8:53
Some guy tweeted to her: "I'm pretty sure I just gave money to a fake beggar." I don't work, but I would give the homeless people my last pound if I knew they were real. Save your money. Don't help this loser. #fakehomeless "So, as far as I can see, the term " fake homeless " is fairly new, and seems to refer to people who pretend to be homeless in order to get money from the public. I mean, I find messages from all over the country. People get into taxis at the end of the day, there are even those who use terminals to scam people out of money. Scammers who exploit the public and lead people by the nose.
All the vocabulary surrounding this issue is very aggressive. I think people just lost patience. They feel that anyone who begs in their cities is cheating them, and they are angry about it. There is a lot of hostility towards beggars and the homeless community. So I do n't know if it's really a dangerous time to be homeless in Britain, or if we live in a nation full of scammers. I've always known about gangs of beggars, but recently there has been a lot of media attention given to individuals begging on the streets of the UK, who people say pretend to be homeless for profit. So, looking into this, it seems like a lot of these messages are coming from Liverpool. There is a bar owner on Matthew Street who says the problem is so serious that there are
about 40 people begging every night and it is actually putting people off coming there to drink. I'll try to contact this guy. This guy is definitely not homeless either. If he was homeless, he wouldn't. he wouldn't hide his face, you know what I mean? Really? Yes, I wouldn't hide it. The bar owner, Jimmy, agreed to meet. He is convinced that all the beggars here are fake.
What about that guy? Absolutely not. How do you define it in relation to him? He.he came from another city. And how do you know they're going home? Well, they get in a taxi. Do you understand what I mean? So, they…uh… they made their money. They "made " money. They are not homeless. And compared to the average salary, MGM. Do you think these people earn as much as we do, or… Yes. Yes, I think sometimes some of them, especially on certain weekends, could easily make £200 a night. Light. Why do you think it is a problem when people who are not homeless beg?
I just think it's too easy to make money from this. The people of Liverpool have become generous again. Apparently, it's in their blood. 18 months ago it was n't so bad, but now it's just a mass phenomenon. More and more people are coming to the city. It's like an epidemic. To better understand what was going on here, that evening I approached most of the beggars on Matthew Street. Most said they had no permanent home, and I didn't see anyone get into a taxi like Jimmy said. But has begging become an attractive way to earn money? Do beggars really earn hundreds of pounds a night? John, who said he was indeed homeless, told me about
some of the methods used to make money. We look young, so. Yes. more people are trying to help us. So, you can make more money if you're younger? Yes. What about having a dog? Yes, some sit like us, and there are those who walk around. Those who walk earn more. More like. Yes, they always earn more. It's clear, why is that? Because they put people in an awkward position. You can make them feel awkward.
How much money can you make here? The most I've ever earned in a day is 120 pounds. Really? Yes. Now it's expected. People expect to receive money on the street. Really? It's not just "I'm sitting on the street and seeing if I can get some money." I'm sitting on the street, knowing I'll get money. That's how it is. Either that or I go back to crime. I don't come out here to eat. I've had enough. I don't want to beg and I don't want to do drugs or anything like that. I want to be one of those people who goes to clubs, giving them money.
Don't get me wrong, I believe there is an element of manipulation in the actions of many beggars. I think people know how to use the system. I think they know how to earn more and use it to their advantage. But to assume that they are all scammers is to miss the point. There is definitely some kind of organization here. But that doesn't mean they all return to luxurious four-bedroom homes at the end of the day. Here is another guy sitting. Three more here with a dog. It is difficult to obtain official figures on this matter. But I have received information from Merseyside Police people arrested for begging in the last 3 years had some form of accommodation. This
seems to confirm Jimmy's point that most beggars don't spend the night on the street. I wanted to talk to people who actually live on the streets, like Damien, to see if they thought the number of professional beggars was increasing. So, this is your tent. How is it inside? Absolute crap. There are only about eight people, approximately, who actually sleep on the streets every night. How many people do you think spend the night on the streets here? Yes. And I've seen 20 today., but there's a difference between people who are begging and people who are homeless. Of course. And there is a big difference, you know what I mean?
