The number of homeless in the Washington D.C. area increased 15% in 2009. The consequences of the suffering job market, high cost of housing, and the foreclosure crisis have all contributed to this radical shift in this new generation of homeless individuals. The most affected group in this category are families, who most least expect to fit in their stereotype of homeless individuals. More and more each day since last winter I have seen the most rather unordinary panhandlers holding up signs asking for donations. These folks, mostly set up shop in heavily congested suburban areas are usually dressed in untattered clothes, clean, and seem to be sober of any sort of legal/illegal influence.
Through the months of June and August, every day on the way to and from work I would see one these displaced humans. He stands on the corner in front of a bustling shopping center, holding a sign proclaiming his current situation. The sign read “Jobless, lost everything, anything helps.” For three months I would come and go and he would be standing there, sometimes checking his cell phone, waiting for donations. As the months went on the shopping center the man stood in front of opened new stores and displayed many “now hiring” signs. It is now November; the weather is cold, and soon to be unbearable for anyone to stand outside. I drove by the man and parked near his little operation. I approached and greeted him. In the most inconspicuous way possible I asked if he could answer a few questions about his situation. For privacy reasons he will be now known as Stanley.
You have been out here for a few months, holding the same sign. How did you lose your job?
Stanley: I was working in the manufacturing sector and lost my job in May due to layoffs.
Do you have family?
Yes, two daughters.
What did you lose besides your job?
The bank foreclosed on my house, I had to sell my car to make payments. My television, computer, furniture, everything had to be sold.
Are people more likely to give to someone like you, in the sense that you do not appear to the stereotypical image of a person in need?
People give as much as they can I suppose, some do not take to kind to me but I get enough.
This leads me to my next question; can you give me a ballpark of what you make in a day?
A good day, I can make around $600, often though I make about $350-$400.
At that moment my jaw hit the floor. I couldn't believe the amount he gave me, based on just a ballpark estimation. However, he may be telling the truth. In a study of Toronto panhandlers conducted by Robit Bose and Stephen Hwang in 1986, panhandlers reported a median monthly income equivalent to US $190-$200. With inflation taken in effect this comes close to what Stanley claimed he made. Plus the location Stanley chose made even more sense. Outside the city, close to middle and upper middle class houses, near a busy shopping center, at an even busier intersection, whose traffic lights take forever. So, in three months making an average of $450 a day, at 5 days a week Stanley made $9,000 dollars, or $3,000 a month. Multiply that times 12 and you get $36,000 dollars of tax free money a year.
Confused at the disgusting amount our friend Stanley makes panhandling I decided to find what most people call a “true” homeless person. A “true” or most commonly known as a chronic homeless person is an unaccompanied disabled individual who has been continuously homeless for over one year. This category contains, alcoholics, drug addicts, and the mentally unstable. Most commonly chronic homelessness is seen in urban areas. So, I decided to take a stroll to a local CITGO gas station by my apartment for cigarettes, when not much to my surprise on my way out, I was asked for spare change. I gave the man five dollars in exchange if I could interview him. He agreed but first went in the gas station for a refreshing malt liquor beverage.
How long have you been without a home of your own?
Seven, maybe eight years, I am too not sure anymore. I travel around a lot. I moved here to finish my degree at VCU back in ‘95 . Before that I was at Stanford on an engineering scholarship but those fucking assholes kicked me out for drinking, I think.
I talked to man outside the city who claims to make a couple hundred dollars a day. Is this true?
To be honest I don’t know how much I get, [laughs] I usually spend anything as soon as its handed to me. Sometimes I make enough to rent out a motel but I usually stay at my girlfriends when she lets me in.
(I couldn’t get much more out of him that didn’t either stray off topic or contain comprehensible language so I gave him another five dollar bill for his time and was on my way.)
I was baffled by these two very different men. It seems Stanley treated his situation as if it was some sort of profession. He obviously (weather he admitted it or not) had a plan to find a good area to panhandle, the endurance to stand out for hours on end, and the obedience not to spend anything he gets. Although I sympathize for Stanley, I think it is unfair to take away from people like our unnamed vagabond at the CITGO. Although he was obviously an alcoholic he is individual who has never been given a chance to receive help. City outreach programs are shutting down all over the U.S. due to lack of funding. Many of us will see hard times in this recession but think about the people who had nothing before all of this.
