Anti-panhandling initiative: Do this, don’t do that – can’t you read the signs?

Sign Up For Our FREE Daily eNews!

panhandling


MANCHESTER, NH – Signs of the time: Anti-panhandling signs and sandwich boards will be positioned around the city to further an initiative by Manchester Police to discourage residents from “donating” to panhandlers. The first of the nine street signs was posted at the Amoskeag Circle last week, with eight more scheduled to be placed. The nine locations include:

  1. South Willow at Queen City Ave.
  2. Mall of NH (south entrance)
  3. Maple Street at Bridge Street
  4. Beech Street at Bridge Street
  5. Beech Street at Cilley Road
  6. Amoskeag and Elm streets
  7. East Side Plaza entrance
  8. Queen City Avenue at Second  Street (West on Queen City Ave. and both north and south on Second Street)
  9. Amoskeag Rotary at Sunoco Station, traffic lights across from the station
Panhandling Sign
The city has erected the first of nine anti-panhandling signs around the city in conjunction with Manchester Police. Image/City of Manchester

Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard on Monday said strategic placement of anti-panhandling signs is meant to discourage residents from making the practice lucrative for panhandlers.

It’s not unique to Manchester.

“For example, New York City has signs, as well as the sidewalk sandwich boards, which we’ll also be getting for downtown. This is all in furtherance of educating people about the dangers of panhandling, while encouraging those inclined to do something charitable to instead give money to a social service agency that will actually address the underlying issues that lead to panhandling in the first place,” Willard says.

Issues that stem from problems like chronic homelessness, magnified by mental health issues and addiction, are often at the root of what compels people to spend hours a day standing on street corners holding signs asking for spare change.

Willard released an open letter to the public the first week of June explaining how people with good intentions are actually making the problem worse when they give money to panhandlers. After eight weeks, he’s still assessing whether that strategy is reducing the problem of panhandling.

“Many of the regulars are individuals who have overdosed multiple times, so we know they’re chronic drug users. I had one panhandler say to me the other day that she’s still making the same money at the same spot as she was previous to the announcement. Another panhandler I spoke with told me he’s had to go to different locations because it seems fewer people are donating,” Willard says. 

Overall, Willard says he’s had “very positive feedback” from members of the community about the police department’s crackdown on panhandling through public education.

“I’ve heard from people who didn’t realize it could potentially lead to a death, and they’ve decided they’re no longer going to give to them directly. I think we need the time to see if this works, and the road signs are just in furtherance of the effort to educate. We really want to find meaningful ways to help a person who’s panhandling to get what it is they need, which is social services.”  

IMG 20170503 201632
Jonathan L., on the corner of Maple and Bridge streets, says he stays out with his sign until it’s too dark for people to read. Photo/Carol Robidoux

Panhandling hurts downtown business owners

The presence of panhandlers, especially in the downtown where they encounter foot traffic, poses a problem for downtown business owners. Pramod Nyaupane, owner of Bunny’s Convenience on Elm Street which just opened a few weeks ago, says panhandling is a huge issue, not just for his own customers, but also for businesses all around the city.

“Panhandling is a huge issue throughout the city,  but especially in downtown. The only complaint I have heard so far from my customers in the almost two weeks since we opened our store is getting annoyed by the panhandlers sitting outside of the store. At times they are very aggressive,” Nyaupane says.

 
“Some people are just afraid and don’t want to be a part of it at all, so they just avoid coming downtown. In my opinion, panhandling is the second biggest issue we have, behind the drug problem. Almost each and every corner of the city there is somebody asking for money. I am glad the city is addressing this issue,” Nyaupane says. “I hope people understand giving money to panhandlers is not helping them – it just encourages the bad habit and gives a bad look of the city. They should donate to the proper agencies, like soup kitchen and other charitable agencies, if they really want to help them.” 

According to a report by the Urban Institute, other cities that have initiated anti-panhandling campaigns report positive outcomes, including:

  • Fewer known panhandlers
  • Fewer complaints
  • Fewer calls for service
  • Less concern about panhandling
  • Fewer customers avoiding business
  • Reduced litter and signs of disorder in panhandling locations

In addition to signage, Willard said some of his officers have begun handing out “service cards” to panhandlers, which provides information on the types of services available to them around the city, from soup kitchens to mental health clinics.

“Every panhandler I’ve talked to knows where and what services are available. One woman I spoke with says she won’t go to the soup kitchen because she doesn’t like the food. I’ve served food there, and it’s actually very good,” says Willard. “Every person has reason for panhandling, and until we stop giving to them directly, they will continue to do so.”

Smoking ban also related to quality of life issues

Although directly unrelated to panhandling, Willard also spoke briefly Monday about a new initiative he’s working on with the city, to create an ordinance banning smoking in public spaces, including parks.

“The feedback from city officials, Parks and Rec employees, and even the people who have events in the park, is that they are applauding the effort. Frankly,  the movement toward no smoking in parks is sweeping the country. I just read an article about nine communities in New Hampshire that have gone no smoking,” Willard says.

According to that article posted on NHPR, those nine communities –Harrisville, Keene, Marlborough, Swanzey, Nelson, Rindge, Troy, Walpole and Winchester – are working with the Cheshire Coalition for Tobacco-Free Communities to enact laws banning smoking in parks. Three of the communities want to extend the ban to all public spaces.

In Manchester, the initiative is tied to the resurgence of spice, which Willard says his officers report is being smoked in public parks by people who are rolling spice cigarettes and hiding them inside cigarette packs.

“It really has to do with the fact that people want to be able to enjoy the environment when they are out and about. They don’t want to have to inhale somebody else’s smoke, and they certainly shouldn’t have to inhale smoke that comes from spice, which is a real concern of mine. On top of that the litter created by people smoking in parks diminishes the experience of others. They throw their butts on the ground, and city employees are sweeping up hundreds of cigarette butts a day. I say let’s get rid of it altogether, so that our city is free from litter and secondhand smoke, and most importantly, a dangerous substance like spice.”

The city banned the sale of spice in 2014 and Willard says the source of the synthetic drug, which causes a range of symptoms for those who ingest it ranging from immobilization to seizures, is being imported from Massachusetts. 

“At this point we have no information that any of our corner stores are selling spice, although we have some intelligence that it’s being brought up by individuals out of Lawrence, Mass, who go to our parks and sell it,” Willard says. “From what we’re being told through intel gathering, they’re picking up a $5 bag of spice and selling it here for $20 in Manchester. We’ll continue our intel gathering and continue being aggressive in our enforcement around spice.”

 

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!