Panhandler's Paradise

Gwyddion Storm, 42, solicits money from passersby on Liberty Street on Tuesday afternoon. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Storm says he's traveled the country over, from one ocean to the other and back, five times, mostly hitchhiking. He came to Ann Arbor last summer and now lives in a tent north of downtown in a location he calls "the hidden arb." Storm is open about why he's homeless and panhandling. It's not because he has substance abuse problems, he says, though he does enjoy a cold beer at the end of the day. Rather, he says, it's because he has mental health issues. He says he's found Ann Arbor to be a friendly place, and the community's safety net services have kept him here. He regularly eats meals at the Delonis Center, and he relies on the mental health services of PORT, an outreach team that serves homeless individuals in Washtenaw County. "That's one of the main reasons that I really decided to stay in Ann Arbor," Storm says. "Back in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, they have nothing like that." Read the story here.






(Psst! Be sure to bump the video quality up to HD after you hit play!)

Home Sweet Homeless

This is Joseph, a.k.a. "J.J." He's been panhandling on the streets of downtown Ann Arbor for a couple of weeks, but now that summer is over he's planning to make his way out to Oklahoma to join the circus. He and some friends have been "squating" in an abandoned house in the city where they've invested a small sum of time and money to make minor repairs, clean up mold, and remove broken glass. There's also an abandoned commercial property in town that he calls his "castle." "On a good day, I can make $40 to $50 out here," he said. "Some days, I just get mean looks." His sign reads, "Home Sweet Homeless: I'm ugly, I smell bad, but doggonit people like me."

Panhandling Pandemic

Ann Arbor City Council Member Sabra Briere, D-1st Ward, brought forward a resolution Monday night to reconvene a task force to look at the problem of aggressive panhandling in downtown Ann Arbor. The city's police chief confirmed during the meeting what some have suspected this summer: "This was a summer where the No. 1 crime that occurred in our community was aggressive panhandling." Read the story here.

50 Cent

"Scuse me, can I have 50 cents?" That's the line Arthur here uses on just about everybody who passes him on the streets of downtown Ann Arbor. It must work a lot, because he seems to be making a living at it.