San Francisco Panhandlers Question
Mar 26th, 2003, 03:58 PM
#21
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In northeast cities where I've encountered pan-handlers, I often purchase a cheap item, like bagel & peanut-butter, or hamburgers, and give that to them. I want to believe each has good intentions (but know that to be false), but will not give money, nor do I feel right about giving scraps.
I figure that I could always find myself in their shoes someday.
I figure that I could always find myself in their shoes someday.
Mar 26th, 2003, 04:26 PM
#22
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I think most of the best ideas have already been said.
There are a few chickenlittles, who for whatever reason, would paint a picture of downtown San Francisco crusted in urine & poo with wild-eyed aggressive panhandlers manning every corner.
They're right to the extent that there are a lot of panhandlers. I don't think the poo & urine comment is so accurate. I also don't think that the panhandlers are that agressive either.
I fully acknowledge that there are some frimy areas close to downtown, but my general feeling is that if you avoid Market and Mission between 5th and 10th, you really shouldn't have any problems.
Other than the Orpheum and the Warfield theaters, there is nothing that would draw anyone there anyhow.
As for how to deal with homeless & panhandlers I have never ever had a problem with making an acknowledging nod, and a not tonight/today. I don't give change, and I don't give food, unless the person specifically asks for the food I may happen to be carrying.
I think it's a good idea to talk to your kids about the people they may see. They may have some tough questions for you, good luck.
There are a few chickenlittles, who for whatever reason, would paint a picture of downtown San Francisco crusted in urine & poo with wild-eyed aggressive panhandlers manning every corner.
They're right to the extent that there are a lot of panhandlers. I don't think the poo & urine comment is so accurate. I also don't think that the panhandlers are that agressive either.
I fully acknowledge that there are some frimy areas close to downtown, but my general feeling is that if you avoid Market and Mission between 5th and 10th, you really shouldn't have any problems.
Other than the Orpheum and the Warfield theaters, there is nothing that would draw anyone there anyhow.
As for how to deal with homeless & panhandlers I have never ever had a problem with making an acknowledging nod, and a not tonight/today. I don't give change, and I don't give food, unless the person specifically asks for the food I may happen to be carrying.
I think it's a good idea to talk to your kids about the people they may see. They may have some tough questions for you, good luck.
Mar 26th, 2003, 05:27 PM
#24
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By the way, I totally agree with the "chicken little" comment above. Homelessness has always been part of the SF landscape but it's yet to impact one of my vacations in the city. Ditto for all of my friends. I'd LOVE for San Francisco to clean up its act but, according to my dad (a Berkeley alum) it's always been a problem and "always will be."
Mar 26th, 2003, 05:51 PM
#25
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I don't know about everyone else but I just keep walking. No eye contact, no verbal contact, no nothing. I'm not insensitive but for me, giving a handout to one opens a can of worms - where does one stop?
I think making donations to charity, particularly to those that serve the homeless, is a better use fo the funds. Folks in the street who choose to take advatnage of the services available to them (food, shelter, clothing etc) can do so and those choose to just ask for money in the street (for whatever they may be using it for) will have to get it from someone other than me.
I think making donations to charity, particularly to those that serve the homeless, is a better use fo the funds. Folks in the street who choose to take advatnage of the services available to them (food, shelter, clothing etc) can do so and those choose to just ask for money in the street (for whatever they may be using it for) will have to get it from someone other than me.
Mar 26th, 2003, 06:09 PM
#27
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It takes only a few blocks to realize that street people and panhandlers are as much a part of this gilded hill city as the Golden Gate, the Presidio, or the striking views of Alcatraz from Russian Hill.
San Francisco belongs to them as much as it does to the scions of Pacific Heights or former dotcomers now working in temp jobs. In this tolerant city, politicians who have sought to remove them from street corners have long been labeled callous - and often rousted from office. Here, urinating in public is a cherished right.
As the problem grows, however, San Francisco appears to be reaching its breaking point. According to some estimates, it has roughly the same number of homeless people as New York, even though it has one-tenth the population. Two years ago, nearly 200 people died on the streets - twice as many as in the state of Florida.
This issue, perhaps more than any other, has in recent years defined San Francisco's sense of itself as a liberal-minded haven for all humanity - from immigrants to anarchists, homosexuals to the homeless. Yet as the scope of the problem becomes overwhelming, this culture of tolerance is being tested by a practical desire for peace and safety.
Since 2000, the homeless population of San Francisco has grown by more than a third, totaling some 7,300 people. In places such as Union Square, streets seem little more than galleries of "Checks Cashed" signs, strip clubs, and wobbly shopping carts packed with worn clothes, trinkets, and trash. Sidewalks double as sleeping quarters, and the smell of stale urine is rarely far away.
Some people say that they won't come into San Francisco because they can't take it anymore. They are afraid to walk the streets in certain parts of town. It's worse than it has ever been. It is just accepted because it has always been there, but many feel it's not safe.
San Francisco belongs to them as much as it does to the scions of Pacific Heights or former dotcomers now working in temp jobs. In this tolerant city, politicians who have sought to remove them from street corners have long been labeled callous - and often rousted from office. Here, urinating in public is a cherished right.
As the problem grows, however, San Francisco appears to be reaching its breaking point. According to some estimates, it has roughly the same number of homeless people as New York, even though it has one-tenth the population. Two years ago, nearly 200 people died on the streets - twice as many as in the state of Florida.
This issue, perhaps more than any other, has in recent years defined San Francisco's sense of itself as a liberal-minded haven for all humanity - from immigrants to anarchists, homosexuals to the homeless. Yet as the scope of the problem becomes overwhelming, this culture of tolerance is being tested by a practical desire for peace and safety.
Since 2000, the homeless population of San Francisco has grown by more than a third, totaling some 7,300 people. In places such as Union Square, streets seem little more than galleries of "Checks Cashed" signs, strip clubs, and wobbly shopping carts packed with worn clothes, trinkets, and trash. Sidewalks double as sleeping quarters, and the smell of stale urine is rarely far away.
Some people say that they won't come into San Francisco because they can't take it anymore. They are afraid to walk the streets in certain parts of town. It's worse than it has ever been. It is just accepted because it has always been there, but many feel it's not safe.
Mar 27th, 2003, 08:23 PM
#28
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More and more in Europe I see signs near places that have a "panhandling" problem that you should not give money to these people, but rather support the organizations that help them. I think the same should be true in the US. Many of these panhandlers are sitting there asking for money for a "meal" while they are a block or two from a place that will provide them with a free meal. So do you really think it is food they are looking for?
Mar 27th, 2003, 10:13 PM
#29
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On one trip there I was going to give a fellow my left-over package from a restaurant.
He asked what it was, I said pasta, he said, what kind, I said penne with vegetables, he said, no meat, I said, no, he said what kind of sauce, I said a light cream sauce. He said ah, no thanks, I dont like cream sauce.
True story.
He asked what it was, I said pasta, he said, what kind, I said penne with vegetables, he said, no meat, I said, no, he said what kind of sauce, I said a light cream sauce. He said ah, no thanks, I dont like cream sauce.
True story.
