Scenario question

[Aric]

How about the same as mentioned but add 2 small kids. The main reason I got my CHL was to protect my kids. I can easily retreat but they would have a harder time. How does that change the whole thing?

[flintknapper]

Smurf, as you know, you basically got "panhandled".

A firm polite "NO" is probably the best answer. After that, understanding what panhandling is, and who does it...will go a long way towards avoiding it.

Heres a little info:

Who Gets Panhandled and Who Gives Money to Panhandlers

In some communities, nearly everyone who routinely uses public places has been panhandled.† Many who get panhandled are themselves people of modest means. Wealthy citizens can more readily avoid public places where panhandling occurs, whether consciously, to avoid the nuisances of the street, or merely because their lifestyles do not expose them to public places. Estimates of the percentage of people who report that they give money to panhandlers range from 10 to 60 percent.34 The percentage of college students who do so (between 50 and 60 percent) tends to be higher than that of the general population. There is some evidence that women and minorities tend to give more freely to panhandlers.35 Male-female couples are attractive targets for panhandlers because the male is likely to want to appear compassionate in front of the female.36 Panhandlers more commonly target women than men,37 but some find that lone women are not suitable targets because they are more likely to fear having their purses snatched should they open them to get change.38 Conventioneers and tourists are good targets for panhandlers because they are already psychologically prepared to spend money.39 Diners and grocery shoppers are good targets because dining and grocery shopping remind them of the contrast between their relative wealth and panhandlers' apparent poverty. Regular panhandlers try to cultivate regular donors; some even become acquaintances, if not friends.

Where and When Panhandling Commonly Occurs

Panhandlers need to go where the money is. In other words, they need to panhandle in communities and specific locations where the opportunities to collect money are best–where there are a lot of pedestrians or motorists, especially those who are most likely to have money and to give it.40 Panhandling is more common in communities that provide a high level of social services to the needy, because the same citizens who support social services are also likely to give money directly to panhandlers; panhandlers are drawn to communities where both free social services and generous passersby are plentiful.41 With respect to specific locations, panhandlers prefer to panhandle where passersby cannot readily avoid them, although doing so can make passersby feel more intimidated.42

Among the more common, specific panhandling locations are the following:

near ATMs, parking meters and telephone booths (because ATM users, motorists and callers are less likely to say they do not have any money to give);
near building entrances/exits and public restrooms with a lot of pedestrian traffic;
on or near college campuses (because students tend to be more sympathetic toward panhandlers);
near subway, train and bus station entrances/exits (because of high pedestrian traffic, and because public transportation users are likely to be carrying cash to buy tickets or tokens);
on buses and subway trains (because riders are a "captive audience");
near places that provide panhandlers with shade and shelter from bad weather (such as doorways, alcoves and alleys in commercial districts);
in front of convenience stores, restaurants and grocery stores (because panhandlers' claims to be buying food or necessities for them or their children seem more plausible, and because shoppers and diners often feel especially fortunate and generous);
at gas stations (because panhandlers' claims that they need money for gas or to repair their vehicle seem more plausible);
at a Freeway
Motorway or controlled-access highway exits/entrances (because motorists will be stopped or traveling slowly enough to be able to give money);
on crowded sidewalks
Footpath; pavement (because it is easier for panhandlers to blend in with the crowd should the police appear);
• at intersections with traffic signals (because motorists will be stopped); and
near liquor stores and drug markets (so the panhandlers do not have to travel far to buy alcohol or drugs).43
There are typically daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal patterns to panhandling; that is, panhandling levels often follow fairly predictable cycles, which vary from community to community. For example, panhandling may increase during winter months in warm-climate communities as transients migrate there from cold-weather regions. Panhandling levels often drop around the dates government benefits are distributed, because those panhandlers who receive benefits have the money they need. Once that money runs out, they resume panhandling.44 Panhandling on or near college campuses often follows the cycles of students' going to and coming from classes.45 There are usually daily lulls in panhandling when those panhandlers who are chronic inebriates or drug addicts go off to drink or take drugs. Regular panhandlers keep fairly routine schedules, typically panhandling for four to six hours a day.46

Economics of Panhandling

Most evidence confirms that panhandling is not lucrative, although some panhandlers clearly are able to subsist on a combination of panhandling money, government benefits, private charity, and money from odd jobs such as selling scavenged materials or plasma.47 How much money a panhandler can make varies depending on his or her skill and personal appeal, as well as on the area in which he or she solicits. Estimates vary from a couple of dollars (U.S.) a day on the low end, to $20 to $50 a day in the mid-range, to about $300 a day on the high end.48 Women–especially those who have children with them–and panhandlers who appear to be disabled tend to receive more money.49 For this reason, some panhandlers pretend to be disabled and/or war veterans. Others use pets as a means of evoking sympathy from passersby. Panhandlers' regular donors can account for up to half their receipts.50

Panhandlers spend much of their money on alcohol, drugs and tobacco, although some money does go toward food, transportation and toiletries.51 Panhandlers rarely save any money, partly because they risk having it stolen, and partly because their primary purpose is to immediately buy alcohol or drugs

[Venus Pax]

As a female, I get as far away from these people as possible.
When I'm with dh, I usually tell them to leave us alone, or a stern NO.
When dh goes out to witness in downtown Houston with his group, I send them off with cheese crackers to give to the homeless people that come up and tell them they're hungry.
I tell the guys to give them a package of crackers and direct them to the Star of Hope, which our church helps support. I know they'll be fed there, and will hear the gospel message. I also know that Star of Hope doesn't just hand out money.