If you qualify for medicaid (low income health care) and food stamps in Florida, you also qualify for reduced-price and free phone service. You get the modern equivalent of a flip-phone (except it's a smart phone) for $100. And you get something like 300 minutes per month phone service, and unlimited texting at no additional cost. There's no data plan. It's just phone and texting. If you're in a wifi hotspot you can use apps, but data options are otherwise not available on these phones.

You can BUY similar with a Tracfone or an AT&T gophone (and others like them) for something like $20/month total.

People need to be able to communicate with each other. You don't want them on street corners. You wouldn't hire them to work for you. You wouldn't patronize a store that had one of them working for them. You want them to hide away in a homeless camp somewhere far away from you. You don't want them even shopping in your stores. But you're not willing to provide them with the opportunity or means to help themselves (like a phone).

The human race sometimes disgusts me.

If you want more of something, subsidize it.

While driving last night, I witnessed for the first time, a lady begging and claiming to be homeless walking on Morse near SR 44 and near The Villages softball field entrance. I'm all for supporting the homeless, but this lady was obviously not homeless (hair and nails trim, appeared clean, appeared healthy and wearing new expensive Air-Jordan sneakers). She was carrying the typical homeless carboard sign and begging on Villages property to all the stopped vehicles that were passing through.

Since she was obviously not homeless, I hope that no one supports her and soon she will go away.

They make 400.00 a day. If anything get MacDonald gift coupons. If they need to eat . No no cash

Never invite a homeless person
 

to your home for any reason

I am sure this thread will mention how the homeless are always begging money for drugs, alcohol and don't forget the lobsters (although that type of nonsense is generally attributed to those on food stamps).

Reading the same tripe whenever homeless or food stamp people are involved shows me how cold hearted many Villagers are. You don't have to give them anything. You certainly do not need to comment on your "expert" knowledge about who these people are or what they do with the money you may be giving them. So, in my opinion, give or not give, that is your option. But, don't show off your idiocy by claiming any knowledge about them. You simply do not know!

You are getting suckered. They love people like you.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!! I've seen too many run over to CVS and purchase cases of beer after begging. Right behind them are We're Hiring signs for McDonalds, Jimmy John's plus Walmart is hiring and just down the street Aldi is hiring. They just don't want to work and I do not believe they are homeless at all.

That is a tough social problem and dilemma that falls into each person's lap that walks by. On one hand - you would like to be charitable. On the other hand....are they buying food, alcohol, or illegal drugs with your money - no way to know. Except you could just give them a can of food. That is what I would probably do?
If you give them money, they are more likely to be in the same place the next day. Eventually, the TV Land Police will find and DO SOMETHING about them. I am not sure if they will be gentle and charitable about dealing with them.
.......And, the way I understand it, EVICTIONS are up all over the US. If I were living up north and became homeless - I would probably hitchhike to Florida to spend the winter. Maybe find a job as a night watchman from midnight to 8 in some Fl beach town like Daytona. Catch some sleep there and then go to the beach and nap on a towel. The security guard job would give me some money for food. It would be SURVIVING only, but it beats being arrested and getting a record. And it would be honest, at least. That's what I would do!
It seems to me that US society and government are showing zero empathy and sympathy for this homeless situation. And I see more problems pouring into the US at its Southern BORDER and by plane or boat! How can THAT be a GOOD thing when the US can NOT solve its OWN overpopulation problems. I would be curious to know what other countries like Sweden, Finland, and Australia do about their homeless problem?

Seem young and healthy
 

I met a gentleman near family dollar in Leesburg… really homeless, crutches and one leg amputated… I gave him money. The ones that I see by Walmart 441 seem young. With all the help wanted signs…. Go get a job!!

RuthA
 

Our television station back home did a show on this. One guy who made probably $500 a day would go get in a Cadillac and drive to a beautiful home. If you offered them a job they would say they couldn't work, even though their sign said "Will Work For Food". Almost always a scam.

I agree with Warren Buffet's statement, "I want to be taxed more" - by the income bracket method. Sales tax is a flat tax that disadvantages the poor and lower-middle-class. Same with a 1% local tax - it IS not a PROGRESSIVE tax - it IS REGRESSIVE! That's why Florida relies on Sales tax - it helps out the wealthy class. It does have the benefit of hitting the tourist harder than the resident. And tourists from abroad and the north make bigger wages and salaries so they can afford it better than retired seniors.

And part of me wishes I would have her strengths regarding everything she has done…. I wonder if she would have used organized help if it was available to her, did she not start an organization herself? It is not a question to me that the homeless need help, it is a question of how. I do not feel my individual help trumps a group’s dedicate to this purpose. At this time I prefer to assist the group.

When you give money, you are enabling them. ABC did a series where it shows they make 60 to 80 k a year tax free and also are getting government handouts. Stop giving and they disappear.

I used to give to the guys holding signs "Please Help"....but too many of them see begging as a vocation

now I give generously to The Salvation Army...they seem to take the least amount of money off the top

$600 per day times-5 days per week (say as an average)-times 52 weeks gives $ 156,000. That will buy a lot of drugs! At 156,000 per year, all of us-ALL ought to take up that "occupation" and drive them out of business.
I wonder if you and I know about this "White Van" that picks them up - why don't the Police?????? Just asking?

