Story Time: How Men Pimp Their “Homeless” Wives

I was a child when my eyes were opened to the scams that seek to take money away from actual homeless people who are struggling to eat, and place that same money into the hands of men by way of their women willing to stand in the heat and pretend to be destitute. It almost feels like these ladies view homelessness as a make-believe game of dress up that can end at any time.

At a young age I witnessed a man intentionally functioning as his wife’s pimp while she hustled loose change and crumpled dollar bills for him in the potent summer heat. That day I learned there is no limit or ethical boundary that some men will not cross to use their women and children to make some cash.

One summer afternoon I was in the car with my mother and her friend, a very outspoken Trinidadian woman who was like a mother figure to me. We reached a stop light and witnessed a woman in a black hijab struggling to walk up and down in the hot sun shaking a large plastic cup. She appeared to be handicapped. Both of her arms were supported by forearm crutches.

“Oh my goodness! What is that woman doing out there in this heat?” mom said aloud.

“Don’t worry about her. I see her every day as I pass this road to go to work. She isn’t homeless,” her friend remarked nonchalantly.