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# Panhandling: Views from those who know
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/panhandling-views-from-those-who-know/
- Published: 2008-04-25T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T23:55:46.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By members of Step Up on Second Your column here*

EVERY WEEK, I FACILITATE A WRITING group at Step Up on Second, a provider of recovery services and housing to those stricken with severe mental illness. Every quarter, we publish Brainstorm, a newspaper comprised of articles about issues affecting the mentally ill.

In light of City Hall’s recently announced anti-panhandling campaign, the group has had several intense and often heated discussions surrounding the subject of panhandling.

What I’ve discovered is that panhandling evokes the same array of emotions, arguments, and prejudices in the community of the street as it does in the general population. Here are some of the views from the street.

Phil Glosserman is a member of Step Up on Second’s Board of Directors and is Brainstorm’s advisor and editor. For information on Step Up, go to www.stepuponsecond.org.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 25, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042508.pdf?ref=smdp.com)