Homeless in Seattle & Cigarettes

[Casagordita]

for Seattle visitors, if you see a guy on the corner selling a newspaper called Real Change they are homeless types trying to make a living by doing something honest and useful with their time. Buy the paper or give them $$ vs the panhandlers. Seattle has options for the homeless but I like the idea of supporting people trying to do something besides just begging. They buy the paper and normally sell them for $1.

 

Good suggestion! Real Change is largely written by homeless people, too. It's a great way to learn about Seattle news and issues from a point of view you probably wouldn't get otherwise.

[SeattleCruiselover]

I have to agree with OP. We've spent the last two days being tourist in Seattle. I am very use to the homeless on the streets of South Florida. (Many migrate down to South Florida during the winter due to the warmer weather.) But, I was a little taken back with the number of homeless on the streets in Seattle. Our shuttle driver even mentioned it during our drive from the airport to the hotel. We were approached a few times, but normally just left alone.

 

On the plus side, I loved the Ambassadors that roamed looking for anyone that needed help with directions or information. They were clearly marked and we felt comfortable asking them a question.

 

Please understand that many of those that approach you are "professional homeless." They come to work in the morning in Caddy's and Benzes, dressed as well as any other business person, change into their panhandling gear and get set up on the street corners. Yes, we have laws against panhandling, but nowhere near strict enough. Just my two cents.

[Gunther1]

Please supply us with links to this information from a source that can be verified :).

[Casagordita]

Please supply us with links to this information from a source that can be verified :).

 

Thank you. I was just thinking the same thing.

[Putterdude]

Please understand that many of those that approach you are "professional homeless." They come to work in the morning in Caddy's and Benzes, dressed as well as any other business person, change into their panhandling gear and get set up on the street corners. Yes, we have laws against panhandling, but nowhere near strict enough. Just my two cents.

 

Karen, trust me you don't have a corner on the market on this one....plus they make their dough tax free.:(

[Gypsywych]

Out of curiosity, I googled "professional panhandler" and came up wit a dozen or more articles on the issue. From $10 an hour to one man averaging $500 a day. So I guess they are out there.

[Casagordita]

Out of curiosity, I googled "professional panhandler" and came up wit a dozen or more articles on the issue. From $10 an hour to one man averaging $500 a day. So I guess they are out there.

 

I think the point of saying "cite your sources, please" is to ask you share those articles with the rest of us, and let us decide whether they are credible sources. "I read somewhere..." is where we started with this assertion, and it still isn't convincing me. I can tell you that I Googled and found articles saying that the the moon landing never happened, 9/11 was perpetrated by Bush administration, and Obama was born in Kenya. And while you might in fact believe those things, I don't think the majority of us will--there's just not enough credible evidence.

 

But you know...on second thought, don't go back and post all your sources. I think we've gone about as far as we're going to get with this argument here. Some of us believe that homelessness is something that could happen to anybody after enough bad breaks, and that most homeless people are basically honest and harmless and just trying to get by; others are convinced that they're lazy so-and-so's who are out there by choice, and mostly scam artists and muggers and worse. You're sure not going to convince me of the latter; I'm not likely to convince a true believer of the former. Maybe it's just time to leave this one and move on?

[Gypsywych]

Please note I said nothing bout homeless. Homelessness is a huge problem everywhere and thanks to our current economy, it's a growing problem.

 

I said professional panhandler. I googled that exact term. I assumed other people could too.

[d4nigirl]

Walk around here in Manhattan and let me know how it goes. It's everywhere ;)

[Langley Cruisers]

Out of curiosity, I googled "professional panhandler" and came up wit a dozen or more articles on the issue. From $10 an hour to one man averaging $500 a day. So I guess they are out there.

 

Errr... you guys, I said this in post 21. :o I guess you missed it.

[happylady]

Please understand that many of those that approach you are "professional homeless." They come to work in the morning in Caddy's and Benzes, dressed as well as any other business person, change into their panhandling gear and get set up on the street corners. Yes, we have laws against panhandling, but nowhere near strict enough. Just my two cents.

 

Our local news stations in South Florida have done numerous reports over the years covering this subject.

 

Back in Seattle for one more day after our cruise, and enjoying it. Glad that those looking for "donations" aren't aggressive like those selling hair braiding and jet ski rentals in Nassau and St. Thomas!! :rolleyes:

[Langley Cruisers]

Glad that those looking for "donations" aren't aggressive like those selling hair braiding and jet ski rentals in Nassau and St. Thomas!! :rolleyes:

 

You found vendors agressive in St. Thomas? We have never encountered vendors anywhere there, not once. Hmm. :confused:

[Jenbo57]

Please understand that many of those that approach you are "professional homeless." They come to work in the morning in Caddy's and Benzes, dressed as well as any other business person, change into their panhandling gear and get set up on the street corners. Yes, we have laws against panhandling, but nowhere near strict enough. Just my two cents.

