Beggars in the city centre

cherryghost

It was nearly a year since I was in the Dublin City Centre last and by god, it's gotten bad. Living in Athlone, never encountered a homeless person.

I seriously felt disgusted when I saw a fella begging on the streets in Dublin, initially I had sympathy for the fella, looking like he had not shaven in a while and looking worse for wear.. Walking past, I see he's wearing shirt and tie, black trousers and a Lifestyle Sports bag with a new pair of sneakers in it.

johnn

Con-artists the whole lot of 'em.

lil_lisa

So, from all the responses here, I have gathered that there are two major issues with how beggars and homeless are viewed by the non-beggars and non-homeless if you will.

1. Most people generalise them into being drug addicts or rich people or scammers (usually a combination of all three!).

2. Most people expect the government to look after these people but at the same time I'm sure would complain if any tax went up so we could look after the homeless in our country.

What has happened to communities? These are fellow Irish citizens. Should we be giving out about them bothering us or trying to get money/food from us in 'uncomfortable' situations? Or should we be out there helping them get back up on their feet? Everyone has a right to make mistakes, and even some of these people are on the streets involuntarily.

If we want beggars to change their attitudes then I think we have to change our attitudes.

johnn

How come we have yet to receive any Homeless person's views on this?

Catari Jaguar

123balltv wrote: »

Children begging just breaks my heart so sad

It's disgusting. Children need to be in school, not begging. :mad:

If you see a child begging you should contact Leanbh (it's a branch of the ISPCC that deals with this issue)

Catari Jaguar

johnn wrote: »

How come we have yet to receive any Homeless person's views on this?

Is this thread about beggars or homeless?? Homeless people might beg, but that doesn't mean that beggars are homeless. These shady beggars (and/or junkies) give the genuinely homeless a bad name.

Millicent

Millicent wrote: »

I have been on occasion. I used to live in Dublin city centre and experienced it a lot. I find a simple "no, sorry" is usually enough to put someone off and the two seconds it takes to say it doesn't really bother me.

I thought so too until the guy I said it to nearly went for me

Outside my own workplace!
No sign since thankfully and there is security around to call for

gurramok

lil_lisa wrote: »

So, from all the responses here, I have gathered that there are two major issues with how beggars and homeless are viewed by the non-beggars and non-homeless if you will.

1. Most people generalise them into being drug addicts or rich people or scammers (usually a combination of all three!).

2. Most people expect the government to look after these people but at the same time I'm sure would complain if any tax went up so we could look after the homeless in our country.

What has happened to communities? These are fellow Irish citizens. Should we be giving out about them bothering us or trying to get money/food from us in 'uncomfortable' situations? Or should we be out there helping them get back up on their feet? Everyone has a right to make mistakes, and even some of these people are on the streets involuntarily.

If we want beggars to change their attitudes then I think we have to change our attitudes.

Roma are not. I'll never ever will help a Roma beggar.

Venom

lil_lisa wrote: »

If we want beggars to change their attitudes then I think we have to change our attitudes.

How about they don't bother me and I won't bother them?

Yeah right :rolleyes:

Mike 1972

Absurdum wrote: »

I know the Roma family who live a few doors down from me don't send their children to school.

Have you reported them ?

Nodin

cherryghost wrote: »

. Living in Athlone, never encountered a homeless person.

Given the undead horrors that walk the streets of athlone after the sun goes down, thats not suprising....

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Dudess

johnn wrote: »

How come we have yet to receive any Homeless person's views on this?

Yeah exactly. Surely a wifi spot isn't THAT hard to find. :mad:

yermandan

johnn wrote: »

How come we have yet to receive any Homeless person's views on this?

Is this a serious question?

Venom

yermandan wrote: »

Is this a serious question?

