Basic Homelessness

There is a lot of misinformation about homelessness, and homeless people, in the United States. So, again, let me share with you some facts.

There are some very distinct differences between types of homeless people. The biggest difference is between chronically homeless people and non-chronically homeless people.

The overwhelming majority of homeless people fall into the non-chronically homeless category. Most non-chronically homeless people have at the root cause of their homelessness financial mismanagment. Most people who become homeless only experience homelessness once in their life time. The average homeless experience lasts between 3 and 4 months.

The vast majority of homeless people do not panhandle. And not all panhandlers are homeless. So, it is wrong to link panhandling to homelessness as a cause of panhandling. It would be much more accurate to link drug and alcohol abuse to a cause for panhandling.

Sadly, most people do not make any distinctions between homeless types. And so all homeless people are treated the same. Because of this all people who are homeless are forced to live together. People who have no problems other than financial, and the drug addicts, and the severally mentally ill, etc, must live side by side while they try to recover. The problems created by this dynamic are many. These different types of homelessness require drastically different types of help for their problems. And for the general underfunding of shelters, it is near impossible for such facilities to properly address all the different needs of the homeless. And for this, rarely does a homeless person get help for his specific issues. Rescue misssions and the like resort to only providing the basics of food shelter and clothing. And some, if funded, will provide basic education, like for GED qualification or very basic computer skills. Still, these basic education classes do nothing to address the actual problems homeless people face when trying to recouperate.

At rescue missions, an emphasis is placed on Christian religion as a means to recovery. Which on the surface seems like a good idea. The problem with this always stems from the staff and chaplains of rescue missions having a very poor understanding of Christianity. And so what is taught and preached at rescue missions is a rather distorted and thus unproductive version of the religion.

Beggars And Panhandlers (2002)

Ok, so what’s the difference between a Panhandler and a Beggar? Well, to my mind there is a difference. The panhandler is stationary, his technique involves picking one place to sit or stand while waiting for you to pass by. The beggar is on the move, his technique involves finding one in the area most likely to buy his pitch. The panhandler works on the odds that a certain percentage of the entire population will walk by him, and throw something into his pan/hat/cup/palm. The beggar is more aggresive, and more cunning; he is the tiger on the prowl, looking for the weak and the young.

Why do they beg or panhandle? Drugs. It sounds too easy to be true. Sorry, it’s all about the Drugs. Even when they are honestly asking for help with food, or their electric bill, or diapers, it’s because they’ve spent all their money on Drugs, (which includes alcohol and cigarettes). At first, giving food may seem like a good alternative to giving money, but that only allows them to save their money for Drugs. Drugs, Drugs, Drugs – I can’t say it enough. When you give money to these guys, and girls, you are supporting their life destroying addictions.

But you think about Jesus’s commandment to give to all who ask; but I don’t think He meant for you to give a loaded gun to man who said he wanted to kill himself. Which by the way, is what the homeless are doing – a slow suicide. Life has caused them so much pain that the only way to escape it is by death. Offing oneself is not quite so easy, so for many people they instead drown their pain in drugs and alcohol. And the pain is so great and the addiction is so intense that they will literally do ANYTHING to get it. When the drugs wear off the pain returns, so they are constantly under pressure to keep the drugs flowing. I just can’t imagine this to be something God would want us to perpetuate.

The Dope man does not run a charity, but he is willing to take just about anything he can in trade for his merchandize. It’s not uncommon for an addict to steal something of great value and exchange it for a small high. When I worked at the convience store I caught a guy with a 300 dollar box of cigars. He would have exchanged it for about 15 dollars worth of crack. Of course he had no idea that he had just taken a full box of Fuente Opus X, easily the most expensive cigars outside of Cuba. I’m sure he didn’t care.

You can love him, you can hate him, he really doesn’t care. All he knows is that if he is persistent enough, he will get what he wants. And that goes for the beggar as well as the panhandler. The only right answer to beggars and panhandlers is NO. You may have to say it more than once before they understand. No – you can say you’re sorry for their situation, but still say NO. Only in a situation where the beggar has become violent, would I relent. By this time he has changed his identity from beggar to outright thief. And robbery is a whole different subject, and ciminal. And speaking of criminal, the United States Supreme Court has determined Panhandling/Begging to be a protected right under the First Amendment Freedom of Speech. If you call a cop and the cop carries the beggar/panhandler away, it’s because they have found something else to charge the man with – they usually get them for public intoxication. If on the other hand he is arrested specifically for begging/panhandling, his Civil Rights have just been infringed.

