Getting a handle on panhandling

Photo by Woody Marshall/The Telegraph

City council is scheduled to vote on the anti-panhandling ordinance tonight, and it could be one of the most important pieces of legislation in the past several years.

Hopefully, council will pass it without watering it down. Sure, some amendments and tweaking may be necessary, but the law will go along way toward making downtown a safer and more vibrant environment for everyone.

We can pour time, resources and money into revitalizing our downtown. But, if people are frightened to get out of their cars, what good will it do?

Because I work downtown – shop, dine, go to the theater and attend church downtown, it’s important to me. Macon has a serious problem with folks who harass others for money. There have been times when I’ve been approached two or three times while walking four blocks to lunch.

I know there are homeless people and others who need help. But most of the folks I encounter are con artists, drunks and criminals.

How do I know that? I hear some of the same stories from the same people over and over again. My car broke down. My baby needs food. I am stranded and need money for a bus ticket. They want a cup of coffee.

My family and I went to New York City a few weeks ago, and I never thought I would say something like this – I felt safer on the streets of New York than I did in Macon. Why? In New York, there are strict laws against panhandling. Two, the streets are full of people. Macon is no New York, but I can imagine a los more folks on the streets if we have tighter measures against panhandlers.

I’ve written about panhandling on many occasions. I’m not alone in saying it is a great moral struggle. I do want to help people. But I want to help the people who need help, I want to believe them, but because so many of them are deceitful, I usually have an excuse prepared. Like others, I am suspicious.

I once suggested Macon follow the lead of such cities as Athens and Nashville, which put up meters very similar to parking meters. In Athens, the sign on the meter reads: "A donation here will provide help for the homeless. Please do not give cash to panhandlers.''

Money collected from the meters is distributed to social service agencies, which use it to assist those in need. It's a system that can work. It's good for the people who need help. It's good for the agencies that serve them. And it's good for people like myself, who want to give but don't always know the best way how.