Of course its not.....

we all know their still out begging but I'm sure they will reply later tonight when the pubs and clubs close

thankswhore

I tried to turn a homeless guys cup of tea into a cup of coins once like David Blaine did on tv that time but i messed up the part where you sneak the coins into his tea without him noticing. Then he attacked me

RussellTuring

I was sitting down with my then-girlfriend across from Stephen's Green shopping centre once, eating some wedges from a paper cup when a woman walked over to us and was about to put some change in it before realising we weren't begging. I thought it was hilarious and the OH was mortified but it just shows that it can't be that hard to get some cash.

aligator_am

johnn wrote: »

Must try that sometime.

I used to love having a few pints in Kehoe's off Grafton st in the summer, most people would be standing around outside with their scoops, but the amount of beggar's harassing you would put you off and they have no bouncer's dealing with them. They were the confrontational type too, like when you say "Sorry I've no change" they say "Do ye tink iaaam stuuupet?!" getting ready to go for us. Fuckin' drugies.

Instead of free cheese the government should hand out free flamethrowers, and we can be rid of the whole lot of them once and for all!!! (beggars and the government to be torched that is)

johnn

yermandan wrote: »

Is this a serious question?

yeah i have seen homeless people in some internet cafes a lot recently, some of them on boards, sure its only a euro an hour, they have plenty of change after all. they should tell us their side of the stoorrreeee

Dudess

People who have been homeless posted about their experiences to last week's homeless people thread.

johnn

Dudess wrote: »

People who have been homeless posted about their experiences to last week's homeless people thread.

I assume it was almost uniformly people admitting to scamming the general public?

Absurdum

RussellTuring wrote: »

Don't happen to live around Artane do ya? That seems to be the place where a lot of Roma live. Nice area too.

No but I used to live there! It's a while ago though so I wasn't aware of any of them around there at the time. I remember the good old days when the tinkers would call around every Saturday afternoon looking for a bit of food and clothes, they'd promise to say a prayer for you

littlefriend wrote: »

Some of the posts here are shocking and so depressing. I hope no-one you love ever ends up homeless and relying on some **** spare change.

If I love them, there will always be room in my home for them.

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Have you reported them ?

Yes, I and many of my neighbours have reported the situation to the Gardai, HSE, Dept. of Education, the county council and just about everyone we can think of many, many times. I believe (as in I heard through the grapevine) that the parents/guardians claimed at first that they were relatives just visiting but later changed the story to that they are home-schooling them.

Kiwi_knock

Was out in Dublin City Centre tonight giving soup, tea and sandwiches to the homeless, there was barely any sign of them. Only one homeless person on the whole of O'Connell Street, was shocking, went down all the side streets and only found another two. It was so strange to see that little sign of homelessness in Dublin

johnn

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Was out in Dublin City Centre tonight giving soup, tea and sandwiches to the homeless, there was barely any sign of them. Only one homeless person on the whole of O'Connell Street, was shocking, went down all the side streets and only found another two. It was so strange to see that little sign of homelessness in Dublin

So does this prove that the people begging aren't homeless or that they really do use our money for hostels?

bigbadbear

WindSock wrote: »

Sometimes yay sometimes nay. I used to donate to a shelter when times was better for me. There are an awful lot of them though lately. Have never encountered a similar volume anywhere else in Europe.

Come to Vancouver. It's unbelievable how many there are. They usually play guitar of bang spoons off their legs for money though!!

I usually throw a few cent into a cup for them though. I personally do not give to the gyppos* as I personally feel they are opportunistic.

*racism=bad

KeithM89 wrote: »

I was downtown with a friend once - we saw a beggar sitting down holding a plastic cup. My friend took a fiver out of his pocket, dropped it at the beggars feet - his eyes light up, but my friend picks it up and walks on. Cuntish thing to do but damn funny

Your mate is bang on*

*Sarcasm

KidKeith89

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Was out in Dublin City Centre tonight giving soup, tea and sandwiches to the homeless, there was barely any sign of them. Only one homeless person on the whole of O'Connell Street, was shocking, went down all the side streets and only found another two. It was so strange to see that little sign of homelessness in Dublin

They're there, and there's a lot of them (maybe they're trying to find a shelter?). We can complain all we want about the Roma Gypsies and their begging but the fact is there's a lot of homeless people on Dublin's streets, and the weather's getting worse - I really do feel sorry for these poor bast@ards in winter But I still don't give them change, even if I have it! That's why I started this thread: I feel sorry for (some of) them but I don't give them any change! Why!?!

