Dumas 1

Neissa Dumas
Professor Christensen
Intro to Writing
2 December, 2014
Panhandling
Have you ever given spare change to someone on the street? Hoping that some spare change
could help this stranger, whether it be for food, warmth, or shelter. Did it ever cross your mind
that your money is not always going to these survival needs? What if this person spent your
money on drugs, alcohol, or even to help pay for a new car? Would you be okay with giving your
money to these strangers if you knew your money went to anything but food or shelter?
Panhandling is nothing new, people have been sitting on the streets begging for money for many
centuries, so it should not come as a surprise that it is still around in the twenty-first century. The
problem now is knowing if the money you give is going to help in a positive way and finding
ways to help reduce the amount of panhandling throughout the country.
If you were to look on streets full of panhandlers, chances are you are not going to just
see females or Caucasians, many different types of people panhandle. Although there is a certain
typical profile that is seen, Michael S. Scott who wrote, Panhandling, published by Center for
Problem-Oriented Policing, found from a variety of studies, that the typical profile of a
panhandler is that of an unemployed, unmarried male in his 30's or 40's, with substance abuse
problems, few family ties, a high school education, and labors skills. (3) I surveyed 30 people
and asked them if they thought that the majority of panhandlers were homeless, 27 out of 30
people said yes, and 3 people said no. Most people assume that if someone is panhandling they
must be homeless, but a study done by Applied Survey Research in Southern Nevada shows

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percentages of homeless people that do and do not panhandle:

Scott stated in his article that only a small percentage of panhandlers are homeless(3) Does
knowing these percentages make you wonder who these people really are? Knowing that a lot of
these panhandlers already have shelter eliminates one possible thing that your money would be
going to. Leaving the money you give them to either go to food, clothes, drugs, or even possibly
some sort of income to live on.
Certain people feel that these panhandlers can make a large amount of money from
simply standing on the street begging. Eleanor Goldberg wrote, Gary Thompson, Kentucky
Beggar Who Fakes Having A Disability Earns $100,000 A Year, an article that was published on
The Huffington Post. She explains how Gary Thompson
sits in a wheelchair all day long holding up a sign
saying disabled. Thompson even admitted that he was
exaggerating to earn a high amount of money from
these kind strangers. He states Yeah, I'm really good at
it, really goodI am normal (1) Thompson confesses

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that this little act of his can bring in 60,000-100,000 dollars a year. While Gary Thompson is
making more than most average families from panhandling, others are
using panhandling to earn quick cash so they can buy narcotics. Jason Law and Maxim Atter
wrote Cincinnati: Where does your dollar go?, published on WCPO Cincinnati. They
interviewed a few panhandlers on their reasons for asking for money from strangers and why
they started to panhandle. One women in particular when asked what are you doing out here?
simply stated heroin. Looking at the study done by Applied Survey Research in Southern
Nevada, you see that about 55% of their panhandlers were all panhandling because they were
addicted to some type of drug.

Panhandling is one of the easiest jobs there is, to just stand there and literally have money
just handed to you. Begging for money is a lazy way to make money, but we cannot just assume
there is not at least some struggles that come along with panhandling. Struggles such as the
weather, other panhandlers, and passerby's. It is hard to imagine that anyone actually enjoys
standing in the freezing cold for hours, it cannot be easy to have to deal with harsh weather
conditions. Panhandlers often claim certain spots as their own territory, and disputes and fights

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over territory are not uncommon. explains Scott (1). There are many panhandlers out there, and
they all have their ideal spot where they feel they make the best money. If another panhandler
happens to take their spot it can start what is known as a turf-war. Turf wars can end very
badly with one or both of the panhandlers severely beaten. It is not strange for panhandlers to
start fights with one another over a piece of cement. Not just their fellow panhandlers can cause
bad situations to occur, also people walking by sometimes start an issue by saying obscene
statements that can lead to physical violence. These passerby's get fed up with these people
standing there asking for money, and will become enraged with anger and begin to yell at them
which can lead to violence especially if the panhandler yells back. Aggressive panhandling, is
when the panhandler threatens or tries to pressure passerby's into giving them money, this is the
main reason that leads a passerby to result in yelling and physical violence towards these
beggars. There might be a couple struggles when it comes to panhandling, but people are willing
to do anything when it comes to getting their narcotics or even when it comes to receiving cash
to help buy food.
You hear stories like Gary Thompson who makes a great sum of money from
panhandling, but do the rest of these people make the same amount as Thompson? Does the
amount of money they earn out-way the negative aspects of panhandling? Scott states a couple
a dollars a day at the low end, to $20 to $50 a day in the mid range, to about $300 a day on the
high end. and even Joanna Fagen, who wrote Panhandling Helps No One, which was
published on EvasVillage.org, states Coos Bay Oregon, police observed panhandlers making as
much as $300 a day in a Walmart parking lot. Of course how much skills the panhandler has is
going to affect if they make good money or not. Many factors go into how high of success a

