Dodger Logic: #48: Will Panhandle For Drugs

Panhandling: (according to www.dictionary.reference.com) To accost passers-by on the street and beg from them.

Panhandling is, indeed, illegal in many places, including the city of Atlanta. However, this is a huge problem here, as is homelessness. The police tell us not to give homeless people money for several reasons: 1. Most of them just use it to buy drugs or alcohol, 2. It bothers people, 3. It is dangerous, and 4. It is enabling that homeless person to remain in the state he/she is in and discouraging them to find work and make their own money. While it is illegal in Atlanta to give homeless people money, it is legal to give them food. I know that most people want to help everyone as much as possible, and that is valiant. So if you must help the homeless, buy them food. However, it is still dangerous, and it is still enabling them to stay in the state they are in.

Why is it dangerous to give a homeless person food or money? Because you open your bag and pull out the food or your wallet to give them money, and many people would take that opportunity to snatch your wallet, or your bag, or whatever else is exposed when you open your bag - besides the fact that giving a homeless person your time could result in the person trying to take advantage of you in some way. (They might try to hurt you or get you to help them more. You never know. Lots of homeless people are mentally ill.) Why is giving homeless people food or money enabling them to stay in the situation they are in currently in? Well, you're giving them what they want without them having to work for it. If you got all the money and food you needed in order to keep you alive and feed your bad habits (like drug/alcohol habits,) just by begging from people, then why would you go out and try to get a job? I heard about one homeless guy saying he makes a few hundred dollars per day, just begging on the street. That's way more than I could make at any job I am qualified to get without a degree. I've never worked a job where I made even close to that much money per day. And if they're making that much money off of other people's hard work and generosity, why do they not get back up on their feet quickly? Because most of them waste the money on drugs and alcohol. Giving money and food to the homeless fuels their laziness. They can always go wait outside a shelter until a spot opens up, and they can always put forth a real effort to clean themselves up and get themselves into shape to hold a job. They can always check themselves into a hospital if they need help. Now, of course, this is not referring to the mentally ill or children who are homeless. The mentally ill may not know any better, and children certainly do not - besides the fact that it is not the responsibility of children to take care of themselves. That's what parents are for.

I know that shelters have very limited space, and that really is a shame, but there are many reasons why these shelters don't have the space. They sometimes house people for years at a time. Homeless people find shelters and treat them as permanent homes, instead of using them to get themselves back on their feet. Shelters should be reserved for children and people who are actively working to get themselves back on their feet. If they do not try to get themselves a job and clean themselves up within an allotted time frame, then they should be kicked out in order to make space for other people. Also, these shelters should be for the mentally ill. When they come across a mentally ill person who needs to be housed, they should admit them to institutions for the mentally ill, so that they can be taken care of in places where people can actually give them the help and care they need. Of course, this goes for the mentally ill who are too ill to work and take care of themselves. And in my note, "Dodger Logic #41: Pass the Coke," I said I think hard drugs should be treated like a public health issue, rather than a crime. So if these homeless people are addicts, then they need to be taken care of by institutions for public health to get them cleaned up and ready to take on the world. We have to pay for these kinds of institutions and hospitals through our taxes, but we already pay for them, so it's not like our money situation would change. All of this would not only help the homeless, but it would keep our streets safe and clean for everyone else. No one would be bugged by panhandlers, and people wouldn't live in fear of walking the streets at night, or even during the day. I know homeless people scare me - at night AND during the day. And when cops see homeless people, they should take them to shelters or institutions. The homeless problem is so incredibly real in some places, including Atlanta. And it needs to be taken care of.

Now, what is the president doing about this? People seem to think the best way for him to go about the homeless problem is to open up and fund more shelters. But guess what. That costs money. And you know who's going to give up that money through taxes? Working citizens. We are going to have to give up our hard-earned money to pay for people to be lazy and create homes out of shelters. That doesn't seem fair at all. Again, that's enabling the homeless to stay in the situation they are in. It's keeping them from getting the motivation to clean themselves up and find a job. It's keeping them dependent on other people's hard work. And the homeless problem will only get worse from there.

No, instead, how about we work on the unemployment problem? I don't know how we should go about creating more jobs, but that's what we need to focus on. And in the meantime, if you feel like it's your duty to help the homeless, then go donate to shelters that are already in existence, or go volunteer at a food bank. There are ways to make a difference. We just have to find the effective ways.