Do you understand what I mean? This is what you look like when you sleep in a doorway for 3 years. Do you understand what I mean? This is not reality, this is like, you know what I mean? How does that make you feel? This is pissing me off. Very much. Because it shames anyone who is real. Well, I mean, I don't go home every day. I have nowhere to go, you know what I mean? I'm sorry, thank you. Liverpool City Council is one of many in the country that claims that no one in their city has to sleep rough. So why is Damien sleeping in a tent in the middle of the city? Have you tried to get help from the council regarding housing?
They say that no one should have to sleep on the street. Quite right. No one has to sleep on the streets, but no one else from ordinary society would be happy to end up in a hostel or a bed and breakfast with damned bag snatchers, drunks, and all the rest. So why should I? The situation with the homeless here seems complicated. But having heard that even rough sleepers like Damien are concerned about professional beggars, I think there is clearly a problem in Liverpool. So, I've been told that Liverpool City Council is setting up a special team, together with the police, that is going to tackle the problem of fake homeless people in Liverpool. I'm just reading an article that goes into a little more detail about it. And it says it follows a
council report which found that only a small number of people who beg in Liverpool also sleep on the streets. This is quite interesting. I saw that council report, and it detailed that, you know, there were often more beggars than people sleeping on the streets in the city center. And this showed that the figures fluctuated from month to month. So, in one month, I think it was in December, around Christmas, there were about 40 homeless people and 105 beggars in Liverpool. So, it is obvious that there are people who leave some kind of housing or shelter to beg on the streets. And I think people care about that. I have reached out to the police and Liverpool City Council to discuss how they are addressing this issue. They both
said they didn't want to be involved. So I decided to head to the other side of the country to see how one city tackled this problem. An internet search shows that the first major media storm surrounding fake begging and fake homelessness arose when a man named Ashley Sims from the Southwest implemented a plan to combat the problem. He created a Facebook page called " Fake Homeless." He took pictures of people in his neighborhood, publicly shaming them, saying that the person was a fake homeless person.
Uh, don't give them money. This campaign attracted enormous attention from both local and national media. And I think that has created a narrative that hundreds of people across the UK are pretending to be homeless when they are not, begging and fooling the public. Uh, and I think this campaign was almost a catalyst. Here he is. It's 5:30 in the morning and I'm going to meet Ashley, who will give me a tour of downtown and show me how he used to spot fake homeless people and how he identifies real homeless people in the area. Greetings. How are you? How many times a week do you get up at this time? Only once or twice. But this is the best way to see them.
Ashley believes she can determine who is truly homeless by seeing who is sleeping on the streets in the early hours. Anyone else he sees begging later in the day he calls a fake homeless person and exposes them on his Facebook page. And this is the main area where they are all located. Okay. This is Wayne. Let's do this. But look, it's twenty-six minutes to nine. They're leaving now, look. By 6:00 they were already gone. But isn't Ashley's definition of " fake homeless" too simplistic? So, examining definitions of homelessness shows that it is much more complex than one might first assume. I think there are a lot of situations that people may not even realize are classified as homelessness. For example, sleeping on friends' couches,
staying with friends, uh, you know, staying in a hotel or bed and breakfast for a certain amount of time. If you, for example, leave your family home for a few days, you are technically homeless during that period. Within these categories, there are many subdivisions and many different elements of homelessness. And you know, when you look at the issue of fake homeless people, it means that there are a lot of people who may have a roof over their heads, they may be in a dorm, they may be sleeping on friends' couches or in a hotel, but they are still living a homeless lifestyle; they are still homeless, they may have needs and be in a desperate situation that forces them to beg. So these definitions just make it clear that it's not as simple
as: if you're not sleeping on the streets, but you're going back somewhere, then you're not homeless. Official statistics show a significant increase in the number of homeless people in the Torquay area, but Ashley says these figures are inflated. So, why did you take it upon yourself to try to solve this problem? No one else was going to do it. And I said, "Listen, I know how to end this. We'll just take a picture of them and they'll disappear." When I started, there were 20 of them, I reduced them to six in 3 weeks. And how do you determine whether someone is a professional beggar?
