Tracy Press

You've seen our needy friends at the shopping center exits from Safeway and Costco - people with plaintive signs asking for money. I feel so bad for them. But admittedly, I have used alternate routes to avoid being in their line of sight, because I simply am uneasy being confronted by people begging. It's not that I don't have compassion for their plight -- I regularly give money and donate clothing to charity. I know I shouldn't be stressed, but I am -- for a number of reasons. People should not have to beg as if we're in a Third World country, because it means that our country is failing in its mission to care for its people. (Don't think Katrina...) In other words, are there adequate government services to help these people?

Another reason I'm stressed is I wonder if these folks are actually needy. I heard once that begging was a way of making money while not having to commit to a regular job. Could be true... I HAVE seen recent ads in the TP where one can earn $10/hr waving real estate signs. So what's the deal on the poor at your neighborhood store?<br><br>Post edited by: tmv, at: 2007/05/06 23:20

If you want to know about specific individuals, you can see two of Tracy's homeless. They sleep in front of a mattress store, of all places, pretty much nightly. It is in the Home Depot shopping center. They are sometimes seen in the driveway of the nearby shopping centers.
Others, I don't know about. There are those who stand in those driveways daily, then disappear in the evening. Are they just living out of a car, or driving back to an abode of some type?
There are others seen around often who don't appear to be homeless, but do appear unemployed &amp; perhpas mentally unstable.
The ones I would most like to get contributions directly to are Tracy's working poor, especially those raising children. They are perhaps the most deserving and the most underserved. Brighter Christmas seems to do a great job at it, but the effort is needed year-round.

Some of my children are wonderful observers of people, especially those they see frequently. When we still lived in Tracy last year my children and I were discussing some of Tracy's &quot;homeless&quot; panhandlers often seen near Wal-mart and Costco at the time. I was surprised to hear that several of them had keys to a house in Stockton and that my kids had actually seen them unlocking the front door of this house. They were not homeless. In fact my kids had seen that some of these individuals had things I could not afford to buy for myself. They were simply making a tidy living appearing to be homeless. They rode the bus between Tracy and Stockton and panhandled in both cities on a rotating basis with several other &quot;homeless&quot; people they also apparently shared the same home with. This did not appear to be a run down shack either but simply a decent moderate place to live.

I am all for helping those who are actually homeless and do not wish to remain so. I am not for handing out money to people who are committing fraud. And when I see the same person at the same corner on a regular basis always with their hand out I know that this individual is not trying to get a regular job because if they were they would not have that much time to stand on a street corner panhandling.

There are programs to help those who really do want help. They may be understaffed and spread thin but they are there. The best way we can help those who actually do not want to be homeless is to support those organizations in whatever way we can.

McHenry House is in dire need as this article from the Tracy Press states. http://tracypress.com/content/view/9120/2/ I urge everyone in Tracy who wants to help those who are in real need in Tracy to help McHenry House, help Tracy Interfaith Ministries, and help any other organization in Tracy set up to help those in need. If you know a neighbor in need and can help them then do that if nothing else. I would suggest Tracy do something to set up a homeless shelter for men but if McHenry House is in such dire need then such a shelter may not be possible.

As for the local panhandlers, if that person has had their hand out on the same corner for years then I feel it is safe to assume that they have chosen that lifestyle and I choose not to support that lifestyle choice.

I travel hundreds of miles every week for work to large cities and tiny hamlets. Since leaving Tracy and California nearly a year ago I have only seen person panhandling anywhere and this in a suburb of a major city.<br><br>Post edited by: Kathy, at: 2007/05/10 05:13

Instead of giving change I pick up an extra cheeseburger if I am going to MCD's and the guy is there, hes happy.

As a rule, I do not give money to panhandlers. I have made exceptions when my intuition guides me. I see the same people standing by the entrance to Wal-Mart each time I shop there. To touch on what Kathy said, they obviously are making a conscious choice to stand there for hours on end. I do not give money to these people because it's enabling them. They could be searching for a job, or doing odd jobs to earn a little cash. Or anything other than just standing there with their palms out. I feel bad for people who are truly homeless. I applaud those who try to overcome this and actively seek out ways to better their own lives.

KDK - I feel the same way. It is why i encourage supporting Tracy Interfaith and McHenry House. They help those who are trying to avoid becoming homeless or are trying to end their homelessness. I think it is a shame that McHenry House is struggling financially.