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person is going to have from panhandling, factors such as: location, hour of the day, and the
person's problem. Combine some of these factors like a single mom in front of a grocery store
stating she needs money to buy food for her children. She is by a highly populated place, and
stating a problem that can relate to many parents. She is going to receive a good amount of
money from passerby's compared to someone who stands on the corner of the street holding a
sign that says spare change. There is no way to really tell if panhandlers makes a ton of money
from doing this, it all varies from panhandler to panhandler, each state, and the amount of people
who are willing to give. Rohit Bose and Stephen W. Hwang wrote Income and Spending
Patterns Among Panhandles published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, states
little quantitative information is available on income among panhandlers. (1)
Why don't they just get jobs? You have probably heard at least one person ask this
question when it comes to panhandlers. Think of it this way, you know how you work many long
hard days, and you get excited to see your paycheck. You finally receive your paycheck, and you
are thinking to yourself wow I feel I should have received more than that then you look at your
pay stub and see that a good portion of your money was taken out for taxes. It is a horrible
feeling, no one enjoys having their money to go to taxes. Panhandlers never have to worry about
having that feeling, all the money they receive is tax free. Not having taxes is great reason for
why people do not want to get a job, especially if they are really good at panhandling and make
up to a few hundred bucks a day. Another reason for why panhandlers do not just get a job is
substance abuse. It is nearly impossible to go to work five days a week, eight hours a day, be able
to function normally and work while being on drugs. People who are addicted to drugs want to
feel that sensation from using quickly, therefore they want to get their hands on the narcotic fast.

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With many types of jobs the paychecks are usually given out every other week, an addict is not
going to be physically able to wait a week to purchase drugs for their addictions.
You never know 100% that the money you are giving to this stranger is going to go to
something good. Now are you wondering if you should give to panhandlers? The answer is up to
you, but there are better ways to help. Most people give to panhandlers because they assume that
they are homeless and need money for everyday life necessities, well if you truly want to give to
the homeless there are many organizations you can donate to instead. That way you will know
for a 100% that your money is actually going to help someone with food, shelter, and clothes.
National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) is a nonprofit organization that works toward
ending homelessness by improving homelessness policy, building on-the-ground capacity, and
educating opinion leaders. Even donating to your neighborhood food and clothing drives greatly
help homeless people and families who cannot afford to buy clothes or food. There are also ways
to help people that are in poverty, Mercy Housing, is a nonprofit organization that helps build
communities that are not just affordable but help find the residents with jobs, after school
activities, and even financial education. Donating to organizations like these are a great way to
end panhandling, and these are only the two of the thousand out there. Before you stop and
wonder where your money is going when you give to these strangers, take some time to research
different organizations and find other ways to help. By giving to organizations you are not
helping feed someones addictions or giving money to someone who already makes $300 a day,
you are simply helping someone truly in need. Can't afford to donate money but wish there was
something you can do? Well there is, volunteer work at your local homeless shelter is very
beneficial to everyone, and it is a great thing you can do to help out your community.

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Work Cited
Fagen, Joanne. "Panhandling Helps No One How to Really Help the Poor and Homeless."
Evas Village RSS. Evas Village, 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
<http://evasvillage.org/wordpress/cost-panhandling-poor-homeless/>.
"About Mercy Housing." Revitalizing Neighborhoods W/ Affordable Housing. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.mercyhousing.org/about>.
Goldberg, Eleanor. "Gary Thompson, Kentucky Beggar Who Fakes Having A Disability, Earns
$100,000 A Year." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 4 Dec.
2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/gary-thompson-fakesdisability_n_2782486.html>.
"Women Begging with Babies on NYC Streets Earn Fast Cash." NY Daily News. 13 Nov. 2014.
Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/women-begging-babies-nyc-streetsearn-fast-cash-article-1.2009280>.
Scott, Micheal. "Center for Problem-Oriented Policing." Center for Problem-Oriented Policing.
Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, 1 Jan. 2002. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.popcenter.org/problems/panhandling/>.
Law, Jason, and Maxim Alter. "Cincinnati Panhandling: Where Does Your Dollar Go?" WCPO. 3
Nov. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/i-team-one-thirdof-panhandling-arrests-are-young-adults>.
Bose, Rohit, and Stephen Hwang. "Income and Spending Patterns among
Panhandlers."Canadian Medical Association Journal. CMAJ, 3 Sept. 2002. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC121964/>.

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Pictures and Graphs
Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://amradaronline.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/unknown12.png?
w=350>.
"Southern Nevada Panhandling." Applied Survey Research. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
<https://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/Panhandling_Study.pdf>.