Well, most truly homeless people don't beg. Really? Yes. Most truly homeless people do not beg. Who told you that? Truly homeless. Many of the people Ashley photographed were living in homeless shelters, which in his eyes makes them fake homeless. Do n't you think they're still homeless if it's temporary housing? Not homeless. Of course, they are not homeless. Listen, we're in a humane country, right? If you see someone in the doorway of a store with a sleeping bag and a cardboard box, who then picks up their sleeping bag and cardboard box and goes home, that person is
not homeless. Do you think the photos in the Facebook campaign were the best response That was a brilliant answer. We need to highlight this fact. We will take photos and say: this person lives here. We never gave the address, but we said he lived across the street. He's not a real homeless person. So, Ashley's campaign received quite a bit of attention, and not all of it was positive. He also received a lot of criticism. And in response, he has launched what he now calls the second phase of his plan to tackle bogus homelessness in Torbay. And that includes opening a bed and breakfast that he claims is designed to house all the
genuine homeless people sleeping on the streets in his area. There are 26 rooms, a dining room, and facilities for cooking. There is a washing machine and dryer. So, how many people do you have here now? Seven homeless people, four vulnerable. Ashley introduced me to Joseph, who lives in his guesthouse. He has been living on the streets since he was 16, on and off. He took me to show me where he used to sleep and beg for alms. So, is this where you used to sleep? Yes, yes, yes, right here. This is one of Ashley's signs. So this is what Ashley did and hung?
Yes. I was here at 5am when he hung it up because I was the one who jumped up and said, "What the hell are you doing?" He says, "It's okay, buddy. Go on sleeping." I've never had my picture taken, but do you think everyone he took pictures of were fake homeless people? No, some of them were homeless, especially at Christmas. So yes, it was wrong to sit around and single out certain people as fake homeless people because, well, they're not. Do you think he feels guilty? I wouldn't say he feels guilty. He did cause a complete mess and upset everyone, like. What worries me is that Ashley's methods for determining who is truly homeless and who is not are too simple. I don't think you can go around twice a week, see
who you can spot in the doorway, and claim that you know exactly who is truly homeless and who is not in your neighborhood. And I think for him, homelessness is simple. I think he sincerely believes that if you have a roof over your head, whether it's in a dorm, on a couch, or in a den, you're not homeless. And now with his boarding house, I worry that Ashley isn't prepared enough to take on such a complex problem. Are you equipped to shelter someone in such a vulnerable situation? It doesn't have to be a boarding house. You just need a manager who will be there all the time. And all you have to do is give them, uh, the opportunity to cook or make themselves breakfast in the morning. And that's it. There is no It is not a hostel.
And Ashley's approach goes beyond simply providing a roof over her head. I didn't want them to beg for alms, so I gave them a doze of money every day so they could go and buy what they needed. And I bought "spice" and methamphetamine. You give people money to satisfy their addiction, so they don't have to go begging. Is n't this counterproductive? No, of course not. This was done to protect Torbay's business community. And the local council does nothing at all to help them. Do n't worry. The fact that he admits to giving them money so they could buy drugs and stop begging seems completely contradictory and very, irresponsible. After hearing Ashley's complaints, I spoke to the local council, who said they had spent almost half a
million pounds on a programme to tackle homelessness on the streets, as well as supporting a local Media reports of fake homeless people are coming in from all over the country. Cambridgeshire Police have said that all the beggars in one town are fake. I mean, that's a very bold statement. They said that they earn significant amounts of money and all have homes they can go to. They take a pretty tough stance on panhandling as a police force and argue that there are enough services to ensure no one is homeless. Walking through Cambridge, you see what a beautiful city it is, and part of me wonders if they're trying to evict people from the city and stop begging because they don't
want to scare away the tourists who come here. The police team agreed to show me what they were up against. Sergeant Missick is in charge. This person was here 1 2 3 4 5 6. Currently, about 80% of them have some kind of housing. Really? Yes, or your own home. I think the classic example is that gentleman over there. He has had his own house for as long as I can remember. Good. And at one point, he had one of the largest welfare packages in the city. And he has been begging every day for the last 5 or 6 years. Cambridge is beautiful. It is full of people who sympathize with you and give you money.
Mhm. That's why I came here. And the 30 or so names on this board represent only those individuals who regularly cause problems for Sergeant Missick and his team. The point is to make it uncomfortable -no, uncomfortable-that's the wrong word, to make it difficult for them to continue doing it, and to say, go and get help. The city has a phenomenal level of services, a phenomenal level of people who are willing to help them. Go and seek help. It's interesting to watch members of the public attack me and my staff when we interact with them and act quite rudely, saying you shouldn't do this, and I reply: actually, you don't know what I know. You don't really
know what's going on. What we do here has a reason. So what happens if there is someone who the council has tried to help over and over again, the services have tried to help, you have warned and informed, what then? Prison. Of course. I'm with two officers, Liam and Richie, as they go around the city center, escorting people who are begging or sleeping on the streets. There's, uh, one over there. OK. Woman in a wheelchair. The woman I'm about to meet has an apartment, but she decides to beg and sleep in the city center.
