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The only money I've given to a person who didn't do anything to earn it at the time, was a guy with one leg sitting in a wheelchair downtown one day, while I was on my way to lunch. He was groomed, dressed in clean, though old clothes, and smiling. I sat down next to him and we had a conversation, and I gave him $5. It felt good to do that for him, and so I did.
Usually I carry bottles of water in the car and hand one to anyone looking like they could use it, if they're out panhandling. I generally don't give them money. But I've been known to buy someone lunch, or a snack, or share mine with them, and almost always spend time talking with them. But, I went to college in Boston and was a street performer for several years, and got to know the homeless community in Harvard Square (Cambridge). Some of them were - just long-term druggies who were basically waiting to die. Most of the rest had amazing stories to tell and I was fortunate to have learned many of them. I never gave them money either, but I've shared many quarts of beer, meals, clothing, stories, songs with the folks in the Square over the years, and slept among them in the graveyard behind the church (a favorite spot in the late spring). |
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Over the past five years, Seattle has seen an explosion of homelessness, crime, and addiction. | Christopher F. Rufo, City Journal Seattle is under siege. Over the past five years, the Emerald City has seen an explosion of homelessness, crime, and addiction. In its 2017 point-in-time count of the homeless, King County social-services agency All Home found 11,643 people sleeping in tents, cars, and emergency shelters. Property crime has risen to a rate two and a half times higher than Los Angeles’s and four times higher than New York City’s. Cleanup crews pick up tens of thousands of dirty needles from city streets and parks every year. At the same time, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the Seattle metro area spends more than $1 billion fighting homelessness every year. That’s nearly $100,000 for every homeless man, woman, and child in King County, yet the crisis seems only to have deepened, with more addiction, more crime, and more tent encampments in residential neighborhoods. By any measure, the city’s efforts are not working. |
I came to Florida from Seattle and sat on committees for affordable housing and homelessness. It is a phenomenal problem in Seattle and people are living under the bridges and throughout the community. Lots of efforts taking place but the challenges seem to be endless.
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I will give to someone who truly looks handicap and not capable of working. But health young people covered with expensive tattoos and smoking expensive cigarettes claiming they need cash for food won't get a penny from me.
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They are mentally handicapped?
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May I suggest a little more research? The city itself spends about $90M and then $360-$410M is spent by non-profits, which includes the cost of the thousands who are provided homes...so they aren't "homeless." And that 'estimated' $1BILLION cost in your link...counts a whole lot more than direct money spent on the homeless. The economics of homelessness in Seattle and King County | McKinsey Quote:
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As you know, more than most, it's a huge problem in a lot of cities...and isn't getting smaller. Hopefully, in the near future, innovative methods and the money will be found to start putting a dent...to the problem. :ohdear: |
Everyday Hero: He Meets Homelessness Face to Face
I followed this teacher's-- Tom Rebman's-- posts on Facebook for years about what it is like to be homeless in various Central Florida cities and/or towns. It is a very complicated issue. |
There are a lot of articles about him--
Teacher nears end of month of homelessness - Orlando Sentinel |
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And any way you look at it, it's money that's not providing the results they are hoping for. And come on.. Saying that money that goes to providing homes doesn't count because they're not "homeless" is splitting hairs. Were they homeless before the homes were provided? Would they be homeless if the homes weren't provided? Most likely. Regardless of how much is being spent we have a problem. So far we haven't found a solution. Throwing money at it obviously hasn't worked. Someone once said "You can't solve the homeless problem by making your city a great place to be homeless".. ETA: And if you look at my post I never said the City of Seattle spends $1Billion. |
Those on the corner with cardboard signs have never and will never get a dime from me. However, I have given thousands of dollars to homeless shelters and soup kitchens.
The money given on the corners will more than likely go to the local liquor store or worse. I know that 100% of the money that I give directly to the shelters will be used for food and shelter of those who are down on their luck. |
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Thing about homelessness - and even beggars on the street corners, is that until and unless you actually speak with them, and hear their story, you have no way of knowing their circumstances. And every single one of us is one mortgage payment, one drink, one surgery recovery painkiller, one tragic traumatic mind-snapping moment away from being in their place. Does it mean we have any obligation to help every beggar we see, every person who looks down on their luck? Absolutely not. It isn't our obligation. But it is our responsibility to treat them like human beings and not look down on them like they're dirt under our feet. Even a nod of recognition of their existence, is better than how they are usually treated. |
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