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People will you all clue in to the “poor down on their luck ” posers that are at just about every busy intersection and street corner with their hand out , the Tim`s cup or the perfectly scripted cardboard sign , asking for your money that you are either driving to work in the morning to earn or coming home at night after labouring to earn it. These so-called hungry and homeless take buses and some even own a car and drive to the high visibility corners to stand for 4-6 hours taking your hard earned cash ! some pose with a cane or a limp , but I have seen them on the buses carrying cane under arm getting on and off the bus , or sprinting across the street when the day of sucking you in for cash is done. The old guy at Walmart Bayers lake , he drives to his spot to take money from fools, The guy at Washmill & Chainlake takes the bus both ways and can be heard while on the bus chatting with his buddies on his IPHONE of where he is setting up. Windsor street exchange is no better and they con you with a poor dog enduring the cold to suck you in. —Late for work – cause an idiot stopped to give away money.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2016.
Not to mention Spring Garden Road… and the local business commission ignores the problem. I walked from Lawton’s to Shoppers Drug Mart and was harassed by 5 people for money. The worst offender is the one who claims she needs money for her medication because community services won’t pay… liar! You fools who give them money only enable them to continue their scams…
Meh, what you are describing sounds like work to me, OP. I wouldn’t want to do it.
Whether or not the woman was lying about her medication needs does not alter the fact that community services does not cover some medications.
ironically, giving money indiscriminately to strangers on the street seems to have created the current culture of panhandling. Other than a handful of alcoholics, that didn’t exist to the same extent 20 years ago. We have become excessively generous or maybe people simply want to feel good or not be made to feel bad – so they hand over money to whoever asks.
If you want to be really helpful donate to the Salvation Army or Hope Cottage. That way you know where the money is going.
But they do Oceanchick. It may not be on the formulary (list of funded medications) but if the doctor says she must have it and there are no alternates, they will cover it. She is scamming people because they don’t know.
Some folks truly have hard times and may panhandle for a short time to make ends meet, but when people practically have business hours at specific locations they generally are not fully destitute. Most of the regulars know what groups are out there to really help them etc. but many have used those to the hilt or may have worn out their welcome there, if they are scam artists. As in most things when spending your money be very careful as you may actually be helping someone who is better off than yourself. As noted likely better to give to certain charities who already have aid systems set up. Though some of them are iffy as well at times.
Charlie: that’s not the whole picture. There is an appeal process for not covered medications where the doctor can write pharmacare a letter asking for an uncovered med to be covered but there is still discretion to deny the request. It happened to someone I know well… I actually read the paperwork from the doctor and the rejection. Pharmacare felt she could take an alternative, covered medication (of which there were a few). They were not sympathetic to the doctor’s point that her other circumstances that made the alternatives undesirable in her particular (complex) medical situation. So pharmacare can tell you there are alternatives even if there aren’t really any, according to your doctor – the effect being uncovered medication. Anyway I don’t know how common this situation is but don’t imagine we have a system with no cracks in it. This all took place within the last couple years so I believe it reflects our current system.
Work is for slaves
PLISSKIN, it’s only slavery If you don’t get paid. Work sucks, a lot of people don’t get paid what they’re worth, but… not slavery.
Now why don’t you go search for cigarette butts and be free.
Charlie – two things. First of all, in the case I’m talking about, the doctor told my friend that the ‘alternatives’ mentioned by pharmacare were not appropriate (and told pharmacare the same thing). He did not give her a prescription for the other meds for good reasons. So she is in fact left in the position of relying on inconsistent med samples and trying to go under budget on food etc to partially fill her pharmacy prescription. I don’t get why not taking the bureaucrat’s word over a doctor’s about appropriate medication would be bullshit, if that’s what you think saying. Second point, I never claimed to know this panhandler’s situation. I said “I don’t know how common this situation is.” Could be BS on the part of the panhandler, I wouldn’t know. My friend sometimes ups her medication budget by using using a food bank, which I believe is more appropriate than panhandling.
So ireadit… I’m simply stating fact where you are spewing innuendo…
If by ‘fact’ you mean opinion/ speculation. Unless you follow the girl home to see where her money goes, or have access to her medical records.
Cool story bro.
If someone wants to put themselves through begging for change how does it affect you at all? Or do you just hate your boring, shitty life so much that you have to pick on the less fortunate on the internet.
I don’t have to work. I just hang out at the Khyber all day and eat grapes and have fake shows like ‘equipment’ that are basicly existential. Go work at subway you losers.
On a related note, a friend of mine handed over plenty of shrapnel to some complex carbon at Windsor St. Exchange a number of years ago…under the ruse of frigging off out of town someday. He was shocked to see her drive into the Lady Hammond Tims one morning in a late model Ford Explorer…hers it turns out. She got really uncomfortable when confronted.
I’m not suggesting poverty doesn’t exist. However, I don’t hand my hard earned money to strangers…I prefer registered anti poverty groups instead. I firmly believe that if the misguided bleeding hearts stopped handing it over there wouldn’t be individuals endangering themselves and others in traffic or blocking passage on the sidewalk. As always.
Panhandling is fine when it’s one guy on one street; having lived in Vancouver it became a nightmare, where you couldn’t walk 5 feet without someone asking you for money, and not politely either. Once the meth hit Vancoueer, it got worse, it was addicts (and SCARY ones) asking for money. I remember walking out of a shop and my change was $.05, a regulare scary meth head asked me for money and I had the nickel in my hand so I gave it to him….he looked at it, then threw it down. Keep being nice Halifax, and handing over your money and one day Spring Garden will turn into Robson street. If you are caring and compassionate then buy the guy on the street a coffee and a hot sandwich, donate your money to shelters and write to politicians to ensure there are programs for homeless/unemployed/etc. Forking over $$ to a stranger on the street is just plain silly.