Accidental Panhandler

On Monday morning, after sleeping under the bridge, I was crossing the busy intersection at Eastern and Reno.  As I stood with my backpack and bag full of blankets and dirty clothes still wet from the last night's rain, a pick up truck pulled up to the intersection and stopped in front of me.  The window rolled down and a man thrust his hand toward me, holding a 5 dollar bill.  He must of thought I was panhandling.  The intersection was very busy and though I tried to tell him that I didn't need the money, he could not hear because of the traffic.  He began to shake the bill at me indicating that I should take it.  I took the 5 dollars and yelled a thank you.  I had unintentionally solicited five dollars from a total stranger.


People in Oklahoma City are very generous as shown by the kindness of the stranger at that intersection.  However, that kind of generosity can be more harmful than helpful.  I learned early in my career that people who are homeless generally know where to go to have their basic needs met.  Information about where you can get food, shelter, clothing, medical care, etc. is readily available from other homeless people as well as the network of providers.  Outreach workers give that information to folks daily and people are referred to appropriate providers.  If someone is panhandling, generally they are asking for money for something other than the essentials.  They often want money to support an unhealthy or dangerous habit or addiction.  Daily, people unknowingly help support these unhealthy habits by giving panhandlers money.  There are other, much better ways of helping.  You can purchase Real Change Vouchers from the Homeless Alliance.  These vouchers can be given to panhandlers instead of cash.  The voucher is good for a bus ride to a service provider to get food, shelter and clothing.  You can also make a financial contribution to one the agencies that provides support to the homeless community.  That way your dollar is going to go much further in helping someone who is homeless.


During the past five days, I have met many people who are living on the streets of OKC and very few of them panhandle.  Studies have been conducted that show that the majority of people who panhandle ARE NOT HOMELESS.  They are people that are preying on the generosity of people for personal gain.  We have seen examples of this in the media time and again.


Ultimately, giving to panhandlers does not address the issue of homelessness.  Supporting programs that provide housing and support services to homeless people does.


By the way, if the man who handed me the 5 dollar bill is reading this.  Thank you very much!  I am going to donate that 5 dollars to a homeless services agency.


Much Love,
Jonathan