homeless in SD, are there more than there used to be?

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

Most of the homeless I've seen here are of the schizophrenic variety, and are legitimately homeless...unlike back in Pittsburgh where begging on the streets is a cottage industry. I once talked to this panhandling kid back there, and gained his trust throughout the course of the conversation. Turns out playing homeless was his "night job", and he'd usually get $50-$100 every evening. More on the weekends. He said the trick was to pocket the excess money when nobody was looking, so it appeared that he only had a few coins in his cup at all times. Not a bad little racket for sitting on your ass in the freezing cold all night I guess.

(
Don't fool yourself, we have those here. The same bums( and yes when you work the same corner for years) are here.

[earlyretirement]

I've been coming to San Diego for many years on vacation but only moved to the area this summer. Definitely it seems like there are more compared to a few years ago.

One thing I've noticed about the homeless here vs. other major cities I've been is some of them here can be aggressive. I've seen this several times. A few times downtown near the Gaslamp District I've seen this kind of thing. I've posted about it before. One time I saw a Homeless guy yelling and screaming at the mall there downtown. He was going up to tables and literally grabbing people's drinks out of their hands and with others just knocking down their drinks. He did this until the security guard came running over.

And even if they aren't aggressive, I've had one lady go up to our young 3 year old daughter and touch her head and face where I had to ask her not to touch our daughter. (This was in the Nordstroms at the mall downtown. On the street there is an elevator that goes up to Nordstroms).

Then today I went to the West Elm store in Mission Valley to buy some stuff for the new house. I was coming back home and at one of the intersections there was a homeless woman and she was aggressively yelling at people in cars that wouldn't give her money. I even saw her knocking on some car windows. Obviously she had mental issues. And her sign she was holding up said, "Poverty sucks" along with some other things.

Having small kids, I definitely agree you notice things like this more and are more sensitive to it. But I sure wouldn't have any interest living in these areas where there are a larger concentration of homeless people with young kids.

I've lived in several countries and visited many many others and I'd have to say that in most of these places the homeless aren't as aggressive as I've seen here in San Diego. Even in developing countries the homeless are fairly respectful and passive compared to here.

[eastsandiegobornandraised]

Im sure there's a new growing population due to the economy, but overall id still say no. Downtown may have its homeless problem but its come along from how it used to look 20-30 years ago.

[tonyinsd]

It's amazing how two people can have such a different experience. I've never had any really aggressive panhandlers. They ask me if I can spare some change, and I tell them no, and that's it.

I actually had one guy who saw me dressed in a suit and he said, hey, man, can you go home, get changed, and give me that suit? I cracked up and went home, got some old clothes that I was going to toss out since they weren't up to snuff for the Salvation Army, and gave those to him.

I figured he'd be able to put it to better use than Allied Waste would.

[Clevelandgal]

Its funny because we lived in inner city Cleveland for about 5 years which has a *bit* of a higher crime rate than SD. I also worked with a criminal justice population-I must throw off some creepy, knowing vibe. I became very assertive in my body language to be safe. I am very respectful toward people down on their luck but not a victim for thugs

Essentially these types cross the street to avoid me. Feel free to ask for tips

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

It's amazing how two people can have such a different experience. I've never had any really aggressive panhandlers. They ask me if I can spare some change, and I tell them no, and that's it.

I actually had one guy who saw me dressed in a suit and he said, hey, man, can you go home, get changed, and give me that suit? I cracked up and went home, got some old clothes that I was going to toss out since they weren't up to snuff for the Salvation Army, and gave those to him.

I figured he'd be able to put it to better use than Allied Waste would.

Hi Tony,

I'm not saying it's always the case or that it happens everyday. Sure, the vast majority of the homeless in San Diego I see are passive. But definitely I've seen occasions of aggressive behavior several times. Not to mention there have been several articles in the news where these people have gotten violent with people.

Again, I'm not saying it's the norm but I've definitely seen it here several times. I guess you're lucky you have never had to experience or witness it.

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

Its funny because we lived in inner city Cleveland for about 5 years which has a *bit* of a higher crime rate than SD. I also worked with a criminal justice population-I must throw off some creepy, knowing vibe. I became very assertive in my body language to be safe. I am very respectful toward people down on their luck but not a victim for thugs

Essentially these types cross the street to avoid me. Feel free to ask for tips

Okay, I'm game. Maybe you can send me a direct message with your tips.