Possible to live in forest park homeless(stealthily of course) (Portland: buy, dangerous)

[pdxMIKEpdx]

She could have sold it for a buck.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

She could have sold it for a buck.

I was just going to suggest that. I have seen people do that. Tickets are expensive. A couple of discounted tickets can be worth the price of the cost of a McDonald's burger and small fries if someone is really desparate.

[Metlakatla]

That's nice. A lot of people might not know that. I wouldn't have, nor would I have known where to sell the ticket. Maybe she didn't. I don't think it can hurt to give someone the benefit of the doubt in these situations.

[Nell Plotts]

Yes, the police frequently patrol Forest Park.. including off road areas. In addition there are hundreds of eyes with cell phones ready to report campers in the park.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Homelessadvocate

The truth is people who are TRULY on the bottom have no opportunity to get out, so we have to suffice with just trying to survive from day to day! Try that with NO support, family, or friends to help and talk to me then, and I'll have more respect for your opinions!

I hitched hiked to South Eastern Oregon, got a job on a ranch and spent the summer rebuilding fences in the absolute middle of nowhere. That was in the middle of actively avoiding family of any type for a period of over a decade.

You can put your respect in a bin by the door.

ANd you're making excuses.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

That's nice. A lot of people might not know that. I wouldn't have, nor would I have known where to sell the ticket. Maybe she didn't. I don't think it can hurt to give someone the benefit of the doubt in these situations.

Well, considering she was apparently standing at a station where the train the ticket was good for stopped, and where you buy the tickets ... I'd guess she maybe could have figured it out.

Someone asking for a free handout, and denigrates the one they're given by not even waiting until the giver is out of sight before getting rid of it, doesn't deserve charity, IMO.

[Metlakatla]

I think that part of the reason I find this thread depressing is because several months ago, a woman who belongs to a professional organization that I participate in simply dropped out of sight. She recently surfaced in a homeless shelter in Seattle. I don't know the details beyond what happened after she left her home because she described it quite eloquently on her blog. Yeah, yeah yeah, she should have hocked her laptop for the price of a night in a cheap motel because after all, how dare she have it at all. But as a professional writer, her laptop is her only way out.

I'm a little protective of her because I think I can accurately guess some of the responses here to what I've said, so I won't say much more about her except that I suspect that she wouldn't know where to sell a bus pass either. I will say that she has found a place to go of sorts and is now working hard on getting her own place.

Yeah, I'm sure we all want the "homeless" to politely thank us for our largesse so that we can feel all cozy and smug about ourselves, but it doesn't happen that way. I'm sorry that Turquoise had to experience this, and I certainly don't know what the answer is, but if you're going to give to people on the street, do so with no strings attached. You can attach strings of your choosing by donating to charities of your choice.

I don't blame the guy who gave her a bus ticket for feeling upset that he'd wasted his money on someone who obviously doesn't want a bus ticket, but so many people in these situations (the woman's) are wearing their emotions right on their shoulders because life has rubbed them raw. Yeah, maybe they're drug addled cretins who -- according to some of you -- somehow deserve to let Social Darwinism take it's toll on what is left of them, and maybe that would be a mercy if it happened. I certainly can't imagine trying to live that way.

My only point was that a little gracious behavior can never hurt when interacting with those who've had difficult lives.

By the way, I think that the OP is probably a troll who has been here before under a different name and probably isn't even homeless. Nonetheless, the person has made some good points.

[Homelessadvocate]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I think that part of the reason I find this thread depressing is because several months ago, a woman who belongs to a professional organization that I participate in simply dropped out of sight. She recently surfaced in a homeless shelter in Seattle. I don't know the details beyond what happened after she left her home because she described it quite eloquently on her blog. Yeah, yeah yeah, she should have hocked her laptop for the price of a night in a cheap motel because after all, how dare she have it at all. But as a professional writer, her laptop is her only way out.

I'm a little protective of her because I think I can accurately guess some of the responses here to what I've said, so I won't say much more about her except that I suspect that she wouldn't know where to sell a bus pass either. I will say that she has found a place to go of sorts and is now working hard on getting her own place.

Yeah, I'm sure we all want the "homeless" to politely thank us for our largesse so that we can feel all cozy and smug about ourselves, but it doesn't happen that way. I'm sorry that Turquoise had to experience this, and I certainly don't know what the answer is, but if you're going to give to people on the street, do so with no strings attached. You can attach strings of your choosing by donating to charities of your choice.

I don't blame the guy who gave her a bus ticket for feeling upset that he'd wasted his money on someone who obviously doesn't want a bus ticket, but so many people in these situations (the woman's) are wearing their emotions right on their shoulders because life has rubbed them raw. Yeah, maybe they're drug addled cretins who -- according to some of you -- somehow deserve to let Social Darwinism take it's toll on what is left of them, and maybe that would be a mercy if it happened. I certainly can't imagine trying to live that way.

My only point was that a little gracious behavior can never hurt when interacting with those who've had difficult lives.

By the way, I think that the OP is probably a troll who has been here before under a different name and probably isn't even homeless. Nonetheless, the person has made some good points.

FINALLY! Someone who has a little sense.. The opportunities simply aren't there for many homeless.. Hard work can get you out of it(sometimes), I agree with that, however, if there IS no opportunity to even DO the "hard work" then that's it.. Many of you seem to have zero sympathy for the truly down and out, those who CANNOT work, AND those who will never be given the opportunity to work! And no, I'm not a troll as I have been accused of.. However, if I end up living under a bridge I could be! And yes, I've been homeless for a good chunk of my life, since I was a teen off and on.. But I'd much rather be homeless where my sneakers won't melt underneath me from the heat! I'll take the rain ANY day over the burning desert!

[Minervah]

Hanging out at a bus stop or MAX station is a common ploy for seasoned panhandlers to get money from people. They have a captive audience. Often they wait until the train or bus is just upon their mark and then get in their face and ask for money. They figure the mark will hurry and give them money rather than argue so they will not miss their bus/train. Sometimes they will block their way. In any case, they know they have a captive audience because no one waiting for their bus/train is going to walk away.

It used to be really bad downtown at the bus shelters but the cops began patrolling them and it's gotten better. I have been approached and even threatened on several occasions. But I worked downtown for over twenty years so that gave me more opportunity for that to happen.

Another ploy is for panhandlers to ask for bus or train fare. I have offered tickets only, like Turqouise1 only to have it thrown away because the person wanted money which I will not give. Notice she said "panhandler, not homeless. There is a difference.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

My only point was that a little gracious behavior can never hurt when interacting with those who've had difficult lives.

Doesn't that swing both ways, though?

And the problem when it doesn't is one that the woman of whom you speak will suffer from. That person likely won't be so generous to the next person down the line, keeping in mind the last time, when they (metaphorically) were spit at for doing it. And maybe that will be a person who would have been grateful for the offering. But now, they won't get it.