Why so many panhandlers in Missoula? (Bozeman, Darby: neighborhood, to live, law)

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Interpol76

I completely agree. One thing I learned living in Montana is that many of its residents have a unhealthy obsession with labeling everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, as either "liberal" or "conservative". It got annoying real quick.

That's cause we stand for something. But won't fall for anything. haha

[rickers]

I spent a couple of years being homeless as a teenage runaway and yes I did panhandle and rarely made over 15 or 20 bucks in a day. My second stint as a homeless person was the result of working a low paying job and having to pay child support as well as alimony. I did pay the child support on time and there was simply not enough left from my paycheck to pay for rent so I lived in my car for two years until I was able to get a better paying job. Every truly homeless person has a different life story and many do panhandle. The only reason I'm doing better these days is because of marrying into money and ending up as a beneficiary of several well off relatives in their wills along with working my ass off for most of my life. I gave a homeless guy my jacket right off my back once (he was very cold, wet and shivering) but I will not give them money because I'm sure they will smoke it, swill it or shoot it up rather than eat. Other than the shooting up part I have been there and done that.

[Heart]

Wasn't too thrilled last week when walking down Higgins to see a nice big sign that read ""F" you, give me change!"

Aside from this, I cannot stand to see homeless folks. Breaks my heart. Regardless of their stories.

[Dea13]

Please don't misunderstand. I feel for those that truly are going through bad times and I don't want to hide them away so I can pretend they don't exist. But I'm not naive enough to believe that all of those people are trustworthy or there due to circumstances beyond their control. I agree with Rickers about not liking to give money because they can use it for drugs or alcohol.

It was purely a question because it seemed so concentrated in Missoula.

[Jbechtel]

When I lived in Phoenix the Arizona Republic did some good investigative reporting back in the '90's on the people holding up the signs on the streets and found a few of them were essentric well-off people living in the suburbs just looking for adventure. No drugs or mental types like what is assumed. If you have some knowledge of the movie industry and how they use props, like a lot of people do down there, you can dress for it easily. In the big city you can make a lot of money panhandling as evidenced by the stories they had. I could think of better ways to spend my afternoon.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by Jbechtel

When I lived in Phoenix the Arizona Republic did some good investigative reporting back in the '90's on the people holding up the signs on the streets and found a few of them were essentric well-off people living in the suburbs just looking for adventure.

A friend of mine here did something like that ... he is a mathematician. One day he dressed up as a street bum, and stood on the curb holding a sign that said, "Will solve partial differential equations for food" !!!

He took a picture of himself with the sign and getup, and used it as a joke business card for years.

[Jbechtel]

Originally Posted by Reziac

A friend of mine here did something like that ... he is a mathematician. One day he dressed up as a street bum, and stood on the curb holding a sign that said, "Will solve partial differential equations for food" !!!

He took a picture of himself with the sign and getup, and used it as a joke business card for years.

Who says you have to dress for success!

[severdsoul]

Just be weary, not all are just homelss because of conditions or circumstance. There is one that lives under the bridge by the big walmart on N reserve that is a registerd sex offender. Check the website, the bridge is his address.. not sure how he got that managed, but some how they accepted it.

[rickers]

Missoula has over 200 sex offenders and a whole bunch of them list their address as homeless or transient. Many are listed as residing in jail and there are either apartment buildings or private mailboxes on Broadway that many list as their homes. A huge percentage of these sex offenders in Missoula did their dirty deeds in other states and eventually ended up in Missoula. I noticed one guy on the sex offender list whose crime was simple indecent exposure but many are hard core pervs.
I don't care much for Missoula, the high number of sex offenders, the panhandlers, the air inversions and the liberal atmosphere make the town unappealing to me.

[Redraven]

For those who may be wondering, "Tropic Lightning" (or the "Electric Strawberry") refers to the 25th Infantry Division. The division patch shows a lightning bolt on a taro leaf.
"BDU" stands for "Battle Dress Uniform", the original designation for the first generation camoflage uniforms.

MONTANANS have an "unhealthy obsession with labeling things leberal or conservative"?? It seems to me, from reading several different forums on Algore's internet, and from direct observation in more than one state, that the whole country has such an obsession, especially the so-called "mainstream media"!