helping an elderly homeless woman? (STX)

Check with the PO on the beat they can tell you what to expect from a particular Homeless person.(regarding her reaction to your help).

I would NEVER approach someone I didn't know. It is an unfortunate fact that many of the homeless are also mentally ill. At the very least, if you decide to make contact, do it with your spouse and without your kids.

Inquire at Lighthouse Mission http://www.lighthousestx.org/contact.htm
They're in Christiansted on the corner of Company and Market Streets, and they feed and help the homeless and others every day.

Thank all of you for your input. It was exactly was I was looking for, and now I know what to do.

Lisa

is this the skinny tall black lady????

Well, I've never seen her stand, so I'm not sure of her height, but she's definitely thin and always wearing a fancy hat. I'd put her age somewhere between 65 and 75 maybe?

If she has a fancy hat and funky glasses, I think she's just one of the local crazies. She frequents Kit's and argues with the lady about which cookie to buy then heads off to the scales, meanders there and the boardwalk, but I didn't think she was homeless. She is really funny & fun to talk to if it's the same lady.
The other one that floats down town is very thin with short gray hair and her clothes are nice................she is very very NASTY!
She will hang all over you begging for money & if you are a shop keep, You'll have to chase her from your store while she curses & spits on you........Donate to the light house mission or stop by and tell them of this woman, they will help.
If you are approached by our local street people & they beg for money because they are sooooooooo hungry, just hand them food like I did, I kept granola & bananas as snacks for me & the poor...............funny how they stop bugging me for food money once I started feeding them.

i dont think she is crazy and didnt know she was homeless.

there is another skinny black lady who i think is crazy. i see her knocking on car windows, either parked or while they are driving down king st. she will stop you and start banging on your window. i feel sorry for her. not sure if she has a family or a place to stay.
I would not approach her alone.

I guess I nearly always drive by at the same time and have only ever seen her sitting on or next to her pile of blankets, etc. and looking sad. My thought was also (depending on the responses here) to offer food, rather than money. This always seems like the obvious choice to me, to avoid money being used for non-essential items.

However, she wasn't there this morning, and neither were her things!

Lisa

there is one lady who always pushes a cart of some sort and sells candy and i think always wears a hat, she is not crazy.
but do stay away from the tall skinny one who wears dresses

i agree speedy...the tallskinny one can be aggressive (sp). i see her on king street trying to get money from people and she doesn't stop with just a NO. she keeps being a pest. and can get mean.

there is one lady who always pushes a cart of some sort and sells candy and i think always wears a hat, she is not crazy.
but do stay away from the tall skinny one who wears dresses

This is Miss Judy, she is great! I think she was the grand marshall of the St. Patty's day parade a few years ago, she pimped her bike out in all green and was dressed in all green etc. She's a real sweet lady and she is not homeless/crazy. She helps clean up at the Brew Pub and sells her candy there in a very non aggressive way. Someone should write a travel article on her as she's quite a character!

Sean

So who is the one I saw several times downtown begging for money? Very few teeth, demanding nature and doesn't appear to be in her right mind? Likes to hang out at the ATM's (maybe not too crazy!)...

sean, you are right, i had heard her name before from a friend but couldnt remember it. she is always at the triathalon too cheering everyone on. seems to have a good spirit.

I wonder if handing out money, or even food is actually doing more harm than good. All it does is enable these people to continue their self-destructive ways another day. If they really wanted food, it is available to them as mentioned above. If all of us stopped "helping" them, maybe they would be forced to A) get a job B) antipsychotic medications C) become more involved with their families D) Get a life.

Not trying to be antagonistic, but allowing people to beg on the street is totally unacceptable to me. The churches need to step up more than they have, the government needs to step up--it's part of what we pay them for, and we should be funneling the homeless/crazies into the shelters that can provide real help.

Ms Judith has a Fan Page on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Ms-Judith/54516947465

rotorhead, i will have to join that when i get home as i can not access facebook from work.