If your insistent NO does not deter the beggar/panhandler, the next recourse is to make that person’s time with you the most unpleasant experience possible. Yell loud, get upset, tell him to get away from you, threaten to call the police, (and sometimes you have to). Be more persistent than they are. – Part of why they are successful at getting money from people, is because they catch people unaware. Surprised, and uncertain what to do, a lot of people will just give money – if anything, just to get rid of the beggar. If you make enough noise, everyone in the area will become aware of this guy and his intentions, and will steer clear of him. Thus making his task a lot harder. Also, they fear going to jail, though they could care less about threats of being arrested. In jail, they are forced to sober up – for most, a fate worse than death.

In the big world we stress fairness and equality to all people, but in the case of beggars and panhandlers, as we desire to have them end this type of behavior, we must draw the line somewhere. Just like anyother efforts at behavior modification, it’s works best to reward the good behavior and punish the bad.

If you are a business owner, I suggest that you share the expense with other business owners in hiring a security guard. You only need the presence of the guard to keep the beggars moving along.

Just remember that Beggars and Panhandlers are a small minority of the entire homeless population, and you should not judge all homeless people by these bad examples. If a person comes to you for a job, appears clean and sober and capable, though you may suspect he’s homeless, don’t press the issue. Hire the man. You could just be the break this guys been needing.

any questions? what do you think?

Commenter Replies And Proves His Ignorance

So he, (or perhaps it’s a she), has come back for more. Just another day of school for this person. Here is his reply:

Comment:

Funny how you think money solves all problems. Since this is TN, perhaps volunteering your apartment address for the Christian groups to drop off their food donations would be the answer. I’ll make a deal with you. You volunteer your home address and I’ll print up flyers and work with the Christian groups to make your apartment “homeless central” for food donations. This is a WIN-WIN situation. You WIN because your friends are fed and I WIN because the homeless aren’t hanging around downtown so much. You don’t mind homeless hanging around your place all day do you? Thanks…Also heres my PAYPAY account: dennick@yahoo.com Once you’re ahead for the month, can you send me a $5.00 to cover copying cost? Thanks!

My Response: Boy, I wish I had more time today to respond to this. We’ll see how much I can get in here.

I have noticed, since the beginning of this past Republican reign, that the Republicans would quickly accuse non-Republicans of the very things Republicans are doing. When the Republicans began rewriting history to serve their own purposes, the first thing they did, before they could be called on it, was to claim that the Democrats were revisionists. It’s a nifty little trick. Especially when there is no way for Democrats to respond immediately and in kind, to the facts. But you see, in the blogging world, things work a little differently. My response is allowed to be more timely. And I am allowed the time and space to hash out all the facts pertinent to the issue.

The very first thing out of the mouth, (or computer) of our commenter, is the statement, “Funny how you think money solves all problems.” My goodness, how wrong, and reversed, is that from the actual truth. Is it not the people who horde money, who have more money than they know what to do with, who, instead of being frugal, buy property for the status it brings. Is that not why people buy “luxury” condos and other property downtown? Sure it is. To these people, it’s all about the Benjamins.

My only comment on money in the previous post was to show that money could be better spent. It is the Downtown Partnership, and the Urban Residents Association, who are spending a great deal of money hiring off duty police officers and security guards to chase, and hopefully harass the homeless out of downtown. And believe me, it adds up to a whole lot of money. If it is any one, or group, who things that money can solve their issues with the homeless, it’s these people. Oh, there is nothing like the accuser being guilty of the crime he accuses another of.

All I suggest is that these groups spend their money more wisely. Certainly the same amount of money used to cure homelessness would be a better use of that money than just trying to chase the homeless away. Noted author, Malcolm Gladwell, who wrote, “The Tipping Point,” also wrote and article talking about how it just may be easier to cure homelessness, than just manage it.

Malcolm Gladwell

Further on, our commenter, almost threateningly, beckons me to allow Churches to bring food to the homeless in front of my apartment – something to which our commenter would gladly support. Well, what our commenter doesn’t know (and there is a lot that he doesn’t know) is that Church groups do in fact bring food to my apartment complex. You see, I am staying in a small apartment building that is part of Nashville’s pilot Housing First project. (Google “Housing First” to get more information on that.) And my apartment building is close enough downtown that occasionally, panhandlers come by. I still get panhandled, as I have always been panhandled – it’s not a problem for me. I just tell them “no” and go about my business.

The really important point, that our commenter continues to miss, is that homeless people are not attracted to certain areas based on what food, or other freebies are made available to them. I understand that that may be a difficult concept for some people to get, but it’s the truth. What actually happens is that some organization, usually a church, reads their Bible, prays to God, and comes to the realization that God wants them to feed and clothe the poor and homeless. So, they strike out in search of the homeless, and find the homeless in the downtown areas. Church groups didn’t just set up shop in downtown and wait to see if any poor and homeless would find them there. The poor and homeless came first. Just look at how Nashville’s rescue mission got started. Some traveling preacher came to Nashville, saw the homeless on the streets, and gave a donation to start the mission. See? The homeless were already in downtown, before anyone came to give food and shelter to them. And that’s the way it’s always been. If these church groups went out to some place where there were no homeless, the homeless would never find them. Kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?

