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Idea to send: |
| Topic | Panhandlers |
| Content | i think some sort of basic, state-funded work should be offered to the city's panhandlers such as road, park, or equipment cleaning, and then punishment for panhandling should be increased and more strictly enforced. Offenders should be penalized with community service. Either way, people are put to work.
Personally, over the past four years, i've engaged in conversations with at least three dozen panhandlers who solicit in the parking lot where i work (some of them i still see on a regular basis). They all wanted cash or free food (i'm a BBQ cook). But none of them were interested when i offered to help them get to the nearest shelter or soup kitchen, only one in four years was actually interested in knowing where to find a job (some were willing however to perform a chore in exchange for immediate cash-in-hand), and some of them flatly admitted to me that they panhandle by choice because they make plenty of money doing it.
i think there should be plenty of help offered to those who are genuinely "down on their luck" but are looking for legitimate opportunities for work and contribution to our community. i think it's great that there are shelters that offer help to those who genuinely need help to "get back on their feet."
However, this class of 'professional panhandlers' are by and large not being dealt with in my opinion. Surely it can't be good for those selling their homes who wonder how a panhandler on the nearest intersection affects the impression of potential buyers. Surely it can't be good for tourism when tourists attempting to enjoy our city and spend their money in our businesses are guilted out of their money by a panhandler. Surely it can't be good for local busineses that lose customers who don't want to return to a location where panhandlers wander the parking lot soliciting.
Some program which gives them very little option but to get off of street corners and learn to earn their own money is seriously needed in my opinion. |
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