The Homeless Question

I've lived in my town for over two decades now, and a lot has changed.

When I first moved here, a car could only turn left on an arrow.  Now it can "yield on green," which I translate as "turn whenever you like and hope everyone else stops for you"--which is a danger to everyone, especially pedestrians who are trying to cross on their own signal (more on that in another post).

Also, Wal-Mart played nice with the surrounding businesses--in fact, it lived right next to a grocery store, and it was perfect.  You bought groceries from the grocery store, and clothes and shoes at Wal-Mart.  No problemo.  Then Sam Walton passed on, and his remaining family started doing dark experiments on his creation, and now we have an evil mutant corporation that is presently trying to devour the world.  They built a big prison-block building just outside of town, and they not only sell clothes and shoes (none of which are made in the USA--ol' Sam's probably spinning in his grave), but also groceries, tires, gasoline, computers, chain saws, et cetera, ad nauseam.  Many of our native business species have withered and died because of Wally World's shady dealings.

Oh, and we used to have a fish place.  Not a very good one, but at least you could get a broiled tilapia dinner.  That place is now history, and nobody else has ever decided to replace it...although there are several Mexican and Chinese restaurants.  And we have enough fast-food burger joints to give this entire town permanent indigestion.

But the newest change, the one that fills me with the most dismay, is our growing homeless problem.

Now, there have always been a few homeless around.  One old dude wandered around dressed in full fatigues, carrying a knapsack that looked like WWII military surplus, leaning on a walking stick.  His hair and beard were wild and overgrown, and he was freaky tin-hat crazy.  How do I know?  Because he used to go up to pay phones, pick up the receiver, and just start talking.  I was passing by one day as he did this, and he kept repeating that "at 7 a.m. on this date, war is declared...repeat: at 7 a.m. on this date..."  And no, it was not the anniversary of December 8th, 1941.  So yeah--crazy.

We also had a halfway house in town, and patients from there would occasionally wander into the local diners to try to beg a free cup of coffee.  The waitresses and owners were informed by the folks who ran the house that coffee interfered with the patients' meds, so that stopped.  Those same patients would beg a cigarette from passers-by--sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

And one young man was a violent case;  he once threatened a coffee-shop manager, who called the cops on him.  Another time, he walked into a restaurant, went up to the buffet line, and began picking up food and eating it right there.  When asked to leave, he got belligerent.  Again, the cops were called, and nobody in town ever saw him again.

But what I'm seeing now is something way different.  I'm talking about people who step into your path and beg for money from you.  Sometimes they ask for a cigarette, or for food--but most times, it's cash they want.  And there are a lot of these folks.  One kid, who was carrying a cell phone worth about as much as I earn on one paycheck, tried to get a little spare change from me.  I said no.  Seriously, I could not believe this guy's chutzpah.

There's one guy who rides a bike up to a busy intersection, lays the bike in the grass nearby, then stands there with a sign all day.  Seriously?!  What blows my mind is that there are hundreds of cars that pass that way, and if only 50 of those cars stop and give him money--say two bucks each--then that guy has just made more in a day than I do at my job.  And he's not a skinny dude, so he must be eating regular, if not balanced, meals.

I always feel a little guilty refusing these folks, because my faith teaches me to be generous to those in need.  But how much need are they in when they always smell of alcohol, seem to have plenty of cigarettes, wear nice sneakers, and carry smart phones?  I'm getting seriously mixed signals here.

Apparently, I'm not the only one, because signs are beginning to sprout in business windows:  No Loitering.  No Public Restroom.  No Soliciting.  I have no doubt that people are beginning to petition our city council to Do Something.

Church groups have been trying;  they give away food and clothing, and at times vouchers for overnight motel stays.  But these are Band-Aid solutions that don't solve the underlying problems.

Some of them are mentally ill and need treatment, but unless they're violent, you can't call the cops and get them off the street.  Strike one.

Many of them are healthy enough to work, but when offered day labor by well-meaning people--farmers wanting help with setting fence posts, townies wanting help cleaning up a yard or moving junk out of the back shed--the homeless refuse.  They simply want the money given to them.  Strike two.

There are some who do, in fact, have jobs;  but only part-time ones at minimum wage, and housing is so expensive here (we have two colleges and an air base in our ambit) that they can't afford the deposit-plus-first-month's-rent it takes to even move in to a place.  Strike three.

So, what to do?  These days, I don't give money to the homeless.  If I have food, I'll offer it, and if they refuse, I go on.  I donate instead to organizations like the Salvation Army or one of the job-training charities.

But my guess is, the city council is going to get tough with this problem.  It won't get solved--nobody can fix people who don't want to be fixed--but if our leading citizens start passing anti-squatting and anti-panhandling laws, as has been done in surrounding towns, most of the homeless will move on to the next soft-hearted town in line.

And the problem will continue.  Just somewhere else.