[fdpaq0580]

Panhandling is, imho, a disgusting way to make a living. Like phone or internet scams, many panhandlers are skilled at making you feel sorry for them in many ways. Everything from what you described here to dressed in business attire and using a line like, "Can you help me. I've been robbed and I need to get a flight home asap for an emergency. I need @$80 to get to the airport and $700 for my plane fare. Write down your name and address and I can send you back the money in a week." For real. Heard it at LAX many years ago. A news expose' interviewed a lot of panhandlers. Very lucrative business. There are even "schools" that teach the higher end scams. Street theatre at its most despicable.

[triflex]

Might be Roma/Gypsies if it is an entire family with small children. I represented them in court a few times in other cities. I've also seen them repeat this in other cities I've visited. The kids don't go to school often and that gets them in trouble with Child Protective Services. The women do most of the panhandling. It is quite literally a cultural thing that they have done for 100s of years.

Generally, if you see kids repeatedly with panhandlers who look Eastern European or almost like they are form India (but not literally from India) then they are Roma. Child Protective Services generally would know about them if the kids are truly homeless - a deprivation case would be filed and this kids would gone to the State/foster families.

In other words they are not really homeless - just helping mom/dad panhandle.

I even saw a family of them 3 months ago in Orlando out in misting rain playing an accordion.

[manaboutown]

They are probably clearing $100K+/yr tax free.

[ThirdOfFive]

Great (and true!) panhandling story...

My wife and I were in Thailand visiting relatives a few years back. We were staying in Bangkok; one of the best ways to get around that down is by "Skytrain", an elevated railroad system. It is usually packed to the gills; there are stations every so often where you can get on and off.

We were getting off the train at a station near the end of the line. There was a woman lying on the grass adjacent to the station, with a small child with her. The kid was playing contentedly. She had a donation jar next to her. We stopped and engaged her in conversation (my wife translated). She had been crippled in an auto accident a couple of years previous. She was from Isaan (the northern part of the country), and she and her child were looking to get back up there so her relatives could help with raising her child. She was not able to work, and was raising money for train fare. She nearly had enough, and was looking forward to seeing her family again after a long absence.

I stuffed a 100 baht bill into her jar. We wished her well and walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We got back to the station, intending to ride the skytrain back into the city, and saw that the woman and child were gone. There was a uniformed Skytrain official on the boarding deck for the train, so we asked him what happened to the woman. Apparently her boyfriend had picked up her and the child (on a motor scooter, no less) and left. The official also added "she'll be back tomorrow morning".

Yep. It was all a hoax, but VERY well done.

That's not all. Apparently this is a common scam and it is pulled at heavily tourist-frequented areas such as skytrain stations. But a lucrative side business is that you can actually rent a kid for a half a day!

A 100 baht lesson, but very well done. Sure beats a grubby bearded guy on a street corner holding out a can.

[billethkid]

There are plenty of Help Wanted signs around.
We do not donate to pan handlers, solicitors, scammers et al.

[davem4616]

I've been hood winked a couple of times by 'panhandlers' with a sad story...

some of them are unemployable, as they are convicted felons/can't drive/etc....and some of them are just con artists

I haven't seen the families

now I just give to the Salvation Army...they seem to get it right when it comes to helping people truly in need

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

There are plenty of job openings at the places they panhandle, I don't feel sorry for them.

that's the part that confuses me the most. some will actually stand by a business with huge help needed signs. do they not qualify? i'd think they could find something nearby.

[Spalumbos62]

Originally Posted by jricci13

I noticed two different families "panhandling" today. One family was standing with a sign at Rolling Acres Road and 441 by the shopping exit. The other was on Seven Miles Dr. in Wildwood. I have lived here a year and have never seen people begging for money.

I'm not talking about the few homeless adults that hangout by Walmart. These were young families with children running around. I don't know how to describe them without offending someone, but I would say that there is a possibility that they may have not been Americans. I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this? If so, who are they, why are they here, is this legal, and might their number increase?

Is it me...but do I hear in your voice that you are the victim here? It's almost like poor little me, entitled villages home owner...how dare such filth be in my surroundings, my neighborhood wanting a donation from me.
Yes, there are people that pull a fast one to get your donation, but how freaking sad that they have to do this. Does anyone really believe they make allot of money doing this daily.
Think about it, if you were in this situation wouldn't you go to a vacation location or some place like the villages? I would.
I dont hate these people, like so many here do and I don't give them cash....I give them bottled drinks and snacks.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Spalumbos62

Is it me...but do I hear in your voice that you are the victim here? It's almost like poor little me, entitled villages home owner...how dare such filth be in my surroundings, my neighborhood wanting a donation from me.
Yes, there are people that pull a fast one to get your donation, but how freaking sad that they have to do this. Does anyone really believe they make allot of money doing this daily.
Think about it, if you were in this situation wouldn't you go to a vacation location or some place like the villages? I would.
I dont hate these people, like so many here do and I don't give the cash....I give the bottled drinks and snacks.

Would you feel the same way if The Villages started to look like some cities that have been taken over by homeless housing areas? If that happened here, I would move away.

[Spalumbos62]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Would you feel the same way if The Villages started to look like some cities that have been taken over by homeless housing areas? If that happened here, I would move away.

If you moved away- it would probably be at the next location too..
I think the caring people of Tv would stay and help...maybe with some sort of community action or fund raiser for temp housing. What a win-win opportunity. You can't take it with you, you can better your community AND help others.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Spalumbos62

Is it me...but do I hear in your voice that you are the victim here? It's almost like poor little me, entitled villages home owner...how dare such filth be in my surroundings, my neighborhood wanting a donation from me.
Yes, there are people that pull a fast one to get your donation, but how freaking sad that they have to do this. Does anyone really believe they make allot of money doing this daily.
Think about it, if you were in this situation wouldn't you go to a vacation location or some place like the villages? I would.
I dont hate these people, like so many here do and I don't give them cash....I give them bottled drinks and snacks.

Yes, many do make a lot of money...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoHsR9Na-cE

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...andlers+caught

[Tom52]

We were in St Augustine recently and there were as usual a number of panhandlers along the the main walking street. On guy had his jug or can out in front with the sign that said "BEER MONEY". I said to the wife that at least one guy was honest about it.😀😀😀😀

[triflex]

Last time I gave money was in Hong Kong to a guy with no face. 99% of the others are drug addicts.

I too will move instantly if the people managing TV begin to tolerate 'homeless' behaviors. It would be a town run by and occupied by suckers.

Originally Posted by Spalumbos62

Is it me...but do I hear in your voice that you are the victim here? It's almost like poor little me, entitled villages home owner...how dare such filth be in my surroundings, my neighborhood wanting a donation from me.
Yes, there are people that pull a fast one to get your donation, but how freaking sad that they have to do this. Does anyone really believe they make allot of money doing this daily.
Think about it, if you were in this situation wouldn't you go to a vacation location or some place like the villages? I would.
I dont hate these people, like so many here do and I don't give them cash....I give them bottled drinks and snacks.

[FromDC]

A few days ago, there was a family holding a cardboard sign asking for money. They were in the Grand Traverse shopping center parking lot near the credit union office, just down from Publix. The man was playing an accordion or a similar instrument. I saw a lady give them a couple boxes of Cherrios. I felt bad for the people who appeared to be a husband, wife, and a child in a stroller.

[jricci13]

If they make their way into the villages it will be about us. The right on the outskirts