There are panhandlers at every big intersection

Posted on: July 21, 2025 at 22:15:35 CT

Including the exits off of I-70. Not quite the same thing as homeless, but the perception is the same.

Outside of that I almost never see any homeless, but I intentionally avoid places they would be. About a year ago one came into a small business I was in and pretended to be a customer to get out of the rain and they had to throw him out because he was obviously on something and was saying all kinds of crazy things and wanted to see a big knife they had for sale. So I do know they are around.

They've had to clean up two huge encampments in the past year because it was becoming a problem. A good friend of mine sees them a lot more than I do and says it is a problem. I would say it is an issue and instead of dealing with it the city continues to build more infrastructure for them and provide more services for them so that more homeless people will come here. So Columbia really isn't much better than LA or San Francisco on that front.

But I would be curious to know where this recruit went where homeless people weren't a problem. I don't think it is a bigger problem in Columbia than it is most college towns with big universities.