Panhandlers Still Haunt City Hall

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Panhandlers still haunt City Hall

Scott Maxwell

TAKING NAMES

(published) September 13, 2007

Once again, Buddy Dyer and the Orlando City Council are trying to deal with the complicated issue of homelessness in the simplest possible way -- by arresting the destitute.

This time, the council is expected to give final approval Monday to make it a crime to panhandle after dark.

That comes on the heels of Dyer and company making it a crime for volunteers to feed groups of people in a public park. And after making it a crime to sit down on sidewalks.

If there's a way to throw poor people in jail, Orlando seems interested.


The city's willing to throw resources at the matter, too. Undercover cops have been used, to nab not only panhandlers, but also those who perpetrate the heinous crime of ladling out unauthorized stew.

To be fair, Buddy has simply followed suit. Before he ever took office, the City Beautiful tried everything from banning panhandling to forcing beggars into little blue boxes.

And yet still, we have homeless people. In fact, Dyer claims the problem is as bad as ever.

Doesn't that say something?

It does to Robert Stuart.

The Orlando commissioner whose full-time job is running the Christian Service Center was the only member of the council who opposed the latest panhandling law.

"We take the easy way," he said. "I mean, it's easy to pass an ordinance. What's hard is to look for a solution."

Let's be clear. Nobody likes panhandlers.

When I'm walking with my 4- and 7-year-old, I pull them a little closer or cross to the other side of the street if I see one in our path.

But afterward, I often think that, whatever fear or discomfort I just encountered, the person asking for the money has it even worse.

And then you start to wonder: How can we change that?

I know that Buddy has asked himself that question.

He and his wife have personally helped the Coalition for the Homeless raise money. And he was intimately involved in the creation of the Regional Commission on Homelessness.

The regional commission -- which involves bringing experts together from throughout Central Florida -- is a great idea. In fact, it's such a good idea that Stuart couldn't figure out why there was such a rush to pass another law before the commission completed its work.

"We've got a regional commission," he said. "Why don't we listen to them?"

Dyer said Wednesday that he didn't think he needed to wait, arguing that panhandling doesn't have "anything to do with homelessness" and that a large percentage of beggars go back to their homes every night. I'm sure some would debate that.

But Dyer also said he was ready to take action to protect residents -- and that if he waited for consensus on everything, little would get done.

To truly make a difference, however, there has to be more than punitive measures.

According to one report I saw, 41 percent of the homeless are families with children; 23 percent are mentally ill; and 5 percent are minors without parents.

Jail cells aren't the solution for all those people.

That report, by the way, came from City Hall.

It was prepared for and given to Dyer a few years ago.

The report stressed that the city should look for long-term goals "and not only short-term solutions."

It recommended more substance-abuse programs and mental-health treatment. It talked of job training and affordable housing.

All of those suggestions drove home the same point -- that helping the homeless learn new skills, kick a drug habit or get the right medication can be crucial to ending a cycle of destitution that jail cells alone never can.

And yet many of those goals remain unfulfilled -- most of them, in fact, Stuart said.

We have, however, come up with new ways to arrest people for feeding the homeless or asking for spare change.

And yes, new laws were, in fact, recommended in that report. Even Stuart, who served on that committee, says as much.

"I think that was the 21st suggestion," he said. "Out of 23."