A Florida resident is taking a stand against panhandlers in his town after a homeless man allegedly rejected his offer of a $15 per-hour job by unceremoniously kicking his car and swearing at him, demanding instant cash instead.
Ryan Bray was travelling back to his home in Bradenton on Sunday when he encountered a panhandler, one of five or six encounters he has each week, on the corner of Manatee Avenue West and 75th Street.
Determined to offer the man in need a more permanent solution to finally get off the streets rather than just handing over cash, Bray offered a proposition for the man instead.
Bray, who works for his family’s remodeling business, says he offered the man a $15 per-hour job doing yard work with the firm, as well as offering guidance to help find the man a permanent place to stay.
Bray, who works for his family’s remodeling business, says he offered the man (left) a $15 per-hour job doing yard work with the firm, as well as offering guidance to help find the man a permanent place to stay
When the man aggressively refused, Bray went home and made a sign of his own demanding change, reading: ‘I offered him $15 an hour to do yard work for me and he refused. If we as a community stop paying them, they will leave our neighborhood!’
Bu instead of being grateful, the panhandler reportedly lashed out.
‘He reached his arms inside my vehicle, resting them and said ‘Hey, do you have any money?’ Bray recalled for FOX35. ‘I said, ‘No I have one better for you.’
According to Bray, the panhandler responded, ‘Absolutely not!’, before becoming physically aggressive and cursing at him.
He then kicked the tire of Bray’s Jeep and told him to leave.
But Bray was determined for that not to be the end of the interaction, and instead returned home to make up his own sign begging for change – urging passing motorists to start ignoring the beggars and stop handing money over in a bid to drive them out of town.
The sign reads: ‘I offered him $15 an hour to do yard work for me and he refused. If we as a community stop paying them, they will leave our neighborhood!’
According to Bray, the panhandler responded, ‘Absolutely not!’, before becoming physically aggressive, cursing at him and then kicking his Jeep
Bray returned to the corner with the sign, standing next to the same culprit who apparently kicked his car, telling passing motorists the man begging for their hard-earned cash wasn’t willing to work for it himself
Bray explained: ‘I can’t have my 13-year-old daughter and my wife driving with their windows up and being berated the entire time if they don’t get money.
‘Every time anyone comes down 75th they are there. None of us want them in our neighborhood. They get irate and curse at you if you don’t give them any money.
‘One guy was yelling, ‘I’ll rape your mother and kill your wife,’ Bray claimed.
Bray returned to the corner with the sign, standing next to the same culprit who apparently kicked his car, telling passing motorists the man begging for their hard-earned cash wasn’t willing to work for it himself.
During the three-hours, Bray said the man ‘didn’t receive a dime’ but said more needed to be done among neighbors to end the issue once and for all.
‘It’s not the way I wanted to spend my Sunday,’ Bray added. ‘I care about our homeless veterans and such but these people yell profanities at you if don’t give them money. So the only way to get them to leave is people need to stop giving them money. We’re tired of it.’
Speaking to Fox, the homeless man, who didn’t want to be identified, insisted he wasn’t doing anything wrong for asking for passing drivers’ help.
‘You can’t shut me down brother,’ the man insisted.
Her later told ABC News that Bray was the aggressor and never offered him a job.
The homeless man (right) later told ABC News that Bray (left) was the aggressor and never offered him a job
The homeless man, who didn’t want to be identified, insisted he wasn’t doing anything wrong for asking for help
‘He’s a rich preppy f***ing, piece of s*** who thinks I’m supposed to take his f***ing job because he’s got money and he lives down here. I don’t care what you got brother,’ Alabama said. ‘I never had no trouble until this dude shows up. Just because he’s got money, don’t mean as homeless people, we don’t have rights.’
Bray is urging the local council to take a harder stance against aggressive panhandling in Bradenton.
‘I understand the plight of homelessness,’ Bray said. ‘I feel bad for him. But, this isn’t homelessness. They are making more money sitting here on this corner than they would doing an honest living.
‘Enough is enough. It’s out of control. It’s getting worse and worse and worse now they are coming into northwest Bradenton.’
He said the intersection has been worked by a group of homeless people for the past year, each taking it in turn to work the corner.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
