Young female street beggars in SF (Bell: buy, tax, living)

[voiceofreazon]

Visiting the city on business and have seen at least 2 instances of young homeless women with signs asking for money. They did not look that unkempt or ragged as the typical homeless person that you see on the street.
Haven't seen this in other cities before, maybe it is a new trend with the lousy economy?
I hate to be cynical but I also wonder if it isn't just a scam to garner sympathy. I gave one woman $10 because I felt bad for her. As I was walking up the street, I saw a more typical looking homeless person screaming at her like a lunatic before stumbling off. Maybe she was intruding on his "turf"? Anyway, I felt bad for her after that so I gave her a ten and wished her good luck.

After, I kind of wondered if it wasn't just a scam. She did not look bad off, save for her somewhat sloppy clothes, she could have walked down the street and no one would think she were homeless. She looked able bodied and healthy enough to work.

[MikeNigh]

I've seen it a few times in philly.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by voiceofreazon

I saw a more typical looking homeless person screaming at her like a lunatic before stumbling off.

A typical looking homeless person screaming like a lunatic on the street? How bizarre!

[bmw335xi]

lol tourists say the darndest things :P

I personally avoid giving money to panhandlers. However, I often give leftover food to them or occasionally buy a loaf or two of bread for them. Most of them are hooked on drugs, so giving cash just feeds their addiction.

[voiceofreazon]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

A typical looking homeless person screaming like a lunatic on the street? How bizarre!

Nothing bizarre about that. I only pointed it out because he was screaming at her which is how I happened to notice her in the first place.

[alliance]

Originally Posted by voiceofreazon

I hate to be cynical but I also wonder if it isn't just a scam to garner sympathy.

Yes. EOT.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by voiceofreazon

Nothing bizarre about that. I only pointed it out because he was screaming at her which is how I happened to notice her in the first place.

I was just funnin' you

[mr bolo]

maybe she just recently became homeless, that could explain why she didnt look dirty or run down yet? the long term homeless usually have a "weathered look" from staying outside all day, living on the streets.

also she probably has a partner or boyfriend, but she probably has better luck panhandling when she's alone because people like you feel sorry for her and give her money more often than if she was with her boyfriend

I once saw a young asian female with a back pack and a dog panhandling and I kind of felt sorry for her, then her boyfriend shows up and he's also carrying a backpack and also covered in tattoos & piercings, then I didnt feel so sorry for her anymore, they were trying to get money for a bus ticket back to Oregon or Washington? I didnt know they could bring pitt bulls on buses?

[Hemlock140]

A news reporter a year or so ago interviewed a "homeless" person in the city of Bellevue, WA who claimed he had relocated there because the take was better than in Seattle, and admitted to taking $200/day tax free from the people getting on the freeway at that ramp. Not all panhandlers are homeless, and certainly not honest about their plight. There is a young woman with a dog near Westlake Mall in Seattle with a cardboard sign "Need $20 to go home." I find it hard to believe that she has not gotten that $20 yet, since she's been there every day for over a year.

[dalparadise]

There's an older lady named Judy who stands at the corner of Sac and Battery every day asking, "do you have a dollar for a cup of coffee?"

Thinking that sounded like a good deal, I gave her a dollar the other day. But, she didn't give me my coffee. She didn't even have any coffee brewing! Live and learn, I guess...