 

Hhhhhmmmm...I've never seen that, but I have ridden the #12 bus up the hill with a very unkempt woman panhandler who sets up shop outside the Bartell Drugs at Boren and Madison fairly regularly.

 

 

 

I have a regular Real Change distributor (they buy them for $.30, sell them for $1.00) who never fails to brighten my day by calling me "Angel" when I buy a paper from him. He's a one-eyed Inuit who always reeks of booze, but I love the man!

[happylady]

You found vendors agressive in St. Thomas? We have never encountered vendors anywhere there, not once. Hmm. :confused:

 

You're kidding...right??? We stayed at the Raddisson Cable Beach a few years ago. As we stepped passed the cement wall dividing the hotel property from the public beach, we were asked every 5 minutes if we wanted our hair braided or to ride a jet ski. It got frustrating when trying to sit and relax and on beach. At first I was polite and said no each time, but then after a few days I just ignored the person (and I hate being like that---not acknowledging someone). In St. Thomas, we couldn't leisurely stroll down Main Street without the store owners/employees harking their merchandise. Had one owner/employee that tried to pull me in her shop.

[Langley Cruisers]

You're kidding...right???

 

You know what? I wasn't kidding, I was serious. We obviously haven't been to the same places in St. Thomas; sometimes that happens. Sorry you were bothered so much - I know the feeling, we just hadn't encountered them in St. Thomas. No need to be sarcastic. :(

[happylady]

You know what? I wasn't kidding, I was serious. We obviously haven't been to the same places in St. Thomas; sometimes that happens. Sorry you were bothered so much - I know the feeling, we just hadn't encountered them in St. Thomas. No need to be sarcastic. :(

Too bad you took it that way...but I wasn't being sarcastic...and no it really didn't bother me. I just thought you were kidding.

[4cats4me]

why should anyone be homeless in America? There are tons of shelters for the homeless here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I'm sure Seattle isn't much different. I've worked in the drug courts in CA and every druggie seems to be on SSI, our taxpayer money to pay for their disability, and they all claim to be homeless, usually because their families can't deal with their drugging and stealing and lying anymore -- they get welfare and SSI -- and then they go out on the street and panhandle. I quit giving them money a few years back after one asked me for money to buy a burrito. I gave him money, and he took that money and walked right out of the burrito shop. another time a homeless person asked me for some food because he said he was hungry, so I gave him a nice bag of cookies and chips [all that I had on me at that time] only to turn around after I'd walked away to see him stomping on the food items I'd just given him. A lot of them are simply drug addicts, plain and simple.

It's the mentally ill homeless I really feel sorry for. They can't help themselves, but I still carry gift cards from Mcdonald's or any chain fast food restaurant to give to them if they ask for food. Druggies are all very convincing when they want to be, so I would never consider giving money to a homeless person. Instead, I prefer to refer them to a local shelter or church or give them the fast food gift card --

San Francisco here is full of them as well as my place of employment --

[iluvcruzin]

There are panhandlers in every city. And yes some are those that park their car a few blocks away and stand with a card. We have our share of them. But what I found unique about my recent visit to Seattle is the number of of what I call "excentric" living on the streets. Many just striking up a conversation in an attempt to draw attention hoping to score a hand out. At dusk I was amazed at the number of sleeping bags that came out and sprawled the sidewalks with all sorts of people - young and old. Maybe it's by choice, maybe not. But I can say Seattle is overall a clean city despite the street people. The only place we felt just a tad uncomfortable was in Pioneer Square at dusk when heading to the light rail terminal. But it wasn't anything different I would experience here at night downtown when you have "eyes" looking at you.

[CanWeGoYet?]

We do have a lot of homeless in seattle, don't know if it's true but I hear we have more in the way of social programs to help than in some other parts of the country.

 

I work in a hospital that seems to serve most of the indigent and homeless population. There are lots of reasons for people to be on the street instead of in shelters. I hear that it's very common to pick up lice in the shelters. Some people tell me they don't feel safe sleeping inches away from someone else on mat. And there are those who have a bad history (assault, whatever) and are banned from the shelters. As well as the times the shelters are full and people get turned away.