Free Republic

Publicity about a pair of ‘affluent’ Ashland panhandlers has cut handouts for some others who say they’re lucky to get enough for food Jenah Dodge panhandled in downtown Ashland Sunday carrying a cardboard sign that declared she was pregnant. A passerby cried out, "I’ve heard that one before." Dodge, who showed her swollen stomach to prove she was pregnant, just shrugged the comment off, saying, "I never lie when I get money. I believe in karma." While the 20-year-old, who says she gets $20 to $30 a day, hasn’t noticed a drop-off in donations, other panhandlers say the publicity about...

Couple fend off public ire following news article ASHLAND — Sudden notoriety and public condemnation have surprised an Ashland couple who make a living as panhandlers and refer to themselves as "affluent beggars." Jason Pancoast and Elizabeth Johnson, who have three children, think the public has been taken aback by their unconventional image of a well-fed, well-dressed family that lives off the streets. "What has happened is that we’re going along with a lifestyle that you couldn’t imagine we should have," said 34-year-old Pancoast. A story in Sunday’s Mail Tribune about the couple, who sometimes make up to $300 a...

The first time 30-year-old Elizabeth Johnson stopped a stranger on the street to ask for money, she was really nervous. She was six months pregnant and desperate, having just spent seven days in jail for shoplifting books... Now Johnson and her 34-year-old partner, Jason Pancoast, who have been together for 14 years, support themselves and their three children, 6-year-old Seth, 3-year-old Adrianne and 3-month-old Synclair, by panhandling...