And our commenters final contribution is the temporary offer of helping advertise, by way of flyers, where the food would be offered, away from his place. Well, again, our commenter proves that he doesn’t understand the minds of homeless people. For all the flyers and posters in downtown, encouraging people to not give to panhandlers, and all the little hand outs with lists of homeless service providers, that luxury loft owners hand out to people who panhandle them, after all that “advertising” panhandling is still alive and well in downtown Nashville.

You, after all is said and done, homeless people are going to do whatever they want to do, regardless of what society desires. Homeless people exist outside of society – society rejects the homeless, so the homeless reject society. Homeless people just don’t give a damn about Mr Commenter, about his money, his ego, or his desire to have a Disney-esque downtown experience.

My advice to our commenter, and all downtown luxury loft owners, is to start caring about the homeless – when and if that ever happens, they just may see the homeless starting to care about them.

It Never Ends

So, I was walking down 5th ave towards Panera Bread, where I am now using the wifi, and I passed a group of cops and a homeless man. Some of the cop cars lights were still flashing. The homeless guy sat upon a short wall. I had no idea why they stopped the guy, might have been for panhandling, might have been for something else. Also, to look at the homeless guy, you wouldn’t know him to be homeless. I only know him as homeless cause I’ve seen him around the haunts.

Anyway, all seemed rather calm and casual about the pull over, as I walked passed. Then a half a block later, a group of three people pass me up going in the opposite direction, towards the cops and the homeless guy. And I overheard one of the three tell the others, “yeah, most of these panhandlers have homes. Panhandling is just what they do for a job.” I was tempted to say something to them, but I didn’t. I just became a little more discouraged.

There are groups actively going to downtown businesses and residents, posing as experts on homelessness, and telling the most egregious lies about homeless people and the lives they lead. These groups are actually doing the bidding of developers selling downtown property. The developers fear the presence of homeless people scares of potential buyers. Of course that actually isn’t a proven fact. And there’s plenty of evidence that nobody really cares that there are homeless people in downtown. The rescue mission moved to a new part of downtown back in 2000, and though some complained of the mission being in their back yard, that area of downtown has actually experienced a lot of growth – new businesses are moving near the mission all the time. And no one has had to move away.

Still, the spread of ignorance continues, and the homeless suffer the consequences.

Things

I have a good case manager. Though she’s been working on my case a short while, she’s already achieved more than I have done on my own. Sure, she’s doing a lot of hand holding, but that’s just what is needed at this point. For two years I’ve been telling myself that I needed to go down to the Social Security Office and get a copy of my Social Security Card. But I never did. Well, we’ve already taken care of that. And she’s collected other important papers and documents in preparation for applying for services for myself. Just knowing that she’s involved in the process, helps me to keep appointments. And as difficulties present themselves, she’s quick to get me talking about them, and working through them, so that I don’t self destruct – which is my normal M.O. – I’ve not received such care from any other case manager, or homeless service provider. The city is paying for this service – thank you, Mr and Mrs taxpayer.

It’s still going to be while before I get into housing, which is our main goal.

You really can never trust a bigot. And bigots we have in downtown Nashville. And though the situation has significantly changed, their story stays the same. The big business folks and the loft dwellers have long complained about the homeless downtown. This immediately raised red flags for me cause I could see the problems coming. First of all, the word “homeless” is used to label a lot of very different types of people, with the only thing in common being that they are homeless. Then these big business and loft dweller people got more specific in defining their case, saying that homeless people were panhandling, peeing and defecating in public. Well that is a serious charge, and no doubt some homeless people were doing those things, but not all of them, not even the majority of them, and obviously some non-homeless people are doing those things too. But these non-homeless downtown people enlisted the help of politicians to bring the heat down on the homeless, and the homeless population in downtown Nashville did change. Some of the things they did were effective towards their goals, and somethings weren’t, but they aren’t splitting hairs that closely. Arresting aggressive panhandlers went a long way towards cleaning up the streets of the anti-social behavior of the homeless. Shutting down the mobile soup kitchens only made life worse for many homeless people, and did nothing to bring about the desired effect. But the initiators of these tactics really don’t care.

