Hard work is one thing. Being able to hold a job and handle finances is a learned skill. If you ended up on the streets and started smoking cracks, you wouldn’t know how to hold a job even if you wanted to (and most of these people don’t seem to).

There is almost no excuse for panhandling for any length of time (i did it to get money to make a call when i was 13, and to get bus fare but i was deeply embarrassed). There are panhandlers in SF that have been doing it for 30 years. The city is actually discussing what to do for these guys who are getting old and need medical care. They have been taking FREE money all these years and are going to get FREE medical care as a result of it because people feel sorry for them. The people who have been handing them change as well as the people who refuse will be footing the bill for that medical care.

I have not blanket judged all the people on the street but even still, it does not change the fact that the majority of beggars are capable of working to some degree. They are capable of earning what they currently get for free.

Obviously there is something wrong that this is becoming more and more common to see. What that issue is exactly, I don’t know but it needs to be attended to and solved. The lack of pride and drive is deeply disturbing… that fact that it seems to be turning into some sort of culture… Meh.

The people who hold signs work together. They plan out the corners they’ll be working at and they swap signs from time to time. They put time and effort into what they’re doing… instead of helping society by being a useful participant, they choose to work together to help themselves… off the grid.

I couched surfed for almost four years as a teen… a few months is like a slumber party. Seriously though, I’m glad you got it sorted. I was without a job for a year in a half after 9-11 when no one else could find a job either. I suspect the next year is going to be very similar for a great many people.

tl;dr: as much as I’d like to shake those people who have given up and gone to panhandling, i can’t tell them to just go “get a job.” It’s legitimately difficult to go get a job when starting from the bottom- energy put into getting paid and fed *now* is a temptation I can’t mock or berate someone for too harshly- unless I personally offered them a job and they turned it down. . .

That’s intense.I can relate to your story. My family was extremely poor at one point as well. But there was always a way to survive without begging.

Yea well, when drugs are involved the story changes a little. Drugs are the reason why I never help those people, because you never know right. But if you have ever been addicted to any thing, whether it’s nicotine or caffeine, you know how hard it is to quit. So, even though I have never been a drug addict I do understand that it’s way harder for those.
But just like you said, there are so many who appear to make a clear choice to beg. Those are the people I feel most inclined to help. I know it’s strange, but I’m assuming for whatever reason, that those people don’t realize how simple it is to solve most of their problems. Of course there are many who are just simply lazy, but I’m certain there are many who are confused and don’t know any better.
I think it’s awesome of you that you helped that guy.

Sometimes I fantasize that I could take a hooker home with me, let her clean up, give her respectable looking clothes and help her get a real job.