Danielle Heck

     Panhandling, or begging as most people call it, has become a major issue here in St. Petersburg as well as all over the country. A lot of the problem is in the city more than anything else. Panhandling is defined by The New Oxford American Dictionary as: “asking for or begging for money or food.” The city council of St. Petersburg is debating on whether or not they will enforce stricter panhandling restrictions.  It is said that all the homelessness and begging is making St Petersburg a more degrading place to live. To people out of town it would look like the city houses thousands of beggars. This makes the town look rundown and not being able to bring in the necessary tourism it needs to too be able to thrive. While others on the same spectrum, like me, say it is not their fault that they are “homeless.” People go around all the time judging people before they find out their true stories. According to The New Oxford American Dictionary, homeless is defined as a person without a permanent home, therefore typically living on the streets also including people living in hotels, staying at friends homes and in their cars. People who are homeless do not plan to become that way.

     Homelessness can start or become apparent in many ways. You could say some people even consider runaways as part of the homeless category and would write them off as people who have no life and never will. It is said that we now have kids on the street with nowhere to go and nobody to turn to. Studies have said to show that this leads to kids getting into drugs and alcohol. We need to help these kids so that our teens will not be degraded in to begging and stealing to get the essentials they need. Considering smoking and drugs are big enough problems on their own we need to help these kids by creating a safe environment for them to go to and help them connect with people who could help them find jobs. We should work with them to help them, because if we can help the teens that are starting out to become homeless we could stop a major epidemic that could escalate into something bigger. We could make rehabilitation for kids who have no home or no means of taking care of themselves.

     Another way that people end up homeless is through a disability. People who are injured and hurt without insurance end up losing their homes and in turn become homeless. I do not understand how people can judge so harshly on a person without first knowing their story. They do not and did not ask to be homeless, nobody wakes up in the morning saying “today I’m going to get hurt, lose my house and job and then go live on the street.”  William Shumate was a hard working mad and did everything in his power to help anyone in need. One day he was out and then was hit by a car in the year 2006 he then got laid off of his job. Because Shumate had no insurance, he was forced on the streets, losing his home, his life, and his dignity. Before, he was living comfortably and with stability, now he finds himself homeless and jobless in just a blink of an eye. (New Roots News: Homeless in St Petersburg; by Matthew Parke). People in this world do not know how good they have it until it is gone. Shumate regrets what happened but he believes in spite of all that has happened he feels like he came out a better man.

     Nobody plans to be homeless, so why should we judge them or make it any harder for them than it already is? With the economy the way it is, most people with homes are having a hard time finding jobs, keeping jobs, and paying their mortgages. Anyone could lose their homes and become homeless in a matter of minutes. We cannot make the people who are unfortunate enough to lose everything the criminals here. How are we making society better if all we show is hate and not compassion and understanding? What are we teaching the generations after us; that people who do not have the same opportunities as us do not deserve a break? They could be working just as hard or twice as hard as everyone else but it is never enough.

     Homelessness is not a disease or a virus you can catch by seeing a homeless person. So why treat them like they are infected?  The answer has been drilled in to us since childhood. Society taught us to define them that way. “They are dirty, smelly, and nasty creatures.” This is what society has poured in to our brains. Society is the wicked totalitarian making us believe one thing when it is really something else entirely. By helping the less fortunate, it in turns helps us all in the end. We become better people when we help someone. Can you imagine losing something so dear to you, losing everything you worked for? Than have people come and laugh at you about it. It would be very insensitive. When we are hateful it makes us turn into bitter and mean people. We need to work together to come to a common goal; to help others. “Treat people as you would like to be treated in return.” (The Bible)

     They are using police man-hours and money to try to solve the problem and it is not doing us any good.  “In fact it is making it that much harder for the homeless to get ahead. Each time a person’s belongings are confiscated, he/she loses something that has to be replaced and falls back down the ladder that he/she is trying so hard to climb up out of homelessness.” (Koehn 1) Agreeing with this author whole heartily what needs to be done is organize a city wide active group that will help with the “issue” of homelessness. Educate the people in society about the positive effects of helping the homeless rather than demeaning them to a status of unworthy people that are like infectious diseases. We need to stand together to fight for this cause. I am willing to help them and be a voice in the matter, the question now remains; are you willing to stand out of the crowd and help?