Maybe you saw her. A woman in her mid-thirties standing near Graffiti Burger on Fifth Ave. with a stroller and two children playing in the strip of grass between the parking lot and sidewalk. She held a sign that said, “Homeless. Hungry. Please help.”
I saw her about a week and a half ago at the height of the lunch hour rush. I’ll be honest – I passed her, thinking at first that I didn’t have any cash on me, and that if I stopped, I would be late to pick up my husband from work at Godman Guild in Weinland Park. By the time I reached Olentangy, I had convinced myself that we would go back after I picked him up and take them to Wendy’s. Nothing fancy, I thought, but at least we could all eat off of the dollar menu for under $20. I was apparently SO preoccupied thinking about it that I didn’t realize I was still on Fifth Ave., not on our usual route to Godman Guild via King Ave, until my four year old said, “Mommy, this is not the way to Daddy’s work.” Oh right!
We picked up Bob from work and headed back across High Street and Olentangy, the whole time wondering what her story was. Was she a scammer? Did it matter? She had kids with her. She might be a scammer, but they might also be hungry. Maybe she lives around here, and that’s why she chose to set up here. Maybe she doesn’t live around here, but thinks that this area is basically Grandview, and that Grandview seems pretty well off – good place to get some help. I wondered would she accept our offer of Wendy’s, or would she only want cash?
We crossed over Grandview Ave. and turned on our blinker to signal to others that we were going to turn into the Graffiti Burger parking lot, then quickly turned it off. She was gone. No stroller, no kids, no sign. Either someone else had taken her family to dinner, given her money to get where she wanted to go, or given her a ride. At least, I hope one of those things happened. I hope someone helped her.
Did you see her? Did you help her? Pass her by? Why or why not? Do you know her story? Certainly she is not the first homeless person to beg in Fifth by Northwest, and won’t be the last. What do you think we as a neighborhood should do if/when we see a person begging in our community?