It's just so, so far away. How are you going to get home then? to go that far. I can't walk, I can walk a little, but not very far. Yes. Let 's go, friend. Thank you. Give me your hands, please, friend. Can I have a cigarette, please? Stop pushing me. Can I have a cigarette? To hell with everything. By taking such a tough stance on begging, police say they are pushing people towards local ways to help them. But I wonder if it's really that different from what Ashley did in Torquay. It's more like wiping beggars out of sight.
You know the rules, come on. So, there will be a bed for you tomorrow night if you want it. You have legs, you can walk anywhere. Okay? Sitting here won't accomplish anything. Is n't that right? So why can the police force people to leave just because they are sitting on the street or begging? Until 2014, police across the country relied on a law created nearly 200 years ago to prosecute people for begging on the streets. Most convictions result in a fine, which in itself creates a problem. Because how are the beggars going to pay this fine? So, new laws were introduced giving the police the power to evict people, and any begging was classified as anti-social behavior. Cambridgeshire Police have taken advantage of these new powers, but when the Home Office updated
the legislation with new official guidance earlier this year, it became clear that these powers should not be used against homeless people. Yet quite a few people I saw were purposefully evicted, even though they appeared to be sleeping on the streets. We are serving you a notice due to your antisocial behavior. What, what, what's antisocial about sleeping? Everything is fine. Listen, boy. One way the police try to stop begging is by issuing notices prohibiting people from being in the city center. Let me, explain. Let me explain.
We talked to you every time we were on the street about begging. You're constantly begging, aren't you? And, to be honest, we often take it for granted. Because we're homeless and sleeping in doorways, you know? They're coming to serve us a dispersal order, right? Now we can't go into the city center for 48 hours, okay? Because, you see, this is considered antisocial behavior. Have a nice day, you scumbag. Do you have any idea where you're going now? Simply No, I don't have one. Will you leave this area? Yes. It's a long way back. It seems to me that none of the methods I've seen to combat begging work.
It seems the police have two options. They can either use a century- old law to prosecute begging, or they can use these dispersal powers, which don't solve the problem, they just remove it from the area for 48 hours. And none of them are a real solution to the problem of begging. I sent inquiries to every police department in the UK to find out how many such orders had been issued for begging or against homeless people. But over 80% of the units either did not respond or said it was impossible to find out. Of the four units that provided information, 45% of dispersal orders for begging were issued to individuals with no permanent residence. Although these are only four units, the government has said that these orders should not be
directed against those who sleep on the streets. So I find this disturbing. And with Cambridgeshire Police taking a tough stance, who will be most affected by it? I'm on my way to meet Emily, who, by every definition I've heard, is a fake beggar. So, what kind of housing are you in now This is an attic apartment Of course. So, how often do you come. do you come and sit outside? I try to come every day. For me, this is work. OK. But I think some people might have a bad opinion of those who have a place to live but go out on the streets asking for money. And what would you answer them? How would you explain why this is important to
you? Well, it's work, like I said, it's real work. Either that or go to a prostitute. This is true Yes, for a person like me, there are not many options. Do you get along with other people who sleep on the streets? I try to maintain something like a business relationship with such people. You know, they do what they have to do, and I do what I have to do Emily is a fake homeless person. She has an apartment paid for by the city council. She receives assistance every two weeks, but goes out and begs every day. But after talking to her, you realize that she is vulnerable. It's not as simple as it seems: one is a fake homeless person and a fraud, while the other is real and deserves
help. You know, I'm really, really worried. I would fear for her if something like Ashley's campaign against " fake homeless people" happened here in Cambridge. Having seen how the police in Cambridge were tackling the problem, I returned to Torquay, where local businessman Ashley Sims had taken up the fight against what he called fake homeless people because he believed the authorities were failing to act. But what do the authorities think about this? Some argue that the campaign against fake homeless people was successful, or at least useful, and that this person did the job that the police were not doing.
