Pushers using the homeless as deal brokers and drug runners may seem new to Charlotte, but experts say it's just the latest example of a vulnerable population being exploited.

Fifteen people were arrested Wednesday in connection with the open-air drug market that operated near uptown with the help of homeless people, on a stretch of North Tryon Street between the Brookshire Freeway and the Men's Shelter of Charlotte.

Homeless advocates were not surprised.

Charlotte is not considered a community prone to exploiting its homeless, but experts say a 14 percent jump in homelessness is providing greater opportunity.

It's estimated that Mecklenburg County has more than 6,000 homeless, and the number is expected to rise as jobless people exhaust their resources.

"The people doing this to the homeless are scum," Margaret Lindsey, 45, a recovering addict who is homeless, said at the Center of Hope shelter.

"I've seen it happen, seen friends get into cars and be drawn into prostitution or whatever it takes to get drugs. The dealers are dogs."

The police roundup on Wednesday concluded an investigation that found dealers were using the homeless to lead buyers to them, or transport drugs to the buyers. In return, the homeless got small sums of money or drugs. Police did not say how many of those arrested were homeless.

Similar operations have been reported from Atlanta to Los Angeles, which has been battling for five years to close a "drug bazaar" operating on its Skid Row.

In L.A., 30 gangs reportedly have an understanding to forgo rivalries and share the homeless drug trade.

Men's Shelter of Charlotte Director Carson Dean is well aware of what has happened elsewhere, and he says that's one reason why the shelter has beefed up programs to visit the homeless who live in camps around the city.

They are the most vulnerable of all, including some people with developmental disabilities.

"By and large, Charlotte is a very compassionate city, but we have such a large population of homeless that it might be easier to exploit them without being detected."

That includes more than just drug dealing.

Other examples include the homeless being recruited to cash bad checks, or lured into shady schemes by con men defrauding taxpayer-funded health care programs.

The most common scam is also the easiest: Contractors promise big dollars for a day's work.

But when that day is done, the homeless either get a fraction of the money or no money, Dean said.

Officials at the Salvation Army's Center of Hope shelter for women and children tell similar stories, including one involving a church that recruited women for labor and later told them the job was voluntary.

Deronda Metz of the center said there have been instances of homeowners asking homeless women to move in with them - as unpaid servants or guardians.

Another recent case involved a man who showed up in the shelter parking lot, inviting women to move into a faith-based transitional housing program.

"But the women didn't know until after they moved in that they had to pay for the housing by standing on street corners with buckets, begging for money," said Metz.

"We try to be very careful about who comes on the premises, because we're protective of our women."

The men's and women's shelters estimate 40 to 50 percent of their clients have problems with addictions, including some who also have mental health problems.

Others, Dean said, have simply fallen on hard times.

"I think it becomes a little dangerous when you mislead the community into thinking all homeless are addicts or mentally ill," he said.

Both shelters offer access to addiction treatment and mental health programs, with financial help from the county and the Alcohol Beverage Control Board.

The Center of Hope even goes so far as to automatically give drug tests to women who have a prior history of homelessness.

"We don't turn them away from emergency housing, but we limit their stay if they don't want to get clean," Metz said. "We don't believe their life can move forward unless they can address their addictions."

Janita Middleton, 43, is among the homeless women who have accepted the shelter's help for treatment.

She heard about the drug arrests this week, and admits worrying about dealers trying to exploit her weakness.

That's one reason Middleton helps out in the center's kitchen. It fills her time and surrounds her with supportive friends.

"There are areas around here that I choose not to go, because I know dealing is going on," said Middleton.

"It's ruthless out there and the dealers have no conscience."