KidKeith89

100th post! (Not a lot, but it's something )

Holybejaysus

Had an interesting experience in Galway once. I had just met my sister for a pint, and in walks a beggar jingling a cup loudly. I had never seen a beggar make it into a pub before, but my sister proceeded to tell me that it was a student she knew looking for easy money, not homeless or starving, just a lazy sponging layabout...:rolleyes: Apparently it's quite common in Galway. Needless to say, I didn't donate.

Helix

KidKeith89 wrote: »

100th post! (Not a lot, but it's something )

shouldve given it to a homeless person

Pdfile

i seen a few romanians gettin chased by a gang of scumbags in town ( just of cable st, the heuston station direction of the luas line )

i thought it was funny, one group of beggers chasing another. :pac:

Pace2008

Pdfile wrote: »

i seen a few romanians gettin chased by a gang of scumbags in town ( just of cable st, the heuston station direction of the luas line )

i thought it was funny, one group of beggers chasing another. :pac:

Roma, mate, Roma.

I know I wouldn't appreciate it if Eastern Europeans used the terms "tinker" and "Irish" interchangeably

narfsnonsense

I think the smoking ban has a lot to do with the increase in beggers. There only person I've given money to in a smoking area is an aul fella who played a song for me on his tin whistle. I think a lot of them are scammers. Take a look at their nice, clean air max.

Anyone who tries to guilt or intimidate me into givingthem money by begging by a bank machine, luas machine, parking meter etc can piss off. I've actually had a row with one fella begging by the bank link on Georges Street about it before. I had a few jars on board and was not the smartest thing to do, but there was no way this guy was homeless or living in a hostel.

I once took a 'homeless' guy from the country to Eddie Rockets only to find out he was heading to London the next day and didn't want to waste his money on a bed for the night!

I do give money, smokes, sandwiches etc to people who appear to me to be genuinely homeless. In my opinion, these tend to be people who do not sit on main streets and are generally polite and quite reserved.

santiago

Pdfile wrote: »

i seen a few romanians gettin chased by a gang of scumbags in town ( just of cable st, the heuston station direction of the luas line )

i thought it was funny, one group of beggers chasing another. :pac:

What nationality were the scumbags?

GeorgeCostanza

KeithM89 wrote: »

I was downtown with a friend once - we saw a beggar sitting down holding a plastic cup. My friend took a fiver out of his pocket, dropped it at the beggars feet - his eyes light up, but my friend picks it up and walks on. Cuntish thing to do but damn funny

Wow, that's damn clever stuff alright..................................

TwoShedsJackson

GeorgeCostanza wrote: »

Wow, that's damn clever stuff alright..................................

I was hoping the story would end 'after this the beggar got up and kicked my wanker mate's head in/stabbed him with a syringe'.

blow69

narfsnonsense wrote: »

I think the smoking ban has a lot to do with the increase in beggers.

Qué?

gsxr1

It was so sad to see. Few years ago when I lived on the ground floor in the Bertrim Court apartments. Francis street. Christ church
A young bone skinny drug addict girl was using the heroin dealers twice a day on my street.
She begged at the cash machine on Dame street till she had enough for the next hit. I seen her do this twice on the way home. Fact it she is more than likely dead now .

I would not give any of them money but have in fact gave them half of my lunch at times.
Some are very grateful of it. Most turn there nose up and smurk in return.

Its a good way of finding a genuine person with problems. God bless them.

Jazzy

another after hours thread where i get to tick off the amount of idiots there is. boards growing like this is great, you can really see just how stupid and fatheaded people are

johnn

gsxr1 wrote: »

It was so sad to see. Few years ago when I lived on the ground floor in the Bertrim Court apartments. Francis street. Christ church
A young bone skinny drug addict girl was using the heroin dealers twice a day on my street.

