Truly needy or in it for cash? Socks may tell the story

Today’s question: All over the Valley people are soliciting from street corners, parking lots and freeway exits. They would appear to be homeless, however I have seen them in groups, on bikes and getting into cars. Who are they? Should we be giving them money?

Many years ago my sainted father was here for a winter visit and one day reported to me he had seen a strange sight.

“There was a man on the corner with a sign that said, ‘I work for Ford.’ ’’

So I explained the sign said “food” and not “Ford,” and Dad said, “Oh, I thought he was just proud of his job.’’ Anyway, who are these people? They are homeless, the genuinely destitute, alcoholics, drug users, scammers or just plain bums.

In other words, they are all sorts of people looking for a handout for one reason or another.

So how do you know if they are truly needy or just playing you?

You don’t. I try to look at their socks. If they’re wearing clean socks, I figure they’re OK and don’t need my help, but I suppose that is kind of an arbitrary measure.

Should you give them money? Will they just spend it on drink or drugs? Who knows?

Some people carry sack lunches of nonperishable foods to hand out when approached by the street corner people. Some hand out bus passes or gift certificates for fast food restaurants. Some people give them money. And some people just ignore them.

So in summary, I don’t know for sure who they are and I can’t tell you what to do about them. Sorry.