Not a bad person. Just invisible.

Meet Amber. She is 31 and, like the sign reads, she is not a bad person.

I saw her every night that I was in the French Quarter. She doesn't ask for help. She will talk when engaged but usually sits there with her sign and the cutest smile.

I remember the second time I saw her; I was asking her questions, and another gentleman came up and started giving me his pitch for money, talking over Amber, and even purposely trying to suggest he needed help more than she did. I could see the look on Ambers's face like, “not again.”

It's cut-throat out here, and from experience, I can tell you that when it comes to survival, you better be tough, or else you suffer. It's sad for women because if they often pair up with some guy, usually trading their bodies for protection.