I agree with the contents of this post.

Honeless
 

Jesus told us not to judge, so I don’t have an opinion. If people are outside a store which carries food, I will buy nutritional food and water to give to them. When I eat out, I will have food I’ve not touched boxed with a to-go water, and find someone who is hungry. When we help one of the less fortunate, we are helping Jesus.

It was about 1965 when I was age 24 and living in Omaha Nebraska, I would "hang out" with "street people" on the VERY low end of the economic totem pole. Some might (?) call that "slumming", but I had time on my hands. Many on the street were surprisingly interesting and NOT real dumb or "vegetables". There were some strange, memorable, and some sad and even dangerous ones (to themselves and others). Several I remember went like this......I drove a cheap convertible sports car with a "rapid fill" gas cap behind the heads of driver and passenger (s). I picked up 2 young street ladies (amateurs) - that made a pretty crowded front seat. We stopped in a park and one of the "seemingly normal" young ladies started sniffing deeply my gas tank. She said that she wanted to get "high". I said, "don't do that, it will destroy your lungs! I had to physically pull her back from that gas cap. That was NOT my FINEST hour!
Another experience was even stranger. I was walking, late at night, in downtown Omaha when I saw a crowd gathering - I went over. And I saw 2 adult men fighting - they were NOT your usual adults. It WAS a SAD scene. If only we had cell phones back, then we could have called the Police. They were both handicapped with no legs. They both were kneeling down on boards with small metal wheels on them. They must not have been able to afford a wheelchair. One man was getting the better of the other in the fight. He kept rubbing the sleeve of his winter coat across the eyes of his opponent - perhaps to blind him - as if they BOTH did not have enough problems! There was a crowd of about 15 normal, upright, church-going men AND women standing, watching, and being FROZEN into inaction about the event before them.
I thought about kicking the man that was winning, but I had 2nd thoughts about getting involved with a police report and it getting back to my job. So, I got myself frozen into inaction - I thought that maybe they were putting on a show for money because the winner might leave, and then the loser asks for money, and then they split up those gifts of sympathy. I debated and debated myself - then finally walked away. I was pretty much a coward that day. I still think about it.

So, speak about homelessness and man's inhumanity towards fellow man! I saw the most that I ever experienced that night in Omaha. That was NOT my finest hour and I still am not proud of myself that night. Sorry for the true confessions, but it does put a microscope on an example of sad and homeless people. That was 1965 and today, I hope, that society has improved? NOT sure though?

Thank you for revealing your soul and hard times. That IS the real American can-do spirit! Some great street philosopher once said. "What does NOT kill you makes you STRONGER". It seems like you lived that idea. Some weight lifters say, "no pain, no gain". Not sure if I ever believed that, but it has SOME truth. A person NEEDS the level of STRESS that motivates (not overcomes) them.

I have heard the "broken down car" story at rest stops.

stop letting undocumented alien from coming into the USA and
 

Give them the money( entitlements)that is being used for these people(illegals) to the homeless so they can exist and take care of themselves. America First is what needs to be done.

The scammers will just go somewhere else and scam other people. They don't disappear. Do you think human beings just disintegrate or something? Get real. That doesn't happen.

The legitimately homeless and unemployable will not disappear. They'll just be homeless and unemployable and hungrier than they were yesterday. They'll end up relying on public services more than they did yesterday. They'll get sicker more often than they did yesterday, because they'll be more underfed, under-housed, underclothed than they were yesterday, and end up taking up more space at hospitals and clinics than they did yesterday.

And then people will whine about how there's no space left for themselves, how there are more homeless people living in tents in the forest, more sick people spreading disease, more thieves stealing clothing off clotheslines, more burglaries, more robberies, more petty theft.

It's a horrible cycle that begins with a streak of bad luck, and combined with people who say "THOSE people aren't human, and don't even deserve to be treated like dogs."

People feed stray cats and dogs, but they won't feed a hungry human being.

I find that particularly insulting, as an actual human being.

Homeless near walmart
 

I keep water in my car and will give them water. Sometimes if I have a snack I will give them that . However, the homeless are usually dirty and clothes are tattered.
This past week I passed 2 by because one had a brand new bike and the other had a designer haircut. If they can afford those they don’t need my water.

because
 

because human beings will go buy alcohol and or cigarettes with it.

Probably because it's not a thing.

There's one guy who rides his bicycle to the spot, and chains it up a few aisles down in the parking lot. There's a woman in a wheelchair, she has another person with a van, but I think they actually live in that van.

There are a few people who live in vans and pickup trucks and one guy with a small camper-van in the Walmart parking lot, they move around a bit. One time I got some sanitizer wipes from the Freeosk machine inside and gave the package to one of the women who lives in her pickup truck.

As long as they are respectful and don't try knocking on my window or stopping traffic when the light turns green, I have no problem with them being there. Mostly I'm grateful they're not like the "window washers" off the highway in NYC. They're nasty.

