Panhandlers are in every city in the United States. Although I haven’t been to every town, I heard from many riders and read it on many blogs. In Baltimore, homeless people count is significantly higher than in DC, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. Not higher than New York, though. And a lot of them are panhandlers on traffic lights and intersections. Those are the major cities I did ride-sharing. As you know, homeless people have a different life, but today I’d like to talk about their begging signs when they beg for change at traffic lights.
Each panhandler has an approach on their sign, just like salespeople or marketers. Some of these approaches are brilliant, some of them are lazy, and everything in between. Since no one knows how much panhandlers make a day, sources say 8-15 per hour, but they stop right after reaching their goal (usually $120 in few hours) and not work forty hours a week. Their income depends heavily on their (location, location, location) and what the sign says.
All their signs have one thing in common, which’s handwritten. Some of them have someone with good handwriting do it for them to show cleanliness and hope, especially those who want to show respect and progress. Others do it themselves, especially if they are lazy or a bad sign. Some know it’s a numbers game, so they panhandle without a sign. If there’s a sign, it’s usually 1-foot x 2 feet enough to hold it chest high and size. There are some exceptions, like this one time I’ve seen a 3×3 feet sign; it was bigger than he can handle.
The majority are simple signs “ homeless; please help, God bless.” All three phrases or just one or two written on a piece of paper or something more sturdy like cardboard. Those usually are the lazy ones who don’t bother trying hard. Few are honest about their addiction and write, “I have a habit, and I just want my fix,” or “I’m looking for work.” Many of them are veterans, or that’s what the sign says because I know veterans have excellent benefits, especially those with mental disorders or addiction habits.
Some signs have a political message like this 3×3 had all the cliché mentioned earlier plus “black lives matter/ all lives matter,” and some peace signs, which I doubt this whole thing was working for him. One had the most straightforward, most effective message, “f$&k Trump,” in a democratic city like Baltimore; this guy was making a big buck, even the rider I was driving donated $5 to him and talked for a second about that! I can imagine how many people liked his sign and contributed the same or more.
Some signs are funny, like “Too ugly to be a stripper” or “my ex took everything from me,” and those guys usually make good money too. Of course, I only can tell based on how many people give them on each red light, so it’s a guesstimate and not a set figure. Considering the number of red lights with regular signs or no signs or panhandlers, I noticed political and funny comments make the most money, then comes common signs; their looks or gender might help. The least collectors I saw were the honest ones, poor guys; their honesty is another burden.
Growing up in Iraq with many street beggars and traffic lights panhandlers never thought I’d see so many in the United States. Still, it seems a different story with deeper problems and complicated solutions. With all the help the US government and the people provide, there are 200,000 homeless people in the United States, probably twenty thousand in Baltimore City alone. It looks this number seems to rise more and more with younger and fine-conditioned people doing it!
ABZU 