Call Train Operator if Panhandlers arrive, bringing their children in on the act

Talked w a BART police officer about this.

Friends, we have to decide if we want BART to become a set up for grifters using **children and babies** as part of a money shake down.

1) We have to get involved. Especially if minor children are being used as part of a panhandling operation. The BART police cannot do anything unless one or more citizens is willing to delay getting home or going to work and make a complaint. You can give a PO box or work address if you dont want anyone knowing where you live.

2) Right now its relatively rare for panhandlers to use minor children or babies. BUT if we dont push that Train Operator button and stay around to give a complaint to the police so the DA can prosecute a case---more and more and more scammers are going to use and abuse children and babies on BART and in the street. Do we want this?

3) The officer told me that in Washington DC, the Metro riders demonstrate a sense of ownership and agency in relation to their system. They get involved if someone is out of line and call the train operator. They stick around and talk to the police. The officer said 'The police and DA cannot accomplish much unless citizens get involved and push the Train Operator button and then are willing to stay around, and give a complaint plus contact information.

"Our worst obstacle is people not wanting to get involved."
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If you dont want anyone to know where you live, give your work address or a PO Box. You do need to have a phone number that the DA can contact you at. Please, its citizen service. Do it, just do it if you see something going down that you know to be hurting someone. Its a pain in the ass, but -- you will feel you are a part of things. Its a pain in the ass to disrupt ones routine but--you feel involved.

And you're not being a snitch. Only the thug element would call you a snitch. You're being a citizen and enforcing customs and norms.

I used to work at a homeless shelter. I did a street sociology placement in Berkeley's Peoples Park. And then I spent two years volunteering on a street outreach team in San Francisco.

Friends, dont give money to panhandlers. People I have heard speaking at AA and NA meetings who once were beggars themselves have said the very same thing. Dont do it.

Shame and fear are emotions that ruin good decision making, whether its money or relationships. Never give money based on shame or a guilt trip. You have your money because you know how to budget. You have not ripped anyone else off.

If you do have some spare money, call the social work department at Highland Hospital or SF General and ask how to make a donation to them. Social workers pay out of pocket for client cab and bus fares.