What is the best way to deal with panhandlers?

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It's ironic, but I've given money several times to people who didn't ask, but not yet to someone who did. I don't know what that means. I'll have to reevaluate I guess. ;) Once, I drove up to a stop light and a man and a woman were begging on the corner. I had some pop tarts unopened and in the package and I held them out for them. The man took them, threw them on the ground and then cussed me out. The woman looked very embarrased because of him. I guess, I take each one at a time and make a decision. I'm not one to say never, though.
 
What I usually do is cut them off right when they start talking to me and just say "Nope, sorry". Then I just ignore whatever they say and keep walking.
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In Los Angeles it's, "Sorry no Denero"
 
HAHA! I've used quite a few things to thwart off panhandlers!

1: The simple, "No, I don't have any money"

2: "Sorry, I lost my wallet, and I'm only going into this store to find out if I dropped it inside"

3: "Shoot, I was about to ask YOU if you had any spare change! I need some booze!"

4: A very religious friend of mine had a stack of $5 bills....but on the reverse side of the bills was some religious printing. I don't know how many of those "bills" I've handed to panhandlers! "Amen, brother!"

5: Another folding money scam: You should have seen the look on the bum's face when I handed him a $1,000,000 bill!

6: "Look, I'm a THIEF, and I just stole some guys check book! If I can cash one of the checks, I'll give you a few bucks when I come out of the store!"

7: (Use only when a "passive" panhandler hits on you, asking for spare change). Pull out a handful of change, sort through it for a second, then look at them and say, "Nope, nothing SPARE to give to you!"

8: "Hey, I just bummed a dollar off of a guy in the parking lot! Get your own!"

9: Yep, fake a sneeze, followed up by coughing as if you're about to spit out a lung!

10: One "never give up" panhandler has tried to hit on me at least a dozen times. I just freeze up, hold my breath, start shaking my head as if I'm about to go into a full-blown rage, then yell as loud as I can with back-to-back obscenities (He thinks I'm nuts!)

11: Only once have I pulled out my REAL police badge (I'm now a retired LEO), and I told that guy that he should either run or be stupid enough to continue panhandling in that shopping center. "If you're still out here when I come out of the store, you're going to jail, pal!" (He was nowhere to be seen after that!)

WHATEVER you do, DON'T pull out your wallet! If you're going to hastily walk away from the panhandler, at least keep them in your peripheral vision, for it might not be "beyond" them to sucker-punch you! If you're going to give your spare change away, don't just hand it to the panhandler...."accidentally" drop the coins on the ground, and make them work for it! If you've successfully thwarted a panhandler, but someone that just looks like a "victim" is approaching, you might want to tell them about the freeloader....or, perhaps tell the manager of the store about the panhandler that's "working" in front of their store. Not very good for business! Oh, and don't drop your guard, thinking that the panhandler is working alone! The "panhandler approach" is often merely a ruse, with a "lay-off" suspect standing nearby....especially near banks and ATM machines!

Speaking of ATM machines, there are usually "security cameras", but there may also be "other" mini-cams, positioned to view your entire ATM transaction! There have been numerous scam artists using high tech systems to view your charge/credit card numbers AND the "pin" number that you punch in! The suspect(s) usually sit in a nearby vehicle while monitoring their hidden camera, and they may not "hit" your account right away, but save that info for a "rainy day". ATM machines that are inside stores are the best to use, for several reasons.
 
I had an issue yesterday where I had to warn a person that I was armed -- I work in the city and, while in line at a local fast food drive through, he comes up and starts asking me for money. I told him, "Sorry, no. I need to go, now." And pulled up to the window to pay and collect my food.

As I pulled out of the drive through line, I head towards parking lot exit and he's there WAITING for me -- I *have* to stop as there's a sign and I need to merge in traffic, so he continues, "C'mon man... fifty cents, a dollar. I haven't eaten in three days." I tell him to step away from the vehicle and he continues asking.

That's when I kind of blew up on him, "Sir, my threat meter is screaming right now and I am armed, so STEP AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE." I notice him glance towards my 3 o'clock hip and that's when I was finally able to merge into traffic while he's still asking for money.
 