Now, a great improvement has been made in downtown Nashville. The pesky panhandlers and others whose behavior was questionable, have been run off from downtown, or those homeless have learned their lesson, and are not bothering the good folks like they used to. I can’t even remember the last time I was panhandled walking along Church Street and 5th Ave North. It used to be a daily occurrence. For all this, you’d think that everyone working and living downtown would be happy, and we’d finally have some peace in the city. Hell no.

The same people are still making the same complaints. They look at Church St Park and see it’s full of homeless people, and they pitch a fit. And they make all the same complaints they always have about the homeless. The thing is, the homeless people now occupying the park are nearly all very good and law abiding citizens. They keep mostly to themselves, they don’t panhandle or otherwise bother other people, and they pick up after themselves. And this little point is so important. And it belies the truth of the loft dwellers and big business men and women. They are still pointing at bad behavior of the homeless people, which really no longer exists, as the excuse for trying to run ALL homeless people own of downtown. It’s not so much the bad behavior of the homeless, but just the general existence of homeless people near where they live, that’s got them so upset. This is true prejudice and bigotry – the unequal enforcement of rights and privileges based on cultural and economic differences. It’s ugly.

There are two ways to make sure your comments never see the light of day on this blog. One, is to not properly identify yourself. If you don’t believe enough in what you say to stand behind your opinions and sign your comments, or, if in previous comments you have been rude, then just forget it. Your comment isn’t happening here.

I Fought The Law And The Law Was Corrupt

So, tonight the Nashville city council will ban “aggressive” panhandling.

Big Whoop.

All the things that make panhandling “aggressive” are already against the law.  This is all just another tactic by city officials to try placating wealthy downtown condo developers, who are in turn, trying to placate potential wealthy downtown condo buyers.

If this law were to provide real equality to all citizens, it would also make it illegal for anyone to give to a panhandler.   As it stands now, it’s like making it illegal to be a prostitute, but not illegal to be a john.    If people would just stop giving money and other things to panhandlers, the panhandling would stop.

Lets get at the real source of the problem.

The Tennessean

The Tennessean
Sunday, 07/15/07
How to handle panhandlers?

The Tennessean asked readers what they thought should be done about people who panhandle on our streets. Following are excerpts from their replies:

What can we do about begging? Well, how about helping people who are reduced to this method of survival? How about giving them a job and a place to live? They’re panhandling because they’re desperate and don’t know what else to do.

It bothers me that so many downtowners, especially the newcomers moving in, are so ticked off at those less fortunate than they. When knocking panhandling, these folks are really annoyed by all homeless persons and want them to go away.

It seems to be the norm today to discriminate, but to blame the homeless for being homeless is the worst kind of bigotry.

Aren’t we all beggars? How many persons do we know today who are asking for all kinds of favors — from their schools, their employers, from the government and others? What do you think all those candidates for political office are doing? They wouldn’t get very far without asking for help and money. …

If all the business owners downtown, the Chamber of Commerce and Metro government would try to work out a solution to homelessness, then all the impatience and worrying about panhandling would be taken care of.

M. Smith,
Madison

Nashville, as well as virtually all other American cities, needs to deal with the issues of poverty and homelessness. We need to address the core issues to provide affordable housing, mental-heath and drug-addiction treatment and public restrooms.

While these issues must be approached with compassion, giving money to panhandlers is not the needed solution. While money donated to worthy charities or social services is applied directly to helping people, money given to panhandlers is usually spent on alcohol or drugs and simply enables these people to continue bad behaviors.

Panhandlers tend to congregate where their behaviors are rewarded and avoid areas where they receive no handouts.

George Gruhn, downtown businessman
ggruhn@gruhn.com

Some people just don’t want to support themselves or their addictions, so they tend to rely on other people for their support, thinking that the world owes them something.

Anyone caught panhandling anywhere should be written a citation and have to appear in court and possibly be brought up on charges. I think that would decrease the panhandling.

Octavis R. Horne,
Nashville

I honestey do not know if there’s any legitimate solutions I can talk about and feel comfortable with. This form of asking — or begging some would call it — is something that is almost natural in this country!

Maybe we should just keep intimidating the panhandlers and post a sign saying it’s not allowed. I don’t believe passing out cards would make Nashville’s image any more glamorous than any other city or town in our great nation.

Floyd Jackson Jr.
Nashville

Panhandling is not a Nashville thing. It’s a national thing. It’s everywhere. What to do about it? Your guess is as good as mine.

Me personally, if I can give, I do. If I can’t, I don’t. Some people lose more change in their couch. What’s a little change?

S. Pruett,
Nashville

Panhandling and homelessness go hand in hand and are found in every major city across America.

Nashville has a militant brand of panhandling. Very aggressive and not taking “No!” for an answer, they become belligerent and offensive.

