People Holding up Signs for Work

[darkshadow0001]

I keep seeing in certain areas of my town people holding up signs saying something like "Out of work. Have Family. Need Help". I understand this is an issue for some people, but I guess I'm a skeptic, if I was out of work I'd keep going to places and applying. Or trying to find any sorts of means for money... I just don't think people standing in the street corners holding up signs is going to help much.

Thoughts on this?

 

[RoJoHen]

We have one guy who has been doing this for years, always at the same corner, with the same sign, and the same very well-groomed dog. I don't even notice him anymore. He's just always there!

 

[BolianAuthor]

^

I would wonder how he manages to keep the dog so well-groomed, if he's so bad off.

 

[RoJoHen]

My theory is that he is actually wealthy but is also insane and/or conducting some weird social experiment.

 

[Holdfast]

I keep seeing in certain areas of my town people holding up signs saying something like "Out of work. Have Family. Need Help".

Thoughts on this?

Are they actually looking for work, or just begging?

If the latter, it's probably moderately effective (insofar as some kind of sob story is probably better than no prop at all, though a better "hook" would be a further improvement).

If the former, I doubt it works at all.

 

[The Sneeze Police]

Much to my husband's annoyance, I generally dig for spare "laundry" money which usually amounts to a handful of quarters. Not much at any rate, but people always grateful. Most people just bless me for the money but occasionally some folks as if there is some odd job they could do in return. He says I shouldn't encourage the behavior, since most will drink it away...but begging works for me.

 

[BolianAuthor]

When I was in NYC, I saw a "homeless" guy walking around with a sign that said "I need a beer"... I had to give him props for at least being direct about it.

 

[O'Dib]

I thought the OP was about the signholding profession. I have seen teenage kids who could be models holding up signs for stores, which I thought was a waste of their good looks. Anyway, pretty sure the "out of work" sign does not equal "can you score me a gig?". It's more of a way to convince you that you're not financing a habit, rather helping a fellow human being survive a temporary situation.

Much to my husband's annoyance, I generally dig for spare "laundry" money which usually amounts to a handful of quarters. Not much at any rate, but people always grateful.

Where I'm from, bums are getting particular. One literally refused an offer of coins. Yup, the guy wanted banknotes.

 

[BolianAuthor]

Ask him if he'll take American Express traveler's checks... supposedly everyone has to accept those.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Funniest sight in Melbourne was an older aboriginal guy yelling out in the street to all passerbys,

"I NEED 20.00 FOR A DIET VANILLA COKE! ANYONE GOT 20.00 FOR A DIET VANILLA COKE?"

I don't give to beggars here because it/s a country of social welfare, not that people don't still suffer because of mental health issues, addictions etc.. I do give to buskers though.

 

[JustAFriend]

I just don't think people standing in the street corners holding up signs is going to help much.

Thoughts on this?

If you're hungry, you go to a day-labor place and get work.
Yes you may have to sweep or clean up a jobsite or do a crappy manual task but they pay you in cash.

Sign holders are just begging.

In my area we are having problems with guys dressed as veterans in camos begging for 'veteran charities'. Investigations by the press has revealed that most have NEVER been in the military and the whole thing is a scam.

I never give to street beggers. Give to REAL charities that actually help real people in need.

 

[jeskawest]

There are a lot of people in my area who carry signs at freeway offramps. There is one right down the street from me where I think the sign-holders have worked out shifts - there are at least three different people doing it.
I have mixed feelings about it, and my reaction depends on my mood and whether or not I actually have any cash on me (a rarity). I find it pretty depressing, generally, because you've got to be in a weird place to think begging is a better idea than trying to find other work. The worst though is when I've seen people with their kids. I'm not kidding, it breaks my heart. How could they do that to their children? And if they're really that badly off . .. ach now you've got me all worked up, I'm going to stop posting now.

 

[Captain_Nick]

I can understand what drives these people - I went through a period of unemployment that lasted a few months. It can get discouraging being rejected over and over. If you've been looking for work for months and don't seem to be getting anywhere, well, you think outside the box a little. I considered taking a full page ad out in the local rags, for example.

 

[MetalPants]

Better than thinking you're worthless and deserve to die.

Yeah when I was out of a job and couldn't afford food, I went into a depression.

 

[Finn]

When I still lived in Maryland, there was this guy who I always suspected was okay seeing how he always had a clean change of clothes (not exactly sensible but still went together) daily but he still had a cup and a sign.

 

[Aragorn]

My neck of the woods has a big homeless problem, probably because this city is full of enablers (some people even wanted to give the homeless electronic credit card scanners because not everyone carries cash to give them ).

For some of these panhandlers, if they ask for money and you give them food, they'll throw the food back at you in disgust. There are also networks of panhandlers who would communicate with each other via walkie talkies to warn of cops and coordinate moving around the neighborhood.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

There's a guy who used to stand on the island between opposing traffic at the intersection a block away from my house begging people who were stopped and waiting to turn left for money with a "homeless disabled vet" sign and a seemingly wide array of relatively clean shirts under his olive drab Army fatigue shirt. He also had clean jeans and other pants.

One day when I was driving home I saw him carrying his sign and going into one of the condos in my complex, which - like most properties near the beach - are not cheap to either rent or own. I saw him again later driving a decent looking Honda Civic in the complex.

He may very well be disabled in some way or a vet (although, there is an Army surplus store a few blocks away), but he's definitely not homeless or in dire straights that I can see. He always had a 40oz beer on him, though. Street begging is simply very lucrative to him based on what I saw him take in, so that's his job, essentially.

Which is not to say every one of them is a fraud, but your money would generally be better spent going to help fund a homeless shelter or similar programs where you know it will be used for actually helping people who are really in need and not in any way that perpetuates their situation (like buying more drugs or alcohol).

 

[donners22]

I see the same sign-holders in Melbourne every day, and have for years. There's also one person near my house who has stood outside a supermarket playing a guitar (badly) and asking for money for nearly a decade. I would have thought in that time - during which I got a law degree and have held three full-time jobs - he could at least learn to play the guitar properly.

I figure that if they have been there that long, my few dollars is not exactly going to change their situation.

 

[Captain_Nick]

^ I figure that busking and sign holding must be a lucrative business. If they have been doing it that long, it must pay

 

[Holdfast]

^ I figure that busking and sign holding must be a lucrative business. If they have been doing it that long, it must pay

It can be, if you do it right (non-aggressive, with a good engaging shtick) and have a good spot. In the past, I've had clients who begged part-time. You wouldn't have guessed based on their clothes, gadgets, etc. One guy used to drive to and from his pitch, parking round the corner so no-one realised.

The income is supplemental to whatever state benefits they're also claiming, so is pure disposable cash. If they stay off drink and drugs, it's moderately lucrative. Not massive money, but a reasonable income if your needs are modest and don't mind defrauding the state.

Of course, I've also known beggars who really were on the poverty line, barely surviving. They were usually the more unwell, or the addicted. So it varies. But if you treat it like a business, bizarrely enough it's do-able.