Why do they panhandle?

I think it was Salvadoran Bishop Oscar Romero who once said, "When I feed the poor, people call me a saint.  When I ask why are people poor, they call me a communist".

Well the question today is Why so many people panhandling on the street?  Why don't they get off their butts and work?  Well the question to this has as many answers as the question why are people poor!

Some of the panhandlers are homeless, but this is actually a very few.  Here in Burlington almost 90% of all the panhandlers are not homeless.  They either have jobs that don't pay all of the bills, or they are people on disability whose monthly income does not cover all of their expenses.  Can you imagine working a forty hour week, for $9.00 an hour, paying your rent and maybe your electric bill, then have to decide, do I buy food or pay for my phone?  Or how about the kids medication, or can I afford to buy gas, or even a bus card.  So they take a few hours downtown and ask for spare change.

One of the women panhandling downtown is Ester, a 78 year old woman who has worked hard all of her life in minimum wage jobs, and now living off of Social Security, about $800 a month, she does not have enough money to make ends meet, so she sits on her milk crate with a sign and collects spare change so she can buy toilet paper that food stamps won't cover.  she has two cats which she dearly loves and needs to feed them.

Then of course there are those who for some unexpected situations find themselves in great need, perhaps homeless, perhaps mental health issues, those who fall through the cracks.  These are the ones that Burlington Street Ministries minister too.  The McDonald's and Bruegger Bagel certificates help us feed so many.  And it gives us a credibility to meet people and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them as we seek to make it a bit easier for them to get the help they need.