NEEDCOM: FOCUS GROUP: Yvette


	NAME:		Yvette Comontile
	Age:		32
	Place:		St. Mark's Place and Second Ave, by The Gap clothing store, New York City
	Time:		11PM Saturday

NEEDCOM:

Tell me about yourself, and how you came to be panhandling today.

YVETTE:

Well, what happened to me was I was living in the Village, at my address. Okay? And what happened to me—we were under rent control, very poor. And I winded up losing my apartment, because the court would not let us keep the apartment. We were there too long, and I was not a relative, and I had to leave the apartment.

NEEDCOM:

So you don't have housing right now.

YVETTE:

Not at this moment.

NEEDCOM:

How long have you been panhandling?

YVETTE:

Now it's been about two months.

NEEDCOM:

Is this the usual place you work?

YVETTE:

Yes, it is. Right over there, that's my spot, where you got me. Right by the Gap.

NEEDCOM:

Tell me how much money you collect on a good day.

YVETTE:

Oh, how much money? I would say, for me, on a good day, about 50 dollars. For me. That's how much I make, and from what I've heard, though, other panhandlers make hundreds in one day. I make 50 a day.

I make half of what a good panhandler, or maybe a quarter of what another panhandler would probably make. 'Cause I guess I'm a woman, and I'm not working, and I'm a little more honest. I'm more honest than some of the other panhandlers.