December 22, 2015
Kevin Finn, President/CEO, Strategies to End Homelessness (see Op Ed in Cincinnati Enquirer here)
As the president/CEO of Strategies to End Homelessness and a former street outreach worker, I am often asked about people who are panhandling, and how to respond to them when approached on the street. This is not an easy question for me to answer because, as stated correctly by Sheila Vilvens (“The holidays bring out shoppers, panhandlers” Dec. 4), the majority of panhandlers are not in fact homeless.
The reality is that most homeless people have never panhandled. The small number who do panhandle more frequently have substance abuse issues. Their homelessness may be in part due to their addiction, and they may be panhandling to support their habit. While offering money to help someone in need is generous, under such circumstances, money may be used to support a person’s drug habit and actually come between them and the help they really need. What such individuals often need, but which may not be available to them, is substance abuse and/or mental health treatment.
As you can imagine, it is embarrassing to ask strangers for money. If a person’s situation has become so desperate that they have overcome this embarrassment, they may also be beyond feeling guilty about telling stories that are less than true. In extreme cases, the explanations panhandlers give for needing money have been crafted specifically to maximize the amount of money they receive. Some panhandlers say they are homeless, are veterans, or recently lost a job simply because by doing so they receive more money.
While panhandling, some people take in $30-50 an hour, which is often a higher pay rate than that of the social workers and street outreach workers who try to help them. When approached, some people wonder why panhandlers aren’t trying to get a job, when in reality finding employment, particularly at or around minimum wage, would be less lucrative than panhandling.
We live in a generous community, full of generous people. If we maintain a shared focus toward ending homelessness, we have the resources to be successful. Unfortunately, a portion of our combined generosity, manifested in countless small cash and coin “donations”, is not consistently directed toward those who are most in need. If we want to end homelessness, we have to be more strategic with the resources we have available. When approached by a person who is panhandling, we should always treat that person with respect, but when we want to truly have an impact, we should support mission-driven, audited and accountable nonprofit organizations that are coordinating their efforts toward ending homelessness in our community.
Strategies to End Homelessness leads a coordinated community effort to end homelessness in Greater Cincinnati by preventing homelessness before it occurs, assisting those who are homeless and solving the problem of homelessness through housing. A list of local organizations working to end homelessness can be found at www.strategiestoendhomelessness.org.
