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Articles on Begging

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People have always asked for alms, including the men depicted in this 17th-century European etching. Wenceslaus Hollar/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Give and take: Credentials could aid panhandling

The courts are saying that down-and-out Americans have a right to seek curbside alms despite efforts to ban the practice. Two scholars have come up with an alternative to anti-panhandling ordinances.
Under pressure from media coverage like this, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle wants to ban people from sleeping on Melbourne’s streets. Herald Sun

Ban on sleeping rough does nothing to fix the problems of homelessness

Bans are ineffective when used against populations that have nowhere else to go. Importantly, research shows that punitive approaches to the homeless cost more than supported housing strategies.
Give small amounts as you pass by makes you feel good but is rarely enough to make any significant or lasting difference. Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock

Can travellers transform a beggar’s life with a generous gift?

Travelling almost always involves confronting experiences with abject poverty. As you step out of the pampered cocoons of hotels, restaurants and airline cabins and see destitute people sleeping on streets…
For many people, the dilemma in giving money to beggars is whether it will be spent in a way that is helpful or harmful. AAP/Dean Lewins

Confronted by begging for spare change? Vouchers might be better

Even before reports of police seizing the takings of Melbourne’s beggars as proceeds of crime, their plight has been a disturbing one in this, the world’s “most liveable city” - and in other major Australian…

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