KCRag Forum

I'll preface this with panhandling downtown and midtown is really very bearable and rare vs other cities. That being said there are a few regulars that really grind my gears.

In particular there is a couple who seem to appear for months and then disappear. He is a tall skinny black guy and she is a short larger black lady. They usually work as a team but are sometimes separate. One thing they always have in common is they are very rude and aggressive towards people. I just blow them off but I've seen them pressure so many people into giving them money. If you tell them no many times they will continue to raise their voices to get their way.

Anyways...there are a couple others but these two are a constant. Just wanted to rant I guess. I ran into her just last night again ...they love to hang around streetcar stops now and badger riders. Not much that can be done I guess but man are they annoying.

They are clearly disturbing the peace and should be jailed.

The ones I detest are the "professionals." I see them a lot in Liberty. Same people, same intersections. Often a very healthy-looking dog with them, nice backpack, cellphone, etc., but holding a sign about hungry, out of work, etc. We've lived here for almost 8 years and I've seen a couple of them for nearly that long. I have a relative who, in his teenage years, said that he and his buddies would do that when they wanted extra money.

There is only one time I really wanted to give money to a Panhandler and that was in Seattle. He had a sign that said "I'll be honest, I need money for beer"

On an individual level this doesn't bother me; just don't give money and move along with your day. In the grand scheme of things, it makes the urban core less desirable.

If panhandling happened equally between say Plaza, downtown, Brookside, OP, Lenexa, and Leawood, wouldn't bother me. Unfortunately, like most metro social services it is KCMO's cross to bear. I do wish that were more recognized, and respected, in every large metro.

saw the aggressive couple mentioned in the OP all the way down by 51st and main today. never seen them outside of river market - cbd - crossroads before. but then i'm rarely outside of that area myself.

wahoowa wrote:saw the aggressive couple mentioned in the OP all the way down by 51st and main today. never seen them outside of river market - cbd - crossroads before. but then i'm rarely outside of that area myself.

I've seen them on the MAX. The man is the last person to have used a slur on me, I believe it was "faggoty ass" because I didn't give him money.

What a lovely person. Sheesh.

KCPowercat wrote:I'll preface this with panhandling downtown and midtown is really very bearable and rare vs other cities. That being said there are a few regulars that really grind my gears.

In particular there is a couple who seem to appear for months and then disappear. He is a tall skinny black guy and she is a short larger black lady. They usually work as a team but are sometimes separate. One thing they always have in common is they are very rude and aggressive towards people. I just blow them off but I've seen them pressure so many people into giving them money. If you tell them no many times they will continue to raise their voices to get their way.

Anyways...there are a couple others but these two are a constant. Just wanted to rant I guess. I ran into her just last night again ...they love to hang around streetcar stops now and badger riders. Not much that can be done I guess but man are they annoying.

A suburban friend gave them $5. They the started arguing with him for all the money they saw in his wallet. It was boder line getting robbed. They ended up getting most of it.

Most here already discussed this in past...

The position that most caregiver orgs for homeless take is that you shouldn't ever give to panhandlers on the streets. The best thing to do is give to a food shelter or related org and direct them to a place to get food/shelter. Giving on the street is not doing any good for anyone (can be unsafe for all) even if some think it scores some Karma/Jesus Points. Giving food directly is better than change but that only keeps the panhandling going and can still be unsafe.

I tell friends/co-workers who give on street if they feel they need to help, give to Harvesters or something similar and direct them there. I was more involved about 15 years ago and found that places like Friendship House and Catherine's Place actually help people become self-sufficient. Unfortunately too many orgs and govt programs just keep them trapped in a system rather than help them function on their own. It's been a while since I've researched local orgs but my picks are to give to the 3 I mentioned instead of giving change/food to panhandlers, there are many others.

I almost saw a homeless person killed by cars yesterday at Main and 47th. He was out in traffic with a sign but seemed impaired and two cars went quickly past him on either side. I actually thought he was dead because he knelt down when they passed. I really don’t know why no one does anything at this interchange before there is a fatality.

They were starting a "camp" over by the QT truck stop.

Doesn't appear to be very aggressive or panhandling at all?

It is a camp for people who panhandle at the intersection of westport road and Roanoke (and elsewhere I'm sure). While not aggressive toward people in cars, they are less than civil toward fellow pedestrians. The vacant gas station and adjacent vacant apartment buildings are really a problem. While QT no longer owns the apartment buildings and never owned the gas station, this whole situation is their fault.

Now that downtown has been sapped of it's non-resident street life, we're back to the occasional jogger, dog walker, homeless, and panhandler. For those new the scene, this is what it was like on nights/weekends until about 2010?

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:33 pm Now that downtown has been sapped of it's non-resident street life, we're back to the occasional jogger, dog walker, homeless, and panhandler. For those new the scene, this is what it was like on nights/weekends until about 2010?

It still feels way busier to me. The number of newly built apartments does make a difference. A 100% increase in activity from back then would still be like 5% of the activity we see on average in a non-pandemic current era.

bobbyhawks wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:17 am

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:33 pm Now that downtown has been sapped of it's non-resident street life, we're back to the occasional jogger, dog walker, homeless, and panhandler. For those new the scene, this is what it was like on nights/weekends until about 2010?

It still feels way busier to me. The number of newly built apartments does make a difference. A 100% increase in activity from back then would still be like 5% of the activity we see on average in a non-pandemic current era.

Agree. There was a reason U2 shot a post apocalyptic video downtown in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. https://youtu.be/YswMTdys0cc

Was down on the Plaza Sat and Sun. Depressing. Really made this whole thing hit home. Panhandlers even looked depressed.

bobbyhawks wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:17 am

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:33 pm Now that downtown has been sapped of it's non-resident street life, we're back to the occasional jogger, dog walker, homeless, and panhandler. For those new the scene, this is what it was like on nights/weekends until about 2010?

It still feels way busier to me. The number of newly built apartments does make a difference. A 100% increase in activity from back then would still be like 5% of the activity we see on average in a non-pandemic current era.

I moved to the Crossroads area in 2015 and it reminds me of that time, before UpDown or the stuff in the east Crossroads started opening up.

benm wrote: ↑Wed Dec 30, 2020 9:32 pm

bobbyhawks wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:17 am

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:33 pm Now that downtown has been sapped of it's non-resident street life, we're back to the occasional jogger, dog walker, homeless, and panhandler. For those new the scene, this is what it was like on nights/weekends until about 2010?

It still feels way busier to me. The number of newly built apartments does make a difference. A 100% increase in activity from back then would still be like 5% of the activity we see on average in a non-pandemic current era.

I moved to the Crossroads area in 2015 and it reminds me of that time, before UpDown or the stuff in the east Crossroads started opening up.

Using downtown council numbers the number of housing units was 13,000 in 2010 and is up to almost 20,000 today

Assuming full occupancy, to be similar to 2010 would require 1/3 of all units to have residents not going outside as much.

I could see that level of activity decline. Either claim is realistic depending on the block.

Some blocks would have been super dead in 2010 and are much busier today. Like the Union Carbide and New England Building condos weren't open yet, the Savoy was at it's low point and all the buildings in that area were largely empty or 9-5 offices.

I know exactly the couple you are talking about! I've also seen them cuss people out and aggressively harass people. Not sure what their deal is. They are real jerks, though.

Other than that, I haven't had issues with panhandling. Usually, the people are very polite.