Pubdate: Wed, 09 Aug 2000
Source: Richmond Review (CN BC)
Copyright: 2000 Richmond Public Library
Contact:  Unit 140 5671 No. 3 Road, Richmond, B.C.
Fax: (604) 606-8752
Website: http://www.rpl.richmond.bc.ca/community/RichmondReview/
Author: Mina Myong

LOCAL PANHANDLER LEAVES BAD TASTE

The other day, I was coming out of Save-On-Foods and walking to my car when 
I was approached by a peculiar woman. She said, "I'm sorry...I feel like 
killing myself...I'm so hungry...I have no money."

I was stunned. I didn't know how to react.

This was not Downtown Vancouver where one expects to encounter the 
faceless, homeless panhandler begging for money on the streets. This was 
Richmond on a bright, sunny afternoon. This was not a scruffy-looking hobo 
in tattered rags. This was a young, white female who was well-groomed and 
sensibly dressed.

On the brink of tears, she began to explain that her sister was out of town 
and that she was alone. She claimed that she had never asked anyone for 
money before, but that she was starving.

I looked down at the bag of groceries in my hand, and I looked up at her 
emaciated body in sharp, piercing glances. A wave of guilt washed over me. 
I felt sorry for her.

I didn't have any cash on me except for a couple of quarters, so I 
apologized to her. I told her I knew how it felt to go through hard times. 
I advised her to seek out food banks and local shelters; I directed her to 
the unemployment office for assistance.

In response, she mumbled something about looking up a phone book, thanked 
me, walked away, and approached an Asian couple nearby.

Curious, I went inside Save-On-Foods and spoke with Customer Service. They 
told me that this woman had been scouring the parking lot on several 
earlier occasions.

What was she looking for? Drug money.

The remnants of my initial guilt flared into anger. I felt like a naive 
idiot. I wanted my 50 cents back.

Of course, it all made sense now: those were drug-induced gaunt cheeks. She 
was a drug addict on a desperate, frenzied search for her next high.

But why hadn't that possibility crossed my mind? Why had I been caught 
off-guard?

I believe it is because this happened in Richmond. As someone who has lived 
here for 16 years, there was a part of me that wanted to believe that my 
quiet community was unblemished by drugs and untarnished by illicit 
activity. At least, not out in the open. Not in public.

Sure, the streets aren't as safe as they once were, but I still thought of 
Richmond as a safe-haven, a step above the rest of Vancouver. From outer 
appearances, Richmond was an epitome of middle-class safety.

Maybe Richmond hasn't changed. Maybe it has always been like this. After 
all, drug addictions cut across all ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic 
lines. However, it is unsettling to experience it first-hand and to stare 
at it in the face-especially two blocks from home.

I will not be so shocked or accepting of the next similar episode. I refuse 
to feed a drug habit. I will assert my right to walk on the streets without 
being harassed in Richmond or anywhere else. I am still a compassionate, 
caring person, and I still feel sympathy for people who are less 
privileged. I can do my part by making donations to local food banks and 
charities.

The main difference is that my eyes have hardened this summer.

Mina Myong
Richmond
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