What would you say to that? Do we still see homeless people on the streets? Do we still see begging in Torquay? Yes, of course, we see. Does this help the town of Torquay? No, it doesn't help. The campaign against fake homeless people only hindered what we were trying to achieve. This is not a simple decision. This is not something worth sensationalizing. This is a complex, multifaceted problem that cannot be solved by simply pointing a camera at someone's face. So, given the strong arguments from the locals against what Ashley had done, I didn't have much hope that his idea of a bed and breakfast would work in the long run.
I think Ashley may have settled everyone here with good intentions, but the question is whether he maintained that level going forward. Mm. I returned to the Ashley Hotel and two residents agreed to talk to me. There are many things in this building that have not been properly addressed. We had, we had a beggar at our door. He looked like he was high on Spice, said he needed money for drugs. Really? In the morning, there was a knock on our door. Things were stolen, doors were broken into. People are stealing everything and fighting among themselves. The other day, someone raped his girlfriend right in our driveway. There are constant fights here.
Kicking down doors- this wouldn't happen in a regular municipal building. Such a thing would not be allowed there. You would be kicked out immediately. Ashley himself admitted to me that he gave money to residents for drugs so that they would not engage in professional begging. And I wasn't the only one trying to figure this out. So it turns out like this: not to people who really need help. So, I don't know. This has caused a lot of controversy here. I worry about the vulnerable people he kept in his care. And did he break any laws in doing so? I spoke to a criminal lawyer and he said Ashley is not
doing anything illegal. What bothers me is that whether it's the police, the city council, or a charity-no one has stepped in and said, "This is unacceptable." There were seven people living there with complex needs, with addictions, and he just gave them money for a "dose" and said, "I don't care what you do. Just, you know, do drugs here. Stay away. " And don't beg." And I just feel like someone should have taken responsibility and said, "This is unacceptable." I want to get clearer answers from Ashley, who I learned was forced to close his hotel due to I just still come here often. Did you consider safety issues when working here?
I took that into account, yes. What exactly did you take into account? Well, the fact that there can be problems with people getting into trouble. No one is allowed to enter after 11:00. Why did people use drugs while they were here? Yes. Do n't you think you were responsible for housing drug addicts Um, allowing them to use drugs inside the establishment you ran? Do n't you have a duty to take care of them? Just know. This is not a dormitory. I don't have to follow the dorm rules. This is a bed and breakfast hotel. In a previous interview, you said that you gave people money for drugs.
This was so that they would not beg. Do you think this is appropriate? Yes. Really? Mhm. How can you justify this? Because otherwise they would go begging. So you funded someone's drug addiction, yes. so that they don't.Are you going to fund every drug addict in Torquay? My duty is to protect the Torbay business community. Of course? This is the reason why I did it. Why should I have allowed the boy to live here, go begging, shoplift or commit crimes against the people I am trying to protect, instead of giving him £20? You take such a high moral position, I run a house full of drug addicts, and you ask if
they should be allowed to use drugs? But the trouble is, of course, you'll let them use drugs. This is what they do. That is why they are in this situation. That is why they lost all the chances they had I fear that Ashley's Hotel was a dangerous response to a problem that I'm not sure even existed. I think Ashley made it convenient for people. He took the homeless off the streets. He said that anyone else you see begging is a crook. This allowed people to withhold money and feel angry at the beggars they saw. And I don't think anyone really cared about what was going on in his hotel, because it's like "out of sight, out of mind." I believe that people fundamentally do not want to see
homeless people on the streets. Either because it makes them sad, uncomfortable, or they don't want to give money. I think most people would rather One initiative being promoted across the country is a call to give money not to beggars, but to charitable organizations. In Nottingham, local authorities released an advertisement that tried to discourage people from giving money to beggars. For example, one reads: " Begging, watch your money go up in smoke." Another says: "Begging, watch as your money goes to a crook. Beggars are not who they seem." It's so degrading and they just label anyone who begs as a crook or a drug addict. But it's not that simple. In Torquay, Cambridge and Liverpool, I spoke to over 50 beggars over a period of several months, and not one
fit the stereotypes from these advertisements or media reports. Most frontline organizations spoke to say that the idea of false homelessness is too simplistic to describe people who have some kind of housing, lead a difficult life, and choose to beg. You know, I've yet to meet someone who begs for money, has a cool sports car and a bunch of branded stuff, and does it because it's easy money on a Saturday night. I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying they're hard to find. With so much public distrust, I returned to Cambridge for the last time. The city claims that no one has to sleep on the streets if they don't want to, but is that really true? I spoke to Steph, who I had met briefly before, and her friend Emma. What do you think about the
police approach? I am being treated like a criminal. They tell me to go away. Although there is nothing there We are not harming anyone. Cambridge authorities claim there are 300 beds for the homeless. But Steph says that's not really the case. Have you tried contacting Jimmy's or. Yes, I'm on the waiting list, but again, it's difficult. There are simply no seats there. They are all old. I'm not a priority, and I've been on the streets for three months Why? Why did they say that? Because I don't have local connections and I
have problems with financing. I looked for help, but found nothing. How do you feel when you are told that there is support, advised to go somewhere, and then denied? I argue, but the frustration of the lack of help just makes me give up My family doesn't support me right now because I've been on the streets for years, so I have no one, and I'm trying to reach out to all these services. We find ourselves in a worse position than just lying there. We don't have any options. How should we change our lives? Yes, we are known as a needs assessment center. Of course.