She was clearly an experienced method actor scamming you out of your money.

RussellTuring

I saw my uncle begging outside a shop tonight as I passed by on a bus.

Pookah

We are all beggars now.

MJRS

Do people really think beggars at ATMs want pfople to give them notes straight from their account? Surely they're just thinking that people at ATMs have their wallets and purses out anyway and might have some spare change for them while they're waiting..

bigbadbear

Do people think its a good idea to introduce a recycling system whereby we get 10/20 cent back on our cans/bottles? It has major advantages in that much more gets recycled, cleaner streets, homeless and junkies can earn a few measly euro by cleaning the place and they are kept busy (devil makes work of idle hands)

johnn

bigbadbear wrote: »

Do people think its a good idea to introduce a recycling system whereby we get 10/20 cent back on our cans/bottles? It has major advantages in that much more gets recycled, cleaner streets, homeless and junkies can earn a few measly euro by cleaning the place and they are kept busy (devil makes work of idle hands)

No i don't want beggars coming over to me while i'm sitting at a table harassing me for my empty coke bottle.

bigbadbear

johnn wrote: »

No i don't want beggars coming over to me while i'm sitting at a table harassing me for my empty coke bottle.

What table?? Is it out on the street?? Are you saving your bottle for something???

MJRS

johnn wrote: »

No i don't want beggars coming over to me while i'm sitting at a table harassing me for my empty coke bottle.

"Harassing" you? For you empty coke bottle? If a homeless person taking up three seconds of your time to ask "are you finished with that?" is harassment, you sound too sensitive to leave the house.

johnn

MJRS wrote: »

"Harassing" you? For you empty coke bottle? If a homeless person taking up three seconds of your time to ask "are you finished with that?" is harassment, you sound too sensitive to leave the house.

Yeah but multiply the 3 seconds by the 100's of times i'm likely to be asked/eyed up if this was brought in and you see my issue. If its a sunny day i might like to have my lunch at one of the tables outside at some of the restaurants in town and they'll end up hanging around there stinking up the place.

Giving them any reason to approach me is a bad idea in my opinion.

Alwayson

Off Baggot Street some time ago a green German registered Mercedes estate pulled up to the kerb and an old woman tried to sell me gold out the window. Car was full of Romas. Its one thing to accept them getting smuggled in in a lorry but these guys drove in in a Merc! Another time I saw a young Roma boy go up to an on duty ban garda and ask her for money, she just laughed. By comparison when I went to work in Luxembourg I needed to show my employment contract to prove I had a job and take up residency. I don't blame the beggars, its the lazy officials who don't do their job properly who are responsible for them being here.

johnn

Alwayson wrote: »

Off Baggot Street some time ago a green German registered Mercedes estate pulled up to the kerb and an old woman tried to sell me gold out the window. Car was full of Romas. Its one thing to accept them getting smuggled in in a lorry but these guys drove in in a Merc! Another time I saw a young Roma boy go up to an on duty ban garda and ask her for money, she just laughed. By comparison when I went to work in Luxembourg I needed to show my employment contract to prove I had a job and take up residency. I don't blame the beggars, its the lazy officials who don't do their job properly who are responsible for them being here.

You sound like a bit of a Xenophobe to me.

MJRS

johnn wrote: »

Yeah but multiply the 3 seconds by the 100's of times i'm likely to be asked that if this was brought in and you see my issue. If its a sunny day i might like to have my lunch at one of the tables outside at some of the restaurants in town and they'll end up hanging around there stinking up the place.

Giving them any reason to approach me is a bad idea in my opinion.

Haha, well god love you and your sense of compassion. They do this recycling scheme in a few places I've been to, I wasn't bothered once, everyone just left their empty bottles on the ground beside bins for the homeless to pick up, it's a great system. There was no one hanging around the outdoor tables stinking up the place. And the hundreds of times you're likely to be asked a 3 second question doesn't really add up to the harassment you think it does...