Sheila Caudill Edwards:

break!!!

The lady Robin in the story is a nice lady that I gave food bags and toiletry items to over the last year when I’d take my daughter to school at Sinclair. She was always appreciative and loved the fresh fruit and toiletry items. Now knowing her story I’m glad we were able to help her. I would look for her every week cause I knew she was disabled and worried about her. I pray she is able to get her disability and not have to rely on this to get by.

Claudia Lawson:

I see signs all over town looking for workers. Landscapers, lawn mowers. It is hard work and not for everyone but people who state that they have looked for work and can’t find any, are not looking too hard? Or they fear that they might fail the drug testing?

I think they’re an organized group of people of some kind, I’ve seen them tag in and out on standing and panhandling. I know there has been jobs offered to them and they say no because they can make more doing panhandling. So what do you do about that? Don’t give them money! They are an organization

Sally Creech:

in some way!!!

All I can say is, I’m a single mother with 2 kids — if I don’t work we don’t eat or have a roof or clothes. I don’t stand outside begging — I go get it. Most of them only have to worry about themselves.

Asina Cole: Kelly Livers:

People are very critical of panhandlers. I myself have only helped very nice people by giving them food, none refused and many acted as though it was the first thing they had to eat in a long time.

Yolanda Medina:

One man will actually pull out his military discharge papers; I will buy food but nothing more because there are too many shady ones. There’s a fella that travels around Springfield who is homeless but chooses to live on the streets. I spent hours talking to him and even bought his food. He has serious heart problems and mental illness and no family or friends to support him. Very sad.

Newsflash: MOST of them are addicted to some sort of drug and are alcoholics. There are MANY other resources out there for people to get help. It starts to make you sick to live in Dayton.

Mary Adkins: Samantha Hughes:

I met someone years ago who used to be homeless in Seattle — by determination, he turned his life around and the thing he told me that has stuck with me all these years, was that giving them money was not a good idea. I remember he was quite adamant about it. He said give food, offer blankets, personal goods but never money because 9 times out of 10, it was going towards whatever habit they had. It wasn’t helping them.

Kim McCarthy:

It is obvious from the comments here that when people are just a pay check or two away from being homeless themselves, it makes it harder to show empathy for others in this situation. Considering most Americans don’t even have $1,000 in savings, and the inequity here between the classes is just growing day by day, I’d say people might want to be just that little bit more understanding...

Get a

Tammy Lewis:

job!

Bailey Alexander:

I’ve talked to Robin many times, she’s really nice! In my experience, they’ve all been nice.

Starr Harley:

I saw a guy on Keowee holding a sign that said “need money for beer and ciggarettes.” LOL — I said at least he’s honest.

Corey Forshey:

everyone of ‘em.

Bill Zimmer: Sherry Hood:

Arrest

Dale Shropshire:

Not all panhandlers do drugs! All lives matter.

Gretchen Escamilla:

I only gave one older man money once because I could clearly see he had no use of one side of his body. Like he had a stroke possibly. No way he could fake that. It made me sad.

Two weeks ago I got hit up by a woman for some gas money “to get back to Oakwood.” I gave her 3 bucks. I guess she thought I was gone — when I saw her leaving the Shell station with two 24-ounce malt liquors, jumped into a car with her boyfriend and took off. Never again. I always wonder how you can stand on a corner holding a sign all day but can’t stand behind a counter at a store earning a real wage. Get a job. Eye-opening read. I would like to have a van that loads up all the food these restaurants “throw out” on a daily basis and drive around and deliver it to these people. That may be the only meal they get that day. We have lost our compassion,