What ever happened to “any spare change?” or a cup and a sign asking for a donation?

Now, I’m asked for $1.25 for local bus fare, and another asked for $42.50 for bus fare “to get home.”

Sadly, the park across from the library has been taken over by the homeless, and I don’t dare walk through there to eat lunch.

What to do? Passing out literature about shelters only infuriates them, and they operate on a strictly “cash-only” basis for beer or wine.

Avoiding their stare makes me feel uncomfortable and angers me that my city has been hijacked.

The only solution I see is to increase funding to make shelters more accommodating with increased social and medical services. It’s up to them to improve their situation, not me.

Paul D’Argent
Nashville

Every city of any size strives to address the many challenges posed by homeless men and women who have real and legitimate needs.

For 13 years, I have worked at Vanderbilt University, often encountering panhandlers on both the West End and 21st Avenue sides of campus.

I also coordinate student groups that work with the homeless during the winter months. We host 15 men on Sundays for the citywide program called Room in the Inn.

My point? I believe that one approach to panhandling is for people, first, to get involved as volunteers in some kind of homeless ministry or program.

This serves to address the real needs of this population (for food, clothing and shelter), while allowing the main population to get acquainted with the homeless and to discover that this is not a monolithic group. …

By the way, not all panhandlers are homeless!

What do I do when asked for money?

Normally, I have a “no-cash” policy. If the person asking for help says he needs a few dollars for a meal, I have offered to walk over to Wendy’s or the nearest restaurant to order something for that person. … I have bought bus fare for people, too.

Some panhandlers exploit people by (rightly) assuming that people are pressed for time, don’t want to spend time talking to them and will give them a few dollars just to have them go away. These same panhandlers, when offered actual goods or services for which they are asking, will make excuses for not needing the food or fare “right now.” Such refusals then become a legitimate way for citizens to discern real needs from tall tales. …

Metro needs to broker the skills of its local clergy, community organizers and others who know this population so that the greater Nashville population can deal, hands on, with those who deserve a little hospitality.

Mark Forrester,
Nashville

Agressive Panhandlers

UPDATE: Please let me reiterate. Panhandling is the act of asking for money or other things from another person. Aggressive panhandling is the act of using threats, force, or other forms of coercion, in order to obtain things from another person. There is a big difference between the two.

Just how many people can one agressive panhandler offend in a day?

A lot.

I’ve been getting reports recently, even from people sympathetic to the plight of homeless people, that they’ve been overly bothered by an aggressive panhandler. May be it’s just one guy, or maybe a couple of them, but they have been a nuisance.

Although I am in favor of a person’s right to panhandle, I am certainly against any kind of coersion on the part of the panhandler. Hopefully, the police will find who is doing this and deal with them properly.

Still, lets not treat all homeless people alike. Most homeless people are law abiding citizens who only want to be left alone. It’s a matter of separating the wheat from the chaff. For the chaff amongst the homeless make life miserable for other homeless people as they do for the rest of the citizenry.

There are a lot of new faces amongst the homeless. No doubt some of them have been dumped onto Nashville from other cities – cities that found these particular individuals to be just as much a nuisance.

Panhandlers Clarified, Somewhat

Still, there is a great deal of debate in our country concerning panhandlers. If everyone would have read my post on panhandling that I wrote back in 2002, we wouldn’t be still arguing over it. (Yes, that was an attempt at humor.)

The biggest problem is that people have such diverse views and opinions about panhandlers, and most of it is based on inaccurate information. So please bear with me as I try and get a couple important points across on this subject.

First of all, we should admit that panhandlers are a very unique type of person. And for that reason alone, I think that they should be treated separately from all others issues, especially homelessness.

Most homeless people do NOT panhandle. What the exact percentage is, of the homeless who do panhandle, I couldn’t tell you. But, I do know that they are very much in the minority. About 50 percent of all homeless people work at least 20 hours per week at a real job, or through temp agencies. That group of working homeless have their own source of income, so they don’t need to panhandle. There is also a percentage of the homeless who get disability, pension, or other kinds of financial assistance, so those people don’t need to panhandle either. And almost all homeless, employed, financed, or not, get food clothing and shelter at homeless service centers. Yes, a majority of the homeless are alcoholics and drug addicts, but most of these people pay for their addictions with their own money.

Though most panhandlers are homeless, there are some panhandlers who have homes. Still, I believe that the tendency to panhandle was developed by these homed people at a previous time when they were homeless.

The prime motivator for panhandling is drug and alcohol addiction. I have come to learn and accept that not all panhandling is done for the sake of getting the next high. There are some places in the United States that have almost no services for the homeless, and so some people do, in fact, panhandle for life’s necessities, like food, clothing, and shelter. But, lets be real about this. Every city, even small cities like Fargo, have services for homeless people. And so the “need” to panhandle for the basics is quite small.

