Among Friends

[Duckncover]

We have an ongoing problem with panhandlers in our area. One woman works two different parking lots, a WM and a large grocery store a block away. She says she needs money because her grandbaby has fever and she needs gas to drive him to the hospital, she needs to buy her own medicine, or she needs gas money to take her grandmother to the hospital to die. She alternates these stories depending upon which store is working. MWF is WMart and Tues, Thurs, Sat is the grocery store.

The manager at the grocery store calls the police when she is harrassing people in the parking lot and they temporarily run her off...then she goes over to WM where she works the aisles inside as well as the parking lot. One of the many reasons I never go to WM. I complained to the manager that she was harrassing customers and he even saw her doing it...did nothing. If you tell her you won't give her any cash, she will then start swearing like a sailor....the police said the best way to get them to go away is to stop giving them money. Most of it is used for alcohol or drugs. 

I donate money to many causes, but never to anyone who is harrassing me and is a scammer. That is not cold-hearted. Panhandling is not illegal in our city, so we see them everywhere. It is a lucrative pastime.

[Duckncover]

When I am loading groceries into the back of my SUV, I put my purse into the back of the cargo area first, and then put the groceries in front of it. I saw a woman a couple of years ago have her purse picked right out of the shopping cart while she was putting her groceries into her car...I am super cautious about it now. The woman didn't even see the man take her purse since she was reaching into her backseat at the time. I read the store's cameras saw it on their surveillance but since he was on foot, they didn't catch him. The contents were gone but they found her purse in a trashcan next to the parking lot.

[DottieBlue]

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@spumoni99 wrote:

I

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@ECBG wrote:

No, you are not hard hearted. 

Tell them you will call the police who will take them to the appropriate agency in your area.  So set the child up with a medicine plan.

I'm sure you have at least 3 or 4 such services, then there are the churches as well that do relief.

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If it was true it wouldnt be a child considering her age it would be an adult child.  Like I said I am 61 and she was older than me.

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This panhandler needs to update her sob story to say her GRANDchild is in need if she was older than 60!

[silkyk]

If they have a dog with them DH and I always brake. We carry a few cans of good dog food in both cars and tell them to feed their best friend first. Guess I'm just a sucker for a beggar with a pup.

[speedy girl]

I never give money to people asking me out in public, as I don't feel safe pulling out my wallet and opening it up. Someone could easily grab it and run. I just would rather send a check to the charities I support. 

[patbz]

DH and I have seen this at a number of busy intersections inPhoenix. The beggars usually are in their twenties, nicely dressed and signs are usually good quality with every bad situation imaginable. Sometimes we've seen three within sight of one another. Also have seen this in Arroyo Grande and they usually camp in a communal site at State campground. (I know this because we camp in our trailer at a private campground that is next door, with a guard at entrance gate. These are scams. I have much more sympathy for someone like Eddie Bernstein ( mentioned in Carl Bernstein as latest book). Eddie had no legs and for many years sold pencils on 16th street in downtown Washington D.C.; evidently he also made referrals to local tailor, st , and I'm sure got a fee from them. One day I was walking to my carpool and saw Eddie, on his wheeled platform, being picked up by a Cadillac. According to Carl, Eddie retired to Florida with the equivalent of close to $1 million. Social nets weren't what they are now back in the 1960s, so I understand that he was making a living with what he had, not like these able bodied beggars today.

[aubnwa01]

I've seen a few groups of grifters here in Tucson that set up shop in the curbed islands in grocery store & shopping area parking lots & have a sound system & a violin & a sign asking for money & pretend to "play" along to a song that's actually a prerecorded track.  I've heard they're "travelers'  AKA gypsies.

[catwhisperer]

I don't trust anyone or anything people say where I live. Scammers galore. They are on every street corner and even come to my door.

[PuppyLoverBob666]

The last time I gave money to a panhandler on a freeway offramp, he thanked me and trotted over to a new-looking, very large truck and drove off.

Now I give to animal shelters, and support charities like that.

[Buffalogal47]

@aubnwa01 There was a young man like that in the grocery store parking  lot in Rockingham County, NC. I gave him $1 but after reading your comment, I won't do that again if I see someone else doing that  here. I don't usually give to panhandlers either on the street or on an offramp. There are too many scam artists  and a lot of them are drug addicts or alcoholics. They can support their own habits.