M local news just reported the other day that 25% of homless in the nation are our Armed Srevice Vetrans with somewhere in the neighborhood 45% of those having mental health problems. So roughly in a nutshell about 12% or 1in 5 could be someone that has defended our country and is now suffering from the hardships of their service. Just something to think about.
 
M local news just reported the other day that 25% of homless in the nation are our Armed Srevice Vetrans with somewhere in the neighborhood 45% of those having mental health problems. So roughly in a nutshell about 12% or 1in 5 could be someone that has defended our country and is now suffering from the hardships of their service. Just something to think about.
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unfortunately that makes them all the more dangerous, many of them have killed people in the past...
 
mekender If they did take a life it was in defense of our country(most likely) not in a malicious intent.
 
unfortunately that makes them all the more dangerous, many of them have killed people in the past...
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That's ridiculous. Veterans are a very tiny percent of the population. Veterans who were in ground combat arms where their job actually was to kill people is a very small subset of that percentage. Of that subset, veterans who actually pulled the trigger and killed someone at close range is even a smaller subset.

I think that if you were to check the DD214s of these alleged homeless veterans, you'd find that most of them didn't fulfill their service obligation and that many never completed their initial entry training.

Most homeless people are dangerous because they are mentally ill and choose to live that lifestyle. The ones who are veterans (and I question that data because it stinks to high heaven as a way for an advocacy group to generate public sympathy for their cause by tagging their issue on to the current efforts to support the troops) are the same as the rest, dangerous because they are emotionally disturbed people not because they are veterans.

Jeff
 
Best response I've found is to put my left hand up to interrupt their shpiel and simply say "I don't carry cash."

No other excuses, no apologies, nothing but a direct statement of fact (which most days happens to be true anyway).

You don't want to give them an opening to say anything further, and you certainly don't want them to get any closer to you.


Now what might be fun is to tell them you'd love to give them some cash but that they'll have to first give you $200 cash for "processing fees" and that you'll gladly send them a check next week for $43,000 ... but that it will be for an account on a Nigerian bank. But most homeless guys aren't gonna get the joke :p
 
I give food, not money. If they are really hungry, they are grateful for the food. If they are just after drug money, they won't take it. If they are scoping me for a robbery (been scoped a time or three), usually they recognize my threat meter starting to peg out when I make eye contact with the "attention getter" and then his "flanker" and clear my coat. Not the only way it's happened, but it's happened.

Mostly, I avoid interaction/contact.
 
I either ignore them or tell them to get a job.

They're very rare in VT, I've only seen them in Burlington. Usually hippies.
 
In general I ignore them. If I'm with someone I just keep talking to my friend. If I'm alone I usually have my MP3 player's earbuds in place. Even if the player is turned off I can use it as an excuse to pretend I didn't even hear them.
 
Belated reply to Jorg,

There's a difference between being in a crowd, and being approached by a stranger. But even when you're in the crowd, you should still be aware of anyone who is trying to get close to you in particular for an unknown reason.
 
Jeff White wrote:
Most homeless people are dangerous because they are mentally ill and choose to live that lifestyle.
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Mentally ill: This covers quite a bit of territory.

Eye Contact is NOT always the correct thing to do with certain types of illnesses.
Now someone correct me if I am wrong, as it has been awhile, still with Schizophrenia - eye contact was to be avoided. IIRC it had to do with the voices in the head.
Really, anyone in this field please weigh in, as this is something we all should know.

Various reasons exist as to why they choose to be on the streets, some are more their choosing than others.

I mean some folks have gone over the edge losing a spouse, or child, or like one teenager, her family was all killed in a car wreck,and she ran off from relatives, did not want to take meds, the pain of losing everything meant she was alive, and did not want to be sedated, or any mind altering drugs to assist in dealing with all this.

Homeless folks read her / listened to her, and actually protected her for about 3 or 4 days and contacted a person they trusted (social worker) at a Blood Bank where they gave blood for money.


So while many of the things discussed in S&T deal with healthy and whole folks, the S&T changes with those not healthy and whole.

One has to have more than one tool in the tool box.

One does not know that teenager was raped by her dad, ran off, has utter hate, and she is looking for a mark to shiv with a screwdriver.

If you are young male, remind her of her dad, looking at her directly,and using a strong voice might kick her into hurting you.
Her daddy was assertive, gave her looks, and forced himself upon her, "hate" is a very strong drug, just like PCP, and gives some a adrenlin rush.

