Signs posted around the shopping centers across from where I live tell people not to give money to the panhandlers. The beggars used to be a bigger problem until they put up the signs. Maybe that's what helped. Or maybe people like me got tired of hearing the same sad songs...
Sometimes, as much as I want to, I just can't help everyone who asks me for money. I don't know who these homeless are or why they are in the situation they are in, but just looking and listening I think they are mostly responsible for their plights. But in Los Angeles they seem to be everywhere--shopping areas, parking lots, intersection medians, you name it. I feel bad, but I also don't feel like doing anything about it. I've been familiar with people like this for decades. It's too much for me.
Since I'm on Social Security now my resources are limited too. At least I'm not on the streets, but there for the Grace of God go I if my circumstances ever changed. Thank God I have been blessed with what I have. And I am part of a multitude who are now retired or living on limited means. I've made better choices than those I see on the streets. I suppose that is the case. That's how it would appear to me, but maybe I have different standards.
Still if I were to go across the street right now and wander a bit I'd surely be approached by someone asking for money. In many cases they would be people I have encountered before--the regulars who come from the low income housing down the street. Like the guy I encountered in front of King Taco yesterday--an apparently well-fed middle-aged Hispanic man in grungy clothes that I had seen him wearing in previous passings.
As I approached the restaurant entrance he held his hand out and said, "Can I have a quarter?" and when I said nothing he asked, "Will you buy me a taco?" The same things he has said to me in the past and has repeated to countless others.
Part of me does feel bad about it, but then what can I do? What can any of us do? All these people singing the same sad song...
Are you involved in any missions or programs to help the poor or homeless? Have you ever had to ask for assistance in bad economic times? Is homelessness a problem in your community?
My Previous Battle was regionally themed with a showdown between the band Crowfoot as California music representatives up against Kiss's Ace Frehley with a New York song. The Ace song was new to me, but not the artist. I thought he did a fine job with his song, but Crowfoot is more my style and that's who I voted for. And here's how it all went down:
Final Vote Tally
California 5 votes
New York 4 votes
Next Battle on May 1st!
I think homelessness is just about everywhere now. I live in a fairly rural area of Tennessee and the larger (but not huge) towns we shop in all have this issue. I've only done something personally twice and wasn't asked either time. Once was in Santa Monica where I was for a conference. The homeless were everywhere. I chose one man who wasn't begging and seemed to be attempting to keep himself presentable. I brought him half a sandwich (I ate the other half) and coffee. The other time was an obviously homeless man by the looks of his car. He was in McD's every morning with a small cup of coffee, reading a tattered paperback. I asked him if he would like more books and I gave him a stack of paperbacks I had read (voracious reader here) and bought him a large cup of coffee.
ReplyDeleteDonna: Click for my 2025 A-Z Blog
I live quite close to a St. Vincent de Paul dining room (I think they also have shower facilities), so while the homeless don't come into my neighborhood they are quite noticeable in the area. There are a few intersections in town where they always sit with signs. A young neighbor lived in a larger city in my state and it was a real problem for her. She had to step over people asleep on the sidewalks, where they left their human waste. She began to lose her sympathy and that bothered her. Apparently it was legal for them to, even if it was loitering, which wasn't. She didn't feel safe.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my Pastor, whose rule of thumb is, "I'll buy you clothes, put you up in a motel for a night, or take you to lunch. Give you money- so you can blow it on bad stuff? Not a chance."
ReplyDeleteR. LEE BOID ~
ReplyDeleteYour Battle Of The Bands tally was just like mine: a one-vote margin between the winner & loser, and your vote (and my vote) was the deciding factor. I LOVE that! I've said it many times but, to me, that is the *ultimate* in BOTB outcomes.
As for the other subject...
I regularly "tithe". Not to churches, but to people. I donate to several good causes & I routinely buy canned goods for people "down on their luck" (so to speak). I rarely hand out money to people on the street, BUT!... occasionally I will do exactly *that*, when The Holy Spirit directs me to. Yes... The Holy Spirit - which is a real Thing - and which The Bible, and Jesus Himself, told us we should consider to be our Primary Teacher. Unfortunately, few Christians get their learning from God's Holy Spirit. They mostly listen to pastors & ministers who have framed paper diplomas hanging on their office walls.
~ D-FensDogG
Wow! So close, Lee! Great Battle! ~Ed.
ReplyDelete"Better choices." That's what so many seem to miss about life's assignment. We do have a lot of homeless folks here. Almost as many as migrants. Only some get free housing. It's a real head-scratcher...;-)
ReplyDelete