Ahem. I went to Jimmy's, the city's main homeless shelter Every day, because, unfortunately, we are overcrowded. So it may take time to get a bed. Of course, this is a typical Yes, this is a typical room. She is busy We have people who work but don't have their own homes. This is very difficult, because although they can provide this address, they do not receive housing subsidies and are forced to pay full rent, which is very expensive. What is the total rent? About 330 pounds a week. Are there really people who pay £330 a week to live here? Yes, not much, but there is. As I said, they could have a breakup, they just want to live separately, but they have jobs. This
could probably be their entire salary. You know, one of the main arguments against street begging, especially in Cambridge, is that there's somewhere to go. You don't have to be homeless and you don't have to beg. But, walking around Jimmy's, I got a completely different impression. You know, there's not enough space there. People knock every day, but they can't get inside. This doesn't seem fair to those who have been living on the streets for a long time, perhaps have addictions, and can't come in every day or fully utilize services like others.
You know, of course, they beg for alms. I'm not sure I believe the city council's statement that no one should be homeless and no one should beg in Cambridge, because my experience there is completely different. When I spoke to Cambridge City Council, they said that any homeless person who asks for help will always be provided with housing within a reasonable time frame. And during severe weather conditions, they guarantee a bed every night. They said that Jimmy's hostel is the first instance, but now the queue does not exceed 5 days, and there are enough services. My time in Cambridge is coming to an end, so I've returned to discuss with the police whether it's really fair to evict homeless people for begging. And why do they act so strictly
if there is no guarantee of a bed? I mean, Jimmy's has no seats. I usually have to come and knock every day. Yes. And there are cases where people did this but still didn't get inside. Where should they go if they are not allowed to sleep on the streets? I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. It would be easy to brush it off and say, "Oh, that's a question for the council." "They need to provide more housing." And Jimmy's finds people sleeping on the streets, and you do everything you can to help them. If Jimmy's is full, they really do their best to accommodate people, but beds are limited. I understand that, but I guess the same goes for those people who don't get placed at Jimmy's or through other services.
Mhm. They then become part of street life. Yes. And then they become the problem individuals against whom you take action. So is n't this a vicious circle? There is no way out. There is no solution. If, for example, you build a dormitory with 500 beds, those places will be occupied. They will attract people from other parts of the country where they may have had housing. I hope what you saw when you were on the road trips with Richie and me is a pretty pragmatic approach. Take action where necessary. Where you can exercise some discretion, but ultimately, yes, our job is to Hearing from the police that there is no solution is
quite depressing. It seems to me that the idea that our streets are filled with fake homeless people or professional beggars is a convenient excuse for combating homelessness, simply to hide the problem from view. Yes, it's true that many of those who beg for alms have a roof over their heads, but I've yet to see anyone who doesn't do it out of desperation. This is not at all like reports of people making huge sums of money by exploiting the public's gullibility. But there are the police, the city government, the public, and vigilantes like Ashley. Nobody wants people to beg. Everyone wants to get rid of beggars. It seems like they are a burden or an obstacle, something that people simply don't want to see and suffer from. And everyone wants a
quick solution. There are many reasons why a person might start begging. And I think we need to understand all these complexities and then decide for ourselves whether we think it's right or not, and whether we want to help such people, and not just say "they're fake," because it's not that simple.
