成人直播 School of Social Work project explores why people 鈥榝ly signs鈥 in medians
成人直播 School of Social Work student Katy Finch and Professor Thomas McLaughlin, M.S.W., Ph.D., are working on a project that delves into the reasons people stand on medians or along the street holding signs and asking for money.
Finch and McLaughlin spent three days in January 2017 interviewing people engaging in this practice, known as 鈥渇lying a sign.鈥 Finch wrote about the process in a 鈥淢aine Voices鈥 piece in the Portland Press Herald titled, 鈥淔or those standing on the median, 鈥榝lying a sign鈥 is an exercise in humility.鈥
Those interviewed shared what they used the money for, how it felt to fly a sign and what circumstances led them to do it. 鈥淭he experience of standing on the median or sidewalk with a cardboard sign and asking for money is a degrading one,鈥 Finch wrote. 鈥淲hen we asked them 鈥楬ave you ever had to ask for money?鈥 most of the people on the street said they had, and that it was hard. During the interviews, we heard passers-by yelling 鈥楪et a job!鈥 which only adds to the humiliation.鈥