Panhandling is very humiliating, and degrading, which is what I believe prevents most people, even most homeless people, from doing it. The act of panhandling requires a very strong motivator – the kind of motivator that only real starvation can create. Being that food is readily available to homeless people, in most every city in the country, starving for food is not a reality. But, starving for the next drug induced high is.

Once a person has developed a skill for panhandling, it is not unreasonable that he/she would use it to obtain other things for him/her self. Drug addicts still need to eat. I’m sure that spending the day wandering the streets begging for money causes a person to become famished. Certainly a panhandler will use some of the money gained for food, drink, or other items – items that they could have gotten from a homeless service provider.

Besides the ruse of hunger, homeless people have learned all sorts of tricks to get money from people. There are numerous stories of automobile trouble – most of those start with “I’m from out of town.” They’ll claim that they are out of gas – they may even be carrying a small gas can around. Or their car has broken down and needs a repair. These stories are also commonly accompanied by explanations that whole families, wife, kids, etc are back at the car, waiting on the panhandlers return. Though this bluff can easily be called, very few people ever try to verify the story. Another trick, especially by those panhandlers addicted to pills, is most seemingly legit. They spend a lot of time going from one doctor to the next, complaining of some illness and hoping for a prescription. Once they have a prescription form filled out by a doctor, they will present it to people they are panhandling, and ill ask for help in getting it filled. Most times people will throw a couple dollars towards the cause. But, of course that money never makes it to the Pharmacist. And yet, panhandlers are not stupid. To maintain an appearance of legitimacy, they may allow a person to call their bluff on this one. If a person says, “I won’t give you money, but I will go with you to the drug store, And there, I will pay the bill.” Then the panhandler will agree with this. He is still getting something for free, and perhaps while in the store, will be able to get you to pay for other things he needs. And in this situation is where the most confusion develops. Can you separate, in your mind, the panhandler from the person with a genuine need?

I have always advised people to never give money to panhandlers. BUT, I am certainly not saying that people should never give to people in need – especially when it comes to homeless people. As I have said before, if you want to help a homeless person, you should take the responsibility of determining whether what you are giving the homeless person is actually good for them, is going to help them in some way. And the only way to determine that is to spend time with the homeless person, talking to him/her and getting to know them. And getting to know a homeless person can be a difficult thing, and will take some decernment on your part, to figure out how honest your homeless friend is being with you. It is very difficult for homeless people to trust others, and will often only say things they think you want to hear.

More on this later…

What Will It Take?

So, it all started with W being elected President of the United States. Tax breaks are given to people who traditionally vote Republican – the wealthy. Cuts in funding are taken from government programs for people who traditionally vote Democrat. HUD removes large portions of Section 8 Housing vouchers (government subsidized housing for people who cannot afford their own rent) from cities all across the country. Urban redevelopment begins, spreading like wildfire across the country. Old buildings are being refurbished as luxury apartments and condominiums. Realtors target the wealthy and upper middle class as their market, and begin selling units at $400 per square foot.

Surveys show that the biggest complaint about living and working downtown is the existence of homeless people. Although these same surveys show that the majority of people living and working downtown feel safe in these environs, the homeless are targeted by law makers and law enforcers, in an attempt to make the disappear. This proves to be more difficult and costly than expected. More police are dedicated to downtown patrols. Civic and business organizations invested in downtown areas begin developing their own versions of law enforcement, specifically targeting the homeless. Overt harassment of homeless people becomes acceptable – the order of the day. Lawmakers agresively pursue changes in city ordinances to make criminal all activities homeless people engage in. Though Panhandling is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution, police simply charge all panhandlers with trespassing – an offense that if pleaded guilty to will allow a homeless person to get out of jail with “time served,” but will require the homeless person to spend more time in jail, so to be seen by a real judge, and found innocent.

Homelessness becomes an issue important enough for W to address. He states that America should be able to eliminate homelessness within 10 years. Homelessness service providers scoff at this announcement. HUD announces that cities may get a portion of their section 8 housing vouchers returned to them if they develop programs to effectively reduce homelessness. Homelessness service providers jump on board. HUD creates definitions of homelessness, especially the definition for “Chronically Homeless.” Again, service providers scoff, saying that HUD doesn’t know the difference between homelessness and third base. Homelessness service providers agree to adopt HUDs definitions of homelessness for the sake of possibly receiving funding, even though it is obvious that these definitions are flawed.

To being the process in Nashville, Mayor Purcell creates the Nashville Task Force on Ending Chronic Homelessness. I was invited, and sat on the task force for as long as I could stand it. During the initial meetings it became painfully obvious just how uninformed the average citizen is concerning homelessness – what creates it, what ends it.

