In the seating/Starbucks Coffee area of the nearest supermarket a man asked me for help getting him something to eat. I don't know why he singled me out when there were food workers right in front of him. Outside the parking lot was a panhandler. Outside an exit from the adjacent vehicle lubrication place was another panhandler. And on the northeast corner of an arterial, still on the same block with the three men I just described, was a person who held a Stranded sign. This person has been Stranded at that corner since May (I bet I could make some decent distance with 2.5 months of walking) but comes out once a month.
Do I live in a bad area, or an area with some nearby drug dealers, or is everyone in a residential neighborhood of an American city witnessing multiple panhandlers in one block within 0.25 miles of where they live?
Are there peak days and times for panhandlers? I hate thinking I have to plan my errands and paths to avoid them. The Safeway ten blocks up from me has no panhandlers, only shoplifters. The supermarket near me has both.
I have lived in Canadian cities and the panhandling was only bad in the downtown - just east of downtown areas, or by the liquor stores in the high-density parts of the city.
Low Walkability = Fewer Panhandlers?
July 28th, 2013 at 05:54 pm
July 28th, 2013 at 09:50 pm 1375048257
July 29th, 2013 at 05:04 am 1375074294
August 1st, 2013 at 12:07 am 1375315651
Some of them legitimately look like they are beggars, but we've got regulars who dress in expensive brand name sports shoes and brand name clothing. Now it is possible they got these at Goodwill, but I think a lot of them just do it because it makes them money and sometimes free food as there is a McDonald's just up the hill from the mall entrance/exit and I have seen them being given food. Despite having signs that say they will work for food I've seen folks offer them lawn mowing, etc., and they turn it down. So they don't really want to work for food, they just want handouts.
August 1st, 2013 at 10:44 pm 1375397094
I've been at that Safeway. To a panhandler, its just an island. Once you are caught, not a lot of places you can duck behind, and the ped traffic is all going to the 41 bus stop. Not a lot of slow moving traffic to ask for and hit up.
I've been seeing a lot of panhandling downtown at bus stops and the downtown tunnel during the afternoon commute. They appear right when the fluorsecent yellow vests leave on break.
@ Lucky Robin, I was asked for cash by a couple of extremely well-dressed people in downtown Seattle 5 years ago.