We had a guy come into the ER, later OR.
Dressed like a SWAT member, had a CCW, and two clip on knives.
A 17 year old girl got him good.
Another homeless lady, had been raped as a child.
She simply made this guy , signaled the 17 y/o and he never knew what hit him.

I have never served in the Military.
I have been on the streets with UC LEO, long hair, ponytails, long mustaches, and hanging out in Cardboard Cities with the homeless.
We had one lady with us, and we were working on something, and listening, learning, and practicing street skills.

Most folks only see what they want to see, and there is a lot that goes on that some never see.

Heck we used a fake panhandler from time to time to keep watch on a legit business.
Hi-Risk Situation and needing to move mdse, or folks, or keep tabs on vehicles..

I know, I was the pan handler sometimes. My lady pard, would come up, she watching her area, me mine, and time to move, coast is clear, and she was dressed in jeans, oxford shirt, tennis shoes, and do the signals.

I was only so tall when I allowed to give the signal by tossing coins in a hat to one of the folks on the team for a legit business.
Grandma and me, anyone looking just saw a little boy and grandma give a homeless guy some coins.
 
my implication that being a vet makes them more dangerous was apparently taken the wrong way... most of the homeless vets ive ever met were vietnam combat vets, trained and practiced in combat... this combined with the unstable mental facilities makes them VERY dangerous...

i would argue that ANY person with formal combat training that was mentally unstable would be much more dangerous than a person with the same instability and no training... be it ex military, police, even sports figures (football, boxing, wrestling)... the purpose of such training is to make attacking, defending, and using force an instinctual thing so that it can be easily used in a stressful situation... just because such a person is on the streets and homeless does not make that instinct go away, id bet that it would actually amplify the survival instinct...

please dont think i was knocking vets, i have the upmost respect for all military current and former. but having respect for a person that served does not mean that i should respect every thing they do with their life in or out of the military. people make mistakes, and that does not take away from what they did in their past... im a firm believer that people are more than capable of taking care of themselves and doing well in their life if they so choose, and the fact is many of the homeless choose that life style...
 
sm-

Eye contact. As you say, you can't tell what the person's true background is. Just so, you can't tell what their reaction to you is going to be, no matter what it is that you do. If you are NOT looking them in the eye, they could take that as evasive, weakness, rudeness, and go off from that cause. On the other hand, if you look them in the eye, they could take that as rudeness, agressiveness, a challenge, and go off from that cause. Durned if you do, and durned if you don't.

What I always did at the mental hospital I worked at (how I got through college) was to take each incident and person and day individually, and do what felt/seemed right in the moment, all the while following established rules and procedures there. Those years of experience, I still use today.

You have to just take the situation you are given, and do your best with it. "What if" is an important part of that, of course, as it is the mental game that gets you ready for the real one. But if you "what if" a particular scenario, and it pops up, but something is different than the mental game you already played, you have to adapt to the reality and just do your best with it, instead of auto-piloting the fantasy.

Crazy people. The thing that I learned at the hospital was -- the world can spin out of control for anybody -- you, me, your preacher, your mom/dad/kid/spouse. No reason for it that most can understand. Most can't deal with it alone. Just sometimes, life is too much and the mind takes a break. Some folks come back, some don't. Sometimes, there's an organic cause that can be treated. Sometimes, it can't be.

Drugs DO fry brains, permanently.

None of this makes the crazy person bad, but it can make'em dangerous. Does make'em unpredictable. Dangerous, unpredictable people -- well, you have to deal with it as best you can.
 
Vietnam Vets were spat on and not treated well upon return.
First time those in the Service were treated so terrible by those back home while serving, and upon return.

Little Bitty Jesus was...talk about "strategy and tactics".

Two sides, for and against the War, Service Persons, and Vets.
Civil Unrests during and after the War.

Pan-Handlers - hey those folks can work a con, and what better way that to get attention, get the needs and services that the "for and support" side believed in?

Army-Navy Surplus, Field Jacket, and BS the folks and each other working the crowd.

Just a rework of an old Con, the return from war.