The task force works for several months to create its recommendations to the mayor. The main recommendation being that the Mayor create a commission charged with the task of implimenting the task forces recommendations. I accept a position on this commission. The work has been lined up by the task force – the commission only had to follow the taskforce recomendations, and work out the details.

The commission fails in this regard. Frustrated, I quit the commission. The commission has been meeting for 3 years and yet has failed to meet any recomedations to date. Protests by the Homeless Power Project and other civic leaders recently voiced their concerns about the Mayor’s failure to properly address homelessness. Still, nothing as been accomplished. And I wonder if anything will be.

I wonder what would actually motivate the mayor, and the fine city of Nashville, to properly address homelessness. The end of homelessness would benefit everyone, the homeless and the wealthy – so what are they waiting on?

Is there anything I could do to prompt them?

Written For CoolPeopleCare.Org

Cool People Care, and Caring People pay attention to what’s going on in the world around them. And they make decisions based on serious consideration of the consequences of their actions. …well, most of the time, anyway.

Money is hard earned, and in wanting to make the most of it, we try to not be frivolous. Yet, we live in a world where most everyone is out to get as much of our money as they can. The professionals set up temptations, using all the skills at their disposal – the science of marketing, using our weaknesses against us. Car sales people scheme, grocery store managers set up impulse buying displays at checkout registers, and panhandlers look extra pitiful right before they ask that question, “hey buddy, can I ask you a question?”

While everyone competes for our hard earned money, we must decide how best to spend it. But when confronted by a panhandler, we often forget about being frugal, as our hearts become conflicted with a complex dilemma. A fellow human being is in need. Even if his hard luck story isn’t true, just to look at him we know he suffers from some ailment. He says he’s hungry. Well, that could be true. Even addicts need to eat every once in a while. But we know he’ll probably use what money we give him for something less than beneficial for him – bottle of mouthwash to drink, another crack rock to smoke. Deep down, we feel that regardless of our good intentions, the panhandler will not use the money we give him wisely. Although we do want to help him, we wonder what to do.

At first glance, the problems homeless people face may seem beyond our scope of understanding. certainly we cannot meet any of his, or her, more important needs in just 5 minutes of caring. We can put together care packages full of personal care items, such as is mentioned at thehomelessguy.blogspot.com. – travel size tooth brushes, deodorant, comb, clean pair of socks, etc., are things that many homeless people need on a daily basis yet often do without. And providing those things is a blessing to the homeless. But the homeless really need something more than just the chance to make it through the day.

Homelessness is sometimes referred to as a slow suicide. The drugs, alcohol, mental illness all take a toll, as the exposure to the elements, and the lack of privacy take a serious toll. People who die on the streets don’t die of old age. What homeless people need most of all is a way off the streets. And I must tell you, the idea of a homeless person pulling himself up by the bootstraps is a myth. Homeless people don’t have boot straps. Every homeless person who has successfully gotten off the streets has done so with a lot of help from people with stable lives.

In taking 5 minutes one day, perhaps 20 minutes another day, over many days wee can get to know a homeless person. Talk to him. Ask him how his day is going. Share with him our own life stories. Become his friend. Over time, we’d get to know him for who his is, and get to know his real needs. And it would be to those needs that we could focus our care for him. Just know that being a real friend fulfills his biggest needs – the need to be known, the need to belong, the need to be accepted. With these needs fulfill, along with our care and encouragement, our homeless friend will find the motivation to take the journey back out of homelessness.

Photogenic

This photo was taken by Chris at My Quiet Life, another Nashville blog.

I’ve seen this happen at other grates too. Just imagine how drunk you’d have to be, to require 3 or more blasts of a siren for to wake up. Drinking gives people a false sense of warmth, as the alcohol actually reduces one’s ability to maintain body heat. I’d ask that people not give to panhandlers just so to prevent the homeless like these from freezing to death this winter.

Homeless People Facts

This will be a list of facts about homeless people, that will be a work in progress and hopefully it will grow. There are many different types of homeless experiences and thus different types of homeless people. Because the different types of homeless people have a lot in common it’s hard to categorize homeless people into separate types. “Chronically homeless” is the type that most people are concerned with. HUD tried to define the chronically homeless, and according to most people working in the field, HUD got a lot of it wrong. But it was still an attempt and worth considering. Chronically homeless people are those who are most obviously homeless, although many chronically homeless people, such as myself, do not “appear” to be homeless. Chronically homeless people spend more time being homeless, and have the hardest time getting out of homelessness and staying out of homelessness. There are a good number of homeless people who become homeless only because of economics, but these people don’t stay homeless for very long. Chronically homeless people must overcome many separate troubling issues in order to leave homelessness. Certainly, the more complex the problems for the homeless person, the longer it takes for him/her to overcome it.

