How many people have you seen that appear to be what I call “homeless posers”? I know you can name one or two, maybe even three. The one that stands out for me is the man who is in Monroeville, right by the exit from the parkway east, near Valley Honda. If you don’t see him there, he is at the light when you come out of Sam’s Club and Gabriel’s. Not too long ago, someone posted a picture of a man that looked just like him driving a new model red car on social media. The social media post said that the man was not homeless, and that he lives with a wife and family in a nearby suburb. I have never given this man any money because he has been at this same post for so long that I just don’t believe that he is really homeless.
I feel the same way about a new “beggar” that I have seen in the Monroeville area near Kohl’s. This young White man carries a cardboard sign that says he is stranded. He also has a small dog with him on a leash. When I saw him most recently, he had changed clothes and the dog was wearing a coat. If he is stranded, he appears to have somewhere to change clothes. There are two other “homeless” people that I see on a regular basis. I see these guys at the Grant Street exit. Both have the traditional cardboard signs stating that they are homeless and hungry, and anything will help. One man appears to be kind and his sign says he was in the military. The other is younger and seems somewhat agitated. I watched a person hand him an unopened can of soda, he took the can and jammed it into the bridge. I guess it was not his flavor.
But the guy that really ticked me off is the older Black man sitting on the Smithfield Street Bridge. In the warmer months he sits there and begs with a ball cap. He has built a relationship with a lot of people who cross the bridge on their daily commutes to work. I don’t walk the bridge often, but when I do, I make it a point not to stop and open my purse or wallet for anyone. I believe the people that are asking for money can read the look on your face and they know if you are an easy mark.
My thoughts are often how these people got to this low point in their life and are they really homeless? What disturbed me about the man on the bridge was that I saw him at the lottery vending machine buying lottery tickets. These people always say they are begging for food, but if you give them food they might throw it aside when you aren’t looking. This is not an attack on the homeless, just a word to the wise to beware who you make “donations” to. I stick with the groups that I can see visible results.
(Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
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