What does the state of Florida say about panhandling on public streets?
Probably like going to restaurants and grocery stores with dogs, nothing.

We know this but Jesus himself healed n helped some and others didn’t receive him or the blessings. I’m not giving to someone for crack cocaine or any drugs or booze. If they don’t want the food I try to give, then I’m out. Many can work and if those that are capable won’t work then they should not eat! I’m not blessing laziness. By the way, they do get all the free healthcare. They get more food then they can eat. Be not deceived. I don’t wake in the morning with the thought of blessing people with illegal drugs or to help people get drunk and being a nuisance in our neighborhoods.

Why not give someone money for crack, cocaine, drugs, or booze?
Maybe your Jesus would??

Here is a start on the laws. Enjoy!
The Many Laws of Florida’s Panhandling - Homeless Voice

With all the help wanted signs on just about every business, they can get a job. I say give them nothing.

I enjoy reading how some deal with the panhandling public. About 1993 I was in Alaska and the wife and I were leaving the grocery store parking lot. We were behind a pick up truck waiting to exit onto the main highway. Right under the stop sign there was 2 younger fellows, maybe mid 20s sitting holding a sign that said “FOOD WANTED”. For a second I thought how clever hitting people up as they leave the parking lot of the grocery store. The guy in the pick up ahead of us opens his door and hops out and climbs into the bed of his truck. He opens a very large cooler and pulled out 2 fresh salmon, maybe 10 to 15 pounds each. He yells at the two sitting beside the stop sign and threw them the fish. Got back in his truck and drove off. Surprised or confused is the look on the two guys faces as they are sitting there with a sign that says FOOD WANTED and each holding a large fresh fish.

I've been seeing the same "homeless people" there for the past 7 years. Definitely a scam, just like others say, just watch them during and after their "shift".

They're not doing it on public streets, they're doing it at the edge of the parking lot of Walmart's (thus the title of the thread). That's private property. The property owner has the right to kick them off, OR call the police and have them charged with trespassing. But thus far, that doesn't seem to have ever happened.

Homeless people don't have permanent addresses, and can't get a legal job without one. And many places won't hire them even if they are willing to skirt the law, because homeless people are not reliable. They don't have reliable transportation, they don't have reliable hygiene, they don't have reliable access to clean clothing. They're a poor risk, and generally not employable.

I choose not to feed stray dogs or cats because it might help the individual animal but does not help a more refined dog breed or at least a cat that is wanted by humans. I think it is more humane to neuter them. I am guilty of feeding a goose mama with little gooselings, but I never feed them bread, which hurts their digestive tracks - I go with ground corn. I know that I should NOT feed the geese because they become habituated to humans and end up getting hit by cars.......my bad!

This thread has been so sad. . Once you are evicted it is almost impossible to rent another apartment. You can’t get a job unless you have a phone and an address. In many states you can’t even qualify for food stamps or Medicaid without an address. If you have been convicted of a felony, you are entitled to no benefits, even long after you have served your sentence (and just try to find a decent job with a felony on their record). If you live in the Los Angeles area, two adults earning minimum wage jobs do not qualify for ANY apartment in the area. Many of the tents around Union Station (in LA) are occupied by 2 adults who each have full time jobs. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same is true in Florida. TBH, it seems like begging might get you a better lifestyle.

Truth, but the "I've got mine, screw you (them)" crowd don't care.

Corn is almost as bad. Geese eat mostly seeds, plant roots, berries, whole raw fresh grains (grasses) and stems, and insects.

No need to give homeless people money, but sometimes it's a good thing to offer a kindness - simply because you're a human being connecting with another human being. If you bought a case of water, give them a bottle of it. If you bought a box of protein bars, give them a bar. If you bought a 12-pack of Ivory soap, give them a bar. If you bought a box of tampons, offer the young woman a few. When you get free sanitizing wipes from the Freeosk booth, give it to the person out there. Maybe if there's a BOGO on cheap toothbrushes, get them - and give one to one of those people out there.

Up north we had deposits on cans and plastic bottles - some folks - when they're parking downtown for whatever reason, would gather whatever empties they tossed in the back seat, into a plastic bag, and just give the whole bag to a random homeless person sitting in the park. We get rid of our empties, and they have to actually work for their dollar. Win-win for everyone.

There was also a program downtown that many restaurants participated in. Customers could buy credits, that would be given to homeless people in exchange for a bite to eat (a cup of hearty soup and bread, or a small salad) or a cold/hot drink.

I would often give money during the Pandemic. I have since quit. Sam St. John's cannot find dishwashers (low skills needed) Every fast food and restaurants have help wanted signs. If a person can stand in the sun and hold a sign they can wash dishes, help in the kitchen, get a job they can work up to better positions. When there were no jobs we gave. Now there are jobs and people don't wan them. I have decided with the Walmart and Mcdonald's sign holders I am part of the problem so I no longer hand out money. It is sad because that is not who I am but I choose to channel my giving to extra tips for the workers. When you want to give, give a $5.00 tip on a $4.00 breakfast. The smiles are worth it!!!!