Wrong perhaps, still just reality.
Take note of the number of panhandlers after a Natural Disaster.
Legit victims, of tornado, flood, fire, hurricanes and the number of Con Artists out there trying to get "assistance" and "services" too.
Panhandlers will be among this group...

Vet, tornado victim, hurricane victim, ice storm, blizzard, forest fires, mud slides...

You want more money in your cup?
Ladies do a fake tummy like you are pregnant, and a free meal for the baby.
Guys, get a some bandages, extra socks , crutches from a dumpster,and folks will open doors to when they open the diner door and give the waitress the money to pay for your meal.

Read the mark, give them what they want to hear...it has worked this long, and will continue to.
 
Say "Sure, but can you break a $100.00? "

Thing is, most probably can. Around here, most seem to work as teams. When I head off to work ( very early in the AM ), there will either be no bums about, or there will be one on every corner at every intersection, for blocks.

Tuckerdog1
 
For those who are in honest need an offer to buy a meal and maybe a couple bucks afterwards along with a few carefully chosen words.

For those who are professional bums go back to the truck and bring back the help wanted section of the newspaper and offer it to them.
 
What is the best way to deal with panhandlers?
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Do you wish to reduce their numbers or just deal with a sigle panhandler you meet on the street who wants money from you?

If the former, who knows. A lot of cities have had good success at reducing their numbers just by making it a little more difficult for them.

If the latter, just say NO!
 
Part of my standard pocket load is a medium sized folding knife, and a bic lighter. I don't smoke, but I have always carried a lighter.
Once while filling my tank in Sacramento, in a bad part of town, an obvious low-life approached me while I was pumping, and asked for some change. He had been hanging around the end of the building, away from the doors, and windows where he couldn't be seen and run off by staff.
I had seen him go up to several people at the other pumps, and islands, with varying success. The guy at the next pump had turned him down, and so did I.
He got beligerent, I got firm. "I said NO, now back off!"
I was nearly done, and kept an eye on him while he approached closer. I worried that he would try to get in the car, which had my wife in it.
I pulled the pump handle out of the car, as he stepped off the curbing, and started cursing me, and waving his arms around. Wehn he got right in front of me, still cursing me loudly, I pressed the trigger of the gas pump, and sprayed a goodly stream of fuel on his legs and belly.
He jumped back a bit, and really laid into me with foul language.
I pulled the lighter out, and held it in front of his face.
He shut up immediately, and ran at top speed away from the station.
I went inside, and called 911, and filed a report. the cop who came down, knew the guy as trouble. Never went back there again.
 
Jeff White-
I think that if you were to check the DD214s of these alleged homeless veterans, you'd find that most of them didn't fulfill their service obligation and that many never completed their initial entry training.
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Yes, if there is even a DD-214 in existence. I'd love to see the survey, along with it's underlying methodology, that the reporter used to get the "25% are Vets" figure. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just based on the educated guess of a source who interacts/works with the homeless.

Not saying it couldn't be true...I'd just like to see a well done survey (that went deeper than asking the homeless guy and taking their word) to back it up. 25% sounds really high based on how few people actually serve in the military (less than 25%) and the fact that if anything the job skills, life skills, education benefits and discipline you get in the military may (should) make you less likely to be homeless than the general population.
 
Panhandlers are like pigeons - quit feeding them and they'll go away.

If someone was truly the victim of bad luck, I'd give him something . . . but many of the panhandlers in Austin do it professionally. (Like the girl who was 8 months pregnant for about two years . . . )

Some years back I was walking in a parking lot with my mother when an aggressive panhandler accosted us . . . when he reached out to take my mother's arm, a shot of pepper spray dissuaded him.

Human rubbish.
 
Sixgunner +1

When I was in law school, I was walking towards the court house and a begger approached me. I only carry my debit card and hardly ever have cash on me (my wife has it all...). He asked me for money and I told him I don't have any on me and kept walking. He started yelling at me, "Pennoyer v. Neff! Pennoyer v. Neff! Minimum contacts!" Needless to say, I went back to my car, scrounged for some change and gave it to him.

(Penn/Neff is a 1st year, civil procedure case involving personal jurisdiction. It's probably one of the very first cases ever taught in law school. The fact that he would know the name leads me to believe he went to law school at one point.) The whole thing was kinda surreal/funny, and well, it made me think that he could be me.
 
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