BOOZE 'N' DRUGS BUM RAP: STUDY

Doc Tracks T.O. Panhandlers' Spending

A study of panhandlers in Toronto's downtown core found that most didn't
spend the bulk of their takings on alcohol or drugs.

While a quarter of the panhandlers surveyed admitted to spending a large
amount of money -- $600 or more -- each month on booze or illicit drugs, the
median level of spending on such items was $80, said the study, published
today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Researcher Dr. Stephen Hwang, of St. Michael's Hospital, said he decided to
undertake the study to get a better idea of whether giving money to a beggar
is a good or bad idea.

OFFERED FEE

"Walking around downtown Toronto, one can't help running into panhandlers,"
he said. "And personally I just wondered: Would I be helping or hurting them
by giving them money?"

Between February and April 2001, 54 panhandlers agreed to be interviewed.

Each was offered a non-negotiable sum of money for 20 minutes of their time,
varying from $1 to as much as $10. The sum was to match or exceed the amount
the person could have earned by begging during that period.

EARNED $300

The authors asked those people how much they earned from begging (the median
amount was $300 a month), and how much they took in from other sources
(median $200).

They also asked how much panhandlers spent on food each month (median $200),
on housing (most were homeless, and the most anyone spent on housing was
$400) and how much they spent on tobacco (median $112).

When it came to spending on drugs and/or alcohol, answers ranged from
nothing to $600 a month, with the median amount being $80.

So did Hwang get an answer to the question: To give or not to give? "I'm
afraid I can't give a definitive or a black or white answer to that
question," he said.