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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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 Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:52 pm Post subject: |
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New York is rife with homeless. It gets worse in the summer, when they all come out of the subway tunnels and into public space.
Homelessness is caused by different factors in the States- drug abuse and psychological sickness being two main factors, a little apathy thrown in for good measure.
What do you do when approached by homeless? Sometimes I give. But the other posters are correct when they say that giving doesn't really help them.
Madoka, lets not forget that in the States it isn't as shameful to beg- you will only become a fleeting thought. Here, however- the family takes it pretty hard. That changes the attitude of the individual from "I can manage this for a little while" to "I must not do this because my family..." |
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recessiontime
Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Location: Got avatar privileges nyahahaha
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| Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Yaya wrote: |
| I hear Scandinavia is the worst when it comes to giving money away to complete losers. |
you might want to elaborate because it's obvious at least I didn't understand you. |
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2i2dk1ny2i3
Joined: 26 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:24 pm Post subject: Re: One thing I miss about Korea |
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| madoka wrote: |
The gas station one happened in Ontario.
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this happened to me once too! I was filling up at the Ontario Mills Mall and they offered me a watch for some Gas money but the watch looked like crap and i rarely give money to the homeless
the most generous thing i ever saw was in SoCal in Hollywood, i was across the street and this guy goes to the ATM, and then i guess gives some change to a homeless guy (to me, the time i feel like least giving anyone anything is right after taking money from an ATM)
having lived in New York, worst thing i ever saw was while running in the park, Homeless guy gets off his bike, in broad daylight, whips it out and starts peeing on a tree (it was shocking twice-fold because a man with his baby turned right around too when he saw what i saw)
if you've ever been to Santa Monica beach at night, its pretty bad how many homeless people are on benches or lying around
Pasadena is pretty bad as its so close to L.A., i can't even imagine how horrible CA is right now with how bad things are
the ONLY time i ever give money to homeless is like one time a guy washed my windshield and gave him everything in my ashtray...or maybe like during Christmas a guy asking not for change but a cigarette, i'd give him a couple smokes
in Denver, i remember my friend once got chased by a Homeless guy in Downtown CO |
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davai!
Joined: 04 Dec 2005
Location: Kuwait
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 1:03 pm Post subject: |
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I am currently splitting my time between Pasadena (Madoka let's hang out) and San Diego, where I work at a bar. San Diego has a LOT of beggars but what is noticeable is how many women there are now begging compared to before. That area (Rosecrans/Sports Arena/Mission Beach) is terrible, with beggars on most if not all of the main corners. Also, it seems every week there are more and more motorhomes parked here, clearly housing someone.
We regularly catch people in our trash (after scaling an 8 foot concrete wall) going in for beer cans to recycle. Someone is going to slip and break their neck, I swear.
I laugh at people who approach me at the ATM. "You think I'm going to give you a $20?!" |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder if this thread should be renamed
Here's a reasonable question - when, if ever, is a good time to be approached by a beggar? |
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2i2dk1ny2i3
Joined: 26 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
| Here's a reasonable question - when, if ever, is a good time to be approached by a beggar? |
during Holidays...imo, but the thing is, that during Holidays, shelters usually help like for Thanksgiving and during Christmas
the majority of Homeless people will, unfortunately spend the money on Booze, Cigarettes, Hardcore Drugs
its sad but being homeless in America is different than being homeless in a 3rd World country without such services offered for the less fortunate |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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I gave food or coffee, not money, to the homeless back home. Yes, it's depressing. The women are afraid of the shelters, and would rather sleep on the street, which says a lot.
Still, I see about 6 homeless people here on a regular basis�more if I go into Seoul. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
Still, I see about 6 homeless people here on a regular basis�more if I go into Seoul. |
The only time I would ever see that many homeless people in Seoul was if I went to Seoul Station late at night. Then it's well over 20. But I was only ever approached by one aggressive panhandler ever. And he was clearly one of the mentally disabled variety. If I recall, he was trying to get me to buy whatever food he had wrapped in some foil. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
| I wonder if this thread should be renamed |
Yeah, when I wrote the OP, I was teaching a student and I didn't express myself properly. I was thinking of explaining that Korea had relatively much fewer aggressive panhandlers or beggars than the U.S.
| Captain Corea wrote: |
Here's a reasonable question - when, if ever, is a good time to be approached by a beggar? |
Back in the late 80s - early 90s, there used to be poor little kids who would try to sell things on Korean subway trains. I always bought whatever snacks (usually gum or candy) they were trying to sell and would try to give them extra but they were too proud to take a handout. They always smiled sheepishly and refused to take the extra money. Always broke my heart to see them. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| 2i2dk1ny2i3 wrote: |
| the majority of Homeless people will, unfortunately spend the money on Booze, Cigarettes, Hardcore Drugs |
While working with the homeless, I found that all of my supervisors, co-workers and volunteers were all very jaded in their dealings with the homeless. I was always told that the overriding reason a panhandler needs money is for things they otherwise could not buy with food stamps. . . namely booze, smokes, or drugs.