A List Sure To Grow:
Homelessness is not caused by poverty.

Homelessness is not an extension of poverty.

People who live in poverty desire to participate in society but are not very successful at it.

People who are homeless do not desire to be a part of society.

Homeless people are not motivated by the same things as other non-homeless people.

The homeless population is very diverse.

Blacks represent a disproportionately high percentage of the homeless population.

Most homeless people do not travel the country.

Most homeless people stay near the city they were born.

Of those homeless who do travel the country, they do so mainly in search of family or friends, or work.

Homeless people do not travel the country in search of services to the homeless.

Homeless people do not travel the country in search of better weather.

Nobody wants to be homeless.

People who say they want to be homeless do so only out of spite.

Not all panhandlers are homeless.

Most homeless people do not panhandle.

Nearly all money gained from panhandling goes toward buying drugs and alcohol.

Conversion to Christianity is not necessary for someone to escape homelessness.

Forcing a homeless person to accept or practice Christianity in exchange for food/shelter/help with leaving homelessness, may actually cause that homeless person to reject Christianity, and may actually prolong his/her homeless experience.

Very very few homeless people escape homelessness by “pulling themselves up by their boot straps.” (Most homeless people don’t have bootstraps)

Most homeless people escape homelessness by way of someone bailing them out.

to be continued:

Something I Wrote On Panhandling – Incomplete

It’s been a while since I’ve written about Panhandling. Things have changed since then, so I feel an update is required.

The most important facts I think people should know about panhandling are:

1) Not all panhandlers are homeless.
2) Most homeless people do not panhandle.
3) Nearly all money given to panhandlers is used to buy drugs and alcohol.

Feeding addictions is the sole goal of nearly all panhandlers. Sure, they may use some of the money to buy food; even drugs addicts get hungry, but if a person were to give food instead of money to a panhandler, that panhandler will be able to save more of his money for drugs.

Yep, there are some unscrupulous people in the world who are professional panhandlers, making a lot of money, living in nice homes and driving nice cars. But there are so very few of them, perhaps only a handful in the entire country, that it’s not even worth considering them in the equation.

When I talk to people about homelessness, the question of how to deal with panhandling always comes up, it’s usually the first question asked. My recommendation has always been, and still is, to not give money to panhandlers. And for the longest time, I encouraged people to not give anything to panhandlers, even food, for the above mentioned reason. But on this, I have changed my mind. All across our country, city governments have begun outlawing public feeding of homeless people. In Las Vegas, a law was recently passed that imposed a $1000 fine and 6 months in jail for the act of giving even a sandwich to someone who even looked like they might be homeless. Though in Nashville city officials have not outright banned the feeding of homeless people, the police force has been working to intimidate and discourage groups from feeding the homeless in the downtown area.

It used to be that enough food was always available to homeless people. Such is no longer the case. Not only are there less opportunities for the homeless to find food, even the quality and quantity of food offered at the rescue mission, which feeds every day of the week, has recently taken a serious drop. And though panhandlers may lie about being hungry, so to get money, it would probably be a good idea to offer them food instead.

In being good stewards, it would only be right to get to know the people you intend to assist with money and other things, before actually giving them. Talk to panhandlers who approach you and find out what it is they really need and determine if you can and should provide it. The power of addictions causes people to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise – ethical and moral inclinations go right out the window when the need for a fix comes upon you. Panhandlers will say absolutely anything they think is necessary to get money from you. If a lie works, they’ll use that, if persistence works, they use that too. But mostly, addicts want to avoid trouble, and rarely do they become a threat to anyone. To be taken to jail is the worst situation for an addict because they will be forced to dry out. It may not be a pleasant experience to be panhandled, but there’s nothing against the law about asking a stranger for money or other things. Actually, the issue of panhandling has gone before the supreme court which decided that panhandling was a right guaranteed by the Constitution as Free Speech.

Twice Now

Twice now, I’ve typed up a long post for this blog, only to have my laptop freeze up on me, having to reboot, and losing the posts. So my posts for a while will be short and possibly infrequent, until I get this problems fixed. If you’d like to send me a new laptop, I’d gladly accept it.

What I was trying to post about before was – in short – Still, don’t give money to panhandlers but if you can, please offer them food instead. Municipalities across the country are trying to illiminate if not outlaw the feeding of homeless people. Now, if some homeless person tells you he’s hungry, he’s probably telling you the truth. If he rejects your offer of food, then you’ll know he was just trying to drum up money for drugs and alcohol.