Not All Homeless Are Useless

Courtesy: Judy Ann Samorin

On June 28, Paulo Cuento of the Manila Bulletin wrote a fascinating and inspiring story of a netizen who posted a photo of an old woman who sold her paintings for P15.00 instead of begging for alms.

The photo was shared by a certain Judy Ann Samorin on her Facebook page last June 15. She explained that the woman sold her paintings along Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City. But what caught her attention was the fact that the woman used her talents instead of the usual panhandling.

The woman had several pieces of oil pastel and paper to draw her subjects. As you can see in the picture, most of her works were abstract drawings.

At the end of her post, Samorin wishes that the woman would be noticed by some art school, organization or association so that her talent be recognized. 

Her viral post, at this time of writing, has over 24,000 likes, over 10,000 shares, and has almost 200 comments from various people who posted their support for the street artist, some wanting to help her by providing additional material, others wanting to buy her works at a bigger price. But all of them, due to their admiration to her, are asking Samorin about the woman's exact spot in Gil Puyat Avenue.

Courtesy: Axl Recamara

One of the commenters, a certain Axl Recamara, also happens to have another picture of the same woman. However, he said that she screamed at him, went irate, threw some of her works at him and ran away, which left him and his sister in shock. According to him, he felt that she might have any mental disabilities due to what happened but he was still unsure of it. Nevertheless, he still appreciates her work. He also specified that her spot is at Cityland in Buendia, along Gil Puyat Avenue.

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I must admit, I am one of those people who belong to the middle-class who seem not to care for most of the homeless in the streets, not because they are simply homeless, but because most of the people find panhandling (begging alms) the easiest way to earn money, which, of course, based on my personal experience. 

In the city in which I live, most of the panhandlers I usually encounter are street children. I usually find these kids very annoying enough to ruin my day, because they always have the nerve to spit on your pants whenever I refuse to give money. If you give them change, they will simply throw them away, as they want bills/banknotes (the higher the denomination, the better). 

These kids also cling themselves on the handlebars on the back of jeepneys, which caused ire for most of the drivers, some even bringing good old 2x2 so they can easily threaten them to strike whenever they refuse to go down. Some of the other kids, meanwhile, had a gimmick wherein they go in twos, with jeepneys as frequent targets. One of them (usually a toddler) will hand out envelopes to passengers to put donations inside, while the other one (the toddler's older sibling) will sing a folk song while sitting at the back of the jeepney, with some having an improvised drum kit and whistle as accompaniment.

Whatever the methods are, I always refuse to give them alms not because I am a miser, but because I personally believe that "Panhandling is the most pathetic form of robbery." The more you give money to them, the more they will exploit the opportunity. It's just that simple.

Did you ever come across into your minds what they usually do with the money you gave? Typically, they can use them to buy food, but there are also tendencies that they might also use them in satisfying their vices such as alcohol, cigarettes, even drugs such as methamphetamine (shabu), marijuana and solvent (like paint thinners and contact cement).

But like what I've said earlier, and like what the title of this article says, not all homeless are useless, for there are still some who believe panhandling is not the surest way of earning money, and at the same time, they feel a sense of satisfaction in earning money through hard work, just like the woman in the picture that Judy saw.

The old woman reminds me of other homeless people around the world, whose stories I have read over the Web. She is a prime example of a person who, despite her condition and situation, will do anything and everything to have a decent job in the streets. She is the type of homeless people that I want to help, for they deserve to receive blessings more than anybody else.

For sure some of you will not agree with my stand regarding homeless people. After all, it is our duty to help anyone in need, as much as we can provide. However, what I am actually pointing out is that not all homeless in the streets are legit, for there are some people who pretend to be one, while others may belong to a crime syndicate.

I will be more than happy to provide a couple of tips on dealing with the homeless and giving yourself a lasting impression from them at the same time:

1. Make friends with the homeless by starting a nice, healthy conversation. You may begin the chit-chat by asking questions regarding his/her current situation, such as the following sample questions:

- Where did you come from? 

- What is your actual purpose in getting here? 

- Why do you ended up with this situation?

It is up to you how to deliver these questions nicely. If you are not a germaphobe, it is best to sit on the sidewalk like they usually do, for they will feel you are treating them with equal respect.

2. If you are willing to help the homeless, do not ever give money, food or drink to them as much as possible, for I consider these as short-term solutions to their recurring problem. Always make it a point that you give them a once-in-a-lifetime, long-term solution, and livelihood is the number-one example. 

If you are an entrepreneur, ask them if they would be willing to help you with your business in exchange for a daily wage (not exactly minimum wage, P100-200 might be enough for 4 hours work). 

If you know certain livelihood projects such as jewelry making, do not hesitate to share your knowledge with them so they can create on their own and sell them on the streets. 

Leo Grand

I remember a story about a homeless man in New York City named Leo Grand. On August of 2013, he was approached by a complete stranger, a programmer named Patrick McConlogue (who was 23 years old at that time), who offered him a choice between 2 months of coding lessons and $100 cash. The then-37 year old Grand ultimately chose the lessons despite having no programming experience. 

After 3,621 lines of code, Grand had released his first mobile app — an environmentally conscious carpool organizer called "Trees for Cars" — which is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

I'm very sure the homeless that you will be trying to help will never forget you if you do this right. But always make sure first that they must be proven enough to be worthy of your trust, and that you must share these opportunities to the people who you know the most.

As for the old woman, I really hope her works will never go unnoticed. God bless her.

I, the Pooch, have spoken.