As the child of a homeless mother, as well as having been homeless myself as a teenager, it is depressing to read some of the responses I have. When I was a teenager, my father broke his back (he was a construction worker) and my mother lost her job due to downsizing. The economy was terrible, my parents didn't have a "rainy day" account, and our only option was for me to drop out of high school and work fast food to try to support our family. Unfortunately, the pay just wasn't enough and we soon found ourselves living both in our car, and at a campground. It was only due to the generosity of non-judgemental strangers that we were able to have clothes on our back and food in our bellies during a very dark time in our lives. Had you asked me a year prior if this would be my reality, I would have smirked, rolled my eyes, and laughed off the possibility of it with an emphatic "That would NEVER happen to me!". Oh how wrong I was.
After obtaining my GED I joined the Navy, and proudly served as an airborne cryptologist for 10 years before taking a job with an intel agency. I am now a college graduate, speak 3 languages, and serve as an intelligence analyst protecting the lives of our forward-deployed service members. I would venture to say that not many would have predicted such a future for me having seen me climb out of a tent to throw the same tattered clothes on day in and day out, or waking up in my car searching for a waterfountain in which I could brush my teeth. It took a lot of hard work to get where I am, but it also took individuals treating me like a human being when I was at my worst. It took compassion. I can almost understand if someone can't be bothered to spare a dollar, that's their choice. But to not look someone in the eye? Ridiculous.
One last thing: As a disabled veteran, I have witnessed firsthand the issues, both mental and physical, that many servicemembers face as they return from war. The stigma that surrounds PTSD is still alive and well, and causes many servicemembers to refrain from seeking mental health assistance that they may need regardless of whether or not they recognize it. Once they separate from the military, they are turned over to the VA system (don't get me started). Not only is the financial safety net of the military gone, but the mental heath care they may or may not receive while stuck in the VA system is typically minimal at best. One cannot begin to understand the consuming anxiety someone with PTSD faces until they witness it firsthand. For many of these veterans, they have difficulties keeping themselves on their feet and employed. Sadly enough, many begin to self medicate and travel down a road that leads to homelessness. The next time you see a dirty man on the street talking to himself or yelling nonsense, understand that he may be suffering from something more than you can comprehend. Something that is ugly and possibly out of his control. Perhaps he's not there just to annoy you or offend. Perhaps he has chosen or been forced to degrade himself to begging (and being seen as less than worthy) because he truly has no other options.
Some beg because they are lazy, some beg because they are thieves, and some beg because they are desperate. I'm living proof that you can never judge a book by its cover.
panhandling is explicitly asking strangers for money, whereas busking is street performance, providing entertainment, to which people can walk on by if they wish or choose to give money if they wish. It's an important distinction which has been unfortunately muddied in some places where local lawmakers have decided to try and get rid of beggars. These policies and their implementation have the direct effect of encouraging beggars to make a token and often dismal attempt to play a tune on a penny whistle or something similarly cheap and easily acquired, to avoid arrest or whatever else. Which gives good street entertainment a bad name.
