Hi Kat,

   Well, here in DC - panhandlings a job and its pays better than mine - they once wrote up a panhandler by the building I worked in - he made $45,000.00 a year. I worked and made $30,000.00 Enough to make you want to take to the streets. Around here they even have scams set with with disabled vet signs.

                                      Trisha


> Kat,
> 
> You wrote:
> "I see the guys standing on street corners here begging and think, 'why
> can't you all go and find work?  There's work out there for you - you just
> need to find it. Believe me, it's out there.'"
> 
> Don't forget that a lot of these people are unable to work due to mental
> illness.  A lot of the homeless are veterans who are plagued by PTSD, many
> are schizophrenic.  The cuts in health care and affordable housing have left
> them with no where to turn, and no one to care for them.  It's very easy to
> say "go find work", but it's hard to do.  Very few places are hiring,
> especially in cities like DC, where many people are unemployed.  Some of
> these people are lazy, but a lot of the homeless are working and unable to
> afford housing, unable to find jobs, or too mentally ill to work.  Don't
> paint all of them with the same brush.
> 
> ~Joy~