Being a young, idealistic person, I tried to help them outside of work. For a year, whenever a beggar approached me on the streets, I would offer my business card and explain how I could help them. I tried explaining how they could get free emergency housing at a motel, free meals, a place to shower and receive clothes for job interviews, job training and placement assistance, etc. Sometimes it would take a while before they would trust that I wasn't some sort of government narc out to bust them, because they were not used to people talking to them. In every single case, I found that they were not only aware of their resources but were already maxed out on every government benefit program out there (e.g., food stamps, SSI, disability, etc.). They needed the money for booze, smokes, or drugs. Well, except for one woman who needed to buy batteries for her large boombox that she would play at all hours of the night.
After that little experience, I learned never to give money to panhandlers.
Oh yeah, I especially despise those a-holes that would get a small dog to illicit more sympathy and therefore money. Then they'd purposely starve the dog to make it look even more pathetic. If you ever see a homeless guy with a dog that doesn't look healthy and well-fed, that's likely what's really happening. |
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420trader
Joined: 22 May 2011
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| chaaaaaaaang spare any chaaaaaaaange? chaaaaaaaaaaaange |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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| madoka wrote: |
| 2i2dk1ny2i3 wrote: |
| the majority of Homeless people will, unfortunately spend the money on Booze, Cigarettes, Hardcore Drugs |
While working with the homeless, I found that all of my supervisors, co-workers and volunteers were all very jaded in their dealings with the homeless. I was always told that the overriding reason a panhandler needs money is for things they otherwise could not buy with food stamps. . . namely booze, smokes, or drugs.
Being a young, idealistic person, I tried to help them outside of work. For a year, whenever a beggar approached me on the streets, I would offer my business card and explain how I could help them. I tried explaining how they could get free emergency housing at a motel, free meals, a place to shower and receive clothes for job interviews, job training and placement assistance, etc. Sometimes it would take a while before they would trust that I wasn't some sort of government narc out to bust them, because they were not used to people talking to them. In every single case, I found that they were not only aware of their resources but were already maxed out on every government benefit program out there (e.g., food stamps, SSI, disability, etc.). They needed the money for booze, smokes, or drugs. Well, except for one woman who needed to buy batteries for her large boombox that she would play at all hours of the night.
After that little experience, I learned never to give money to panhandlers.
Oh yeah, I especially despise those a-holes that would get a small dog to illicit more sympathy and therefore money. Then they'd purposely starve the dog to make it look even more pathetic. If you ever see a homeless guy with a dog that doesn't look healthy and well-fed, that's likely what's really happening. |
Yep, that's why I stopped giving money to beggars. I remember a Korean TV program whose crew followed beggars back to their homes, and guess what? They HAD HOMES and seemed to have mental issues that caused them to beg on the streets. |
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recessiontime
Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Location: Got avatar privileges nyahahaha
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| Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:57 am Post subject: |
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| There are a lot of homeless young girls back in Toronto (Canada). Some of them were cute. If I had a career back then I might of offered them them a job at my place as a maid |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:06 am Post subject: |
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| madoka wrote: |
| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
Still, I see about 6 homeless people here on a regular basis�more if I go into Seoul. |
The only time I would ever see that many homeless people in Seoul was if I went to Seoul Station late at night. Then it's well over 20. But I was only ever approached by one aggressive panhandler ever. And he was clearly one of the mentally disabled variety. If I recall, he was trying to get me to buy whatever food he had wrapped in some foil. |
Ugh Seoul Station is full of them. Still, you're right. It's nowhere near the numbers I saw back home.
This is why I only ever gave food (with the exception of a few times I gave money around the holidays. Hell, even homeless need a bit-o-cheer around them.) |
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English Matt
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| recessiontime wrote: |
| There are a lot of homeless young girls back in Toronto (Canada). Some of them were cute. If I had a career back then I might of offered them them a job at my place as a maid |
Sounds like those girls had a narrow escape. |
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