Homelessness

Thanks to all who came to the leaving do, there's a few photos so email me for the link. As I spent the night sleeping upon the lawns rolling up to St Georges Hall I noticed a distinct loneliness: I was the only bedless sole in that area, that night. Although warm, it was an uncomfortable night's sleep, and once again prompted an empathic surge for the plight of many drifters and deprived.

Since I was moving house, Faith and I put some out of date Guiness, Tonic Water, and a can of "Tusk" deodorant into the Van and delivered the goods to a known retreat. I hope they get found, and add a spot of cheer to an otherwise cold night. Apparently though, homelessness is on the decline. CommonKnowledge:

A recent tally suggests that the number of people sleeping on the streets has dropped by more than 70% between 1998 and 2003.
Why the tremendous decrease? British police are increasingly tough on the panhandlers--either slapping them with fines or simply arresting them. In addition to this, the British government has undertaken new campaigns to deter income-earners from giving to beggars. These campaigns point out compassionate would-be givers that beggars are more likely to spend the money their are given on drugs than food and shelter-

And there's me respecting consumption desires, and acknowledging homeless people as intelligent humans (which is not the same as cost-benefit optimizers). I remember a feeling of hollow bemusement when an Arriva bus first told me not to give money to the homeless: one can never ignore the frontline of an issue. Indeed a statistic once shocked me: something like 50% of "beggers" are undercover police officers. How's that for eroding civic trust?

As friends would testify, I am not traditionally charitable but the war shouldn't be on the homeless, rather the system that prevents them from unlocking their desire for a better life. We shouldn't shoot the symptoms: shoot the cause.

Comments

[Jacqueline]

A lot of the "homeless" beggars are really scam artists who have nice homes. They just make more money (with less effort) begging than they do getting a real job. Try offering a job to one of those people begging with a sign claiming they want to work. My friend used to own a hotel and tried to hire some of those people to work in his housekeeping department -- they either wouldn't work for him because they were making much more money begging, or because he wouldn't allow them to drink all day long. Or try buying a bus ticket for a beggar who claims to be stranded. My ex-husband and I did that, bought a guy a bus ticket to Eugene, Oregon. We saw him a couple of months later, still in town, this time begging for money for a bus ticket to New York (he gets more money cashing that one out, I suppose). Then my ex-husband saw him a couple months after that, getting off the bus with his begging sign, walking up to a nice condo building and letting himself in the security gate with a key. I've heard many other stories of people observing beggars driving up in nice cars, parking them out of the way, getting out their sign and then "going to work" on the street corner.

Since you can't know if that beggar is a scam artist or not, it's better to give the money to organizations who help the homeless. I especially like teen feed programs, since not only do they feed homeless teenagers (who really can't just get a job and a place to live, since for minors that requires parental permission -- and these kids have usually left home because their parents abused them or kicked them out) but they often connect them to other social services to help them get their lives together.

[AJE]

Deciding to donate goods direct to the homeless does not obstruct all other acts: i think they're complements not substitutes.

Certainly we've all heard tales of well-off "career" beggers, and frankly we'd all like to believe it was as simple as that. Perhaps my charity was less random than I described - learning a little about the plight of local homeless people must surely be encouraged. I had confidence that my present would be found by a local chap, clearly homeless.

"Career" beggers are a reason to find out more information before giving a helping hand, not a reason to just give up.

[SL]

Jacqueline: A lot of the "Libertarian" businessmen are really scam artists who hate paying taxes. They preach Libertarianism because that's the best way for the rich to retain their power.