I find Floyd sitting with his 26-year-old son, Robert, under a tree near the intersection of Hydraulic Road and the 250 Bypass. He’s wearing a dark blue Earlysville Fire Station sweatshirt, but Floyd’s not a firefighter. He’s been homeless and panhandling in the area for more than five years. You’ve probably seen him. He’s 60 years old, got a big salt and pepper beard and deeply tanned skin with weathered creases that come to life when he laughs, his smile revealing three remaining teeth.
Lately, Floyd’s been holding a cardboard sign on the back of a Little Caesar’s pizza box. He’s drawn a cross on the bottom and it reads: “Homeless. Need Help. God Bless.”
Growing up in Charlottesville, I can remember seeing one or two people asking for money on the side of the road, on the sidewalk by the Corner, or downtown. But they were the exception.
Now, it seems like panhandlers are everywhere. They’re on more corners, more medians. And they’re one of the most hotly discussed issues in town. Ordinances have been passed to limit where they can hold their signs. And everyone has an opinion, along with plenty of questions. What do they do with the money? Are they drug addicts? How much do they make? Why don’t they get a job? Are they violent? If given the chance, would they rob me? And more recently, are they part of an organized “panhandling ring,” people who actually have homes but who choose to make a living off the public’s generosity?
Hoping to get answers to some of those questions, I’ve spent the last nine months speaking with the panhandlers who hold signs in a triangle of territory between the 250 Bypass, Hydraulic Road and Emmet Street. It’s a swath of the city no bigger than a square mile but one that sees more commuter traffic than any other in Charlottesville, according to data from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Tens of thousands of people drive past them every day.
Some of the panhandlers I met refused to speak with me, but I encountered five people who have developed a close friendship and bond with each other who agreed to provide a window into what life is like for those begging on the streets of Charlottesville, asking only that I not use their last names. This is the story of Michael, Floyd, Robert, Mike and Yvonne.