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At this point, professional panhandlers are a much worse stigma. There aren’t many, but you can bet the panhandlers in the best spots, the most outgoing ones, are the pros.
Actually, I’ve found that I don’t even have a choice about whether to trust that someone is truly in need, since I almost never carry cash
But yeah, I mostly gave up when a guy asked for $5 for food at McDonalds and I got him food from McDonalds, and he tossed it on the ground and vandalized my car. It turns out he was one of the most notorious professional panhandlers in my city, and most definitely NOT in need. I decided I can’t tell or I’m a sucker, but it’s probably more effective to help organizations who do this every day
when I was on the streets I could not believe just how much money professional panhandlers made.
I'm talking like a couple of hundred a day, depending on the time of month and the location.
I myself could never participate in panhandling, even as a junkie I had self respect lol
I was always worried about someone I knew noticing, but some people have zero problems begging for money, the beggars would brag about how soft people were, especially older women, zero respect
I've been clean for over 10 yrs and my sober life is great, all of these panhandlers are addicts, they are all redeemable
Excellent job getting out from under that!
I have no idea what a 'professional panhandler' is, but if standing on a traffic island inhaling fumes all day and having abuse and sometimes trash hurled at you, hoping no one jumps the island and runs you over, asking people for money makes you a living, good for you I guess. Not the way I would do it.
If I waste my money on a professional, I feel like I got ripped off. I may no longer trust the people truly in need or be less likely to help. I AM less likely. These people are a scourge.
A professional panhandler is exactly what it sounds like - people who turn it into a “job”. They’re scam artists. My city’s newspapers have done profiles on a few over the years, and those “professionals” tend to be quite comfortable. Again, relatively few but tend to be high profile, more active at their “sales pitch”. If you see a homeless person NOT trying to panhandle, they are much more likely legitimately in need
I question how comfortable you possibly could be doing that all day.
Why would it be all day? A key spot at rush hour or lunch hits the crowd, and someone outgoing and personable will make that pay. I’d even say that if you do see someone all day they are much more likely to be legit. Maybe even if you see someone with “sales skills”, you need to be cautious
I would be very surprised if you earned much more than a full time minimum wage job doing it for a few hours a day.
If in an hour they get 4 five dollar donations, that's $20/hr. Think about how many cars you see stop to donate each light change. If you think it's not lucrative you're being disingenuous.
Another way to look at it. That McDonald's right there is hiring, and this guy stands outside panhandling all day. He's already there, why not get a job at the McD's? Market pressure, there's more to be made with way less effort standing on the median making people feel bad.
Panhandling needs to be made to be a waste of time for people. It's dangerous, abusive, and an annoyance.
ALTERNATIVELY, social programs need to be expanded greatly in order to actually help people so that panhandling isn't even necessary in the first place.