A person’s life can change in a heartbeat: a widow who has never had to work as her husband met all of their needs and perhaps now has little work experience, spousal pension or benefits; a mature person who is unemployed when the company goes broke; a veteran, whose life is affected forever more by war’s horrific experiences; or somebody who lives paycheck to paycheck, gets behind on bills, including rent, with exhausted savings and eventually gets evicted. These situations can occur to just about anybody. Nobody stays young and healthy forever. I wish everybody could be well off and invulnerable from life’s twists and turns.
I have compassion for those who fall on hard times and need support to get going again. The difference that I believe is grating for some people is when you frequently see the same person at the same corner with no obvious signs of improvement. I sometimes hear from certain people, which panhandler is scamming.
Maybe there could be some sort of free panhandling license, easily obtainable and renewable, that is good for a set number of days. I realize that this would entail paperwork, but it might weed out those in need from those who are taking advantage of the law.
A business owner needs a business license, so this would follow that precedent. If no effort to obtain such a permit is made, it could be time to move on.
I see no need for the lovely town of Durango to turn into a city where people are ostracized and practically branded to falsely show they are less valuable than other human beings. Who am I to judge? But I do respect someone who is at least making an attempt, to the best of their ability, whatever that might be, to get out of a negative situation.
There, but for the grace of God, go I.
Gail Swinderman
Durango
