could record it for us and we can play it real loud on our smartphones. I had that voice but it only stopped students in the hallway without a pass.

You make some good points.

Say no politely and move on. You don't want them to follow you home.

We discuss this issue in October. It appears to be seasonal.
 

On the way home from Ocala, when we were getting on I75 we encountered a young man with a placard asking for money and another young man with a placard asking for money when we got off I75 near The Villages.


It is something that is very common THIS time of year.


Here is a thread from last year at this time. It is a business for some people, please keep that in mind.


https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...hlight=beggars

I spend most of my time in two different communities in two separate states. Over the past several years I have noticed in both towns more dirt bags bumming at intersections. Such conduct is of course a bit hazardous and slows traffic flow but they could care less. Me, me, me.

A man I know well is a long time minister of a church in one of the communities. He showed his son these folks prefer to bum off others and not work by offering several of them work. They all turned him down of course. These scum bags do not pay taxes and they clog up emergency rooms when sick or hurt. Hard working taxpayers are carrying these leeches, like it or not.