Community Chat

[Love my grandkids]

@ECBG The OP was referring to a senior citizen not a high school kid.

[RedTop]

I agree things are not always what we think.

For several weeks when my husband went to early breakfast with his friends, he would see a woman and young child walking and pushing a filled shopping cart across one of the parking lots in town.   He figured she was homeless, but she was always seen within a block of the city police station and 2 blocks from the Salvation Army.  This area has A LOT of low income/needy people, but very few homeless people.   

In April, a local news story told about a man and woman caught stealing from businesses in that area of town.  Camera footage caught the 2 outside the back door of a business; man and woman, as well as a loaded shopping cart.   When my husband saw the picture, he confirmed that was the woman he'd been seeing and that was the cart she pushed.   He has not seen the woman since.   

[rms1954]

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@maximillian wrote:

Be careful of getting duped.  There are many, many reliable, legitimate organizations to help people in dire straits.  Some are government funded, some are the result of very good work by community people.  Some are run by churches, some by clubs, some by nationally well-known organizations.  There is help available for the needy.  Just like with the annoying "cold calls" and scammers, individuals (and organized crime groups) will do what they can to make you feel sorry for a certain group of citizens.  Please be careful with your donations.  Most of us are struggling financially these days.  Don't give your money away without knowing the situation is legitimate and even then get the person to go to appropriate, caring, well-run organizations.

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Maybe they don't know who to turn to for help.  If they live on the street or have no TV or means to access information, then they may just simply asking for help.

[rms1954]

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@SouthernBee wrote:

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

In years past I have given cash to people who seemed in need. I  figure if it's a scam then so be it. I'd rather err on the side of good. They were situations that I found heartbreaking and just could not ignore. I'm still not sorry.

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@Love my grandkids : This is what we do but still get a lot of criticism for it. Especially for DH having a difficult childhood and going to bed hungry. My family was very poor but we never went to bed without food.

It is a risk helping someone but we like you rather err on the side of good.

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@qvcaddition you did what was in your heart.  That's what matters.

[GenXmuse]

I give when I feel moved to give and skip the committee meeting on if I should or shouldn't.

[Silver Lining]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@PhilaLady1 wrote:

Maybe better to call 911 than to approach personally.

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@PhilaLady1 

Call 911 for what, exactly?   Someone was asking for help?  Really?

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@Tinkrbl44 Absolutely if they are impaired, aggressive, or high.  The police will take them somewhere to get help.  If it is a scam, they will move them along. 

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@Sooner,  I don't know about all cities nation wide. The ones I know of will take a 911 call and connect the caller to the police department. If the police officer goes to the scene and the person is aggressive, drunk, high, unwilling to cooperate, the police officer will take them to jail. 

[Mersha]

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@PhilaLady1 wrote:

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@PhilaLady1 wrote:

Maybe better to call 911 than to approach personally.

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@PhilaLady1 

Call 911 for what, exactly?   Someone was asking for help?  Really?

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@Tinkrbl44 

I guess it depends on where you live.  Probably my city-smarts thinking.  In large metropolitan areas, it is never wise to approach personally.  Calling 911 would send in a cop to try to help the person in need of food, shelter, medical or mental health assistance, whatever the case may be.

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In our county, we have a non-emergency phone number for the police that you can call in an instance such as this, thus avoiding tying up the 911 emergency response line.

When they send someone out, there is not much the police can do unless the person indicates they want help.  The police would then call social services to send them out to assist.

A few weeks ago, I was entering a shopping center and the day was in the 90's with high humidity.  A woman was standing where cars must stop when the light is red exiting the center.  She had a sign and was asking for money.

The bad thing was she had 2 little ones with her on this sweltering day.  I had no idea how long she had them out there so called the non-emergency number for the police to check on the children. 

The police showed very quickly, lights flashing and talked to the woman.  She then packed up and hurried away.  She probably went to another spot but I wanted to do all that I could if the children were in danger.

If you see something, it never hurts to call and ask for help in case someone is truly in need.

[Tori3569]

Living in NYC I would not call 911 for an elderly (or any) person asking for help.  I give what I can when I can and spend no time worrying about whether it's a scam or not.  

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@PhilaLady1 wrote:

Maybe better to call 911 than to approach personally.

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@PhilaLady1 

Call 911 for what, exactly?   Someone was asking for help?  Really?

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@Tinkrbl44 Absolutely if they are impaired, aggressive, or high.  The police will take them somewhere to get help.  If it is a scam, they will move them along. 

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@Sooner 

Well, yes if they are aggressive, impaired or high.  Of course ... but the OP said the old woman was sitting there with a sign.   No indication whatsoever that she was acting odd or a danger to herself or anyone else.  

[FancyPhillyshopper]

@PhilaLady1 

@Tinkrbl44 

Well, I don't know about other big cities, but Philadelphia now offers behavioral health crisis response supports and services when one calls 911.

So yes, if you are really worried about the health, welfare and safety of an individual, it would be very appropriate to call for government services that perhaps could provide much more realistic assistance than any handout of a few dollars.

But sometimes those people asking for handouts just want a little cash and are not really interested in seeking supports or changing their lifestyles.  My father would always tell people who were begging for money for food that he would be happy to take them to a restaurant or a store so they could eat whatever they wanted.  Most of the time they really just wanted cash to buy alcohol.  Nowadays many people on the streets are, unfortunately, drug users.

All over large cities are homeless and people begging.  In Philly it occurs at busy intersections, in front of large stores, and on the downtown streets. It is not necessarily a healthy or safe situation to encourage this activity. A lot of the individuals are young and healthy, and could easily find jobs if they chose to pursue work, due to the many openings in our area.

I support several very responsive charities, and I know they have services available for those that need them--but they have to want them as well.