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Show Holidays Are Panhandlers Driving Business Away From Downtown? by Jennifer Thompson and Carrie Stults Forum staff writers The holiday season is once again upon us. Charitable organizations and retail businesses bank on this season of giving and goodwill to replenish their coffers for the coming year. Downtown Salt Lake City business owners worry that the increasing numbers of panhandlers on the streets deter shoppers from the area. People in Utah are uncomfortable about being approached for money and arc staying away from downtown, said Skip Daynes, business owner. Business owners only recently began to view panhandlers as a problem. In spring of 1991, an advisory board to The Downtown Alliance, consisting of 30 of Salt Lake Citys most prominent business owners, named the number of panhandlers on downtown streets as the citys greatest weakness, according to Alison Gregger-- son, assistant director of The Downtown Alliance. John Williams, owner of several downtown restaurants, introduced the first proposal accepted by The Downtown Alliance to address the problem after panhandlers harassment of his patrons led him to hire security guards. Posters designed to be hung in windows of downtown businesses said Please Say No To Panhandlers. The Downtown Alliance distributed the posters to businesses along with brochures titled 30 e & Homeless Ways To Help Populations. Our intent was not to be said Greggerson. We want people to realize there is a difference between panhandlers and people who are homeless or truly needy. Begging is the way these people choose to make a living. Many panhandlers have apartments and are making up to $50 a day, she added. The campaign, aimed at getting money Low-Incom- cold-hearte- d, to people who need it and reducing the number of panhandlers downtown, failed. The posters are not being displayed in Businesses do business windows now. not want to appear negative to consumers this time of year, said Daynes. Greggerson said the posters offended some business owners and customers, while some businesses were afraid of reprisals by panhandlers. is growing up in the Salt Lake-Cit90s, and panhandlers are now part of every city. They absolutely dont bother me, said Eric Shapiro, vice president of the Retail Merchants Association. If people want to give, they should. If they dont, they should be comfortable saying no. People in this city dont like to say no, said Shapiro. Steve Cheever, Salt Lake City police officer, agrees. We dont have the New York City mentality yet, he said. People in Salt Lake City are freer with their resources, and this is bringing more panhan- y Homeless: "Reminder Of What You Could Be" numbers are enhanced by the flutter of holiday charity. The season for giving traditionally arouses public awareness of the needy. Churches, organizations and businesses sponsor events to help and individual donations increase. The Salvation Army receives 40 percent' of its yearly contributions during the holiday period when bell ringers and kettles are stationed around the city. We have increased the number of bell ringers in order to see the same results as last year. There is just so much more of a need. Were having a hard time keeping up, said Glenn Legge, Salvation Army fund raising coordinator. According to the Salt Lake County Homeless Coordinating Committee, the number of homeless has increased by 1 5 to 20 percent each year, doubling in die last five years. The city is growing but not building, said Steve Erickson homeless advocate and chairman of the county homeless committee. Its impossible to overstate the problem, he said. On any given day there are nearly 4,000 people living on the streets, and at least ek by Carrie Stuits and Jennifer Thompson Forum staff writers Christmas 1991, and Salt Lake City has more homeless people than ever before. As the city grows and the recession ues, the homeless will only see a temporary ease to the burden. Year-lon- g efforts to aid their increasing 1,000 are families with children. People have failed to see the urgency, said Erickson. The city has no long-tertion, he said. Travelers Aid, a federally-supporte- d organization which provides shelter, food and clothing, and serves as a major resource for the homeless, is currently running at a deficit; federal money for housing does not arrive until late spring, he said. There is a huge demand for shelter, said Leslie Russell, assistant director of Travelers Aid. The biggest need we have right now is money to run our program, she said. A lot of people dont want to recognize the large numbers of people who are homeless, said Alison Greggerson, assistant director of the Downtown Alliance. They re a reminder of where you could be if youre not careful, she said. Seasonal charity eases the citys burdens of die homeless population, but it is only a temporary step toward a solution. The need will not go away with the holiday, said Greggerson. According to the homeless coordinating committee figures, it will just get worse. m low-inco- Homeless And Hungry Is More Than A Holiday Problem Christopher Thomas by Forum staff writer The homeless problem doesnt simply end because peoples interests become less, it is always there, said John Bush, secre- tary at St. Vincent Depaul Soup Kitchen. The holiday season brings an increase and often an overload of clothing, food and volunteers to organizations that heed the homeless. The generosity is and assists in solving the growing problem for a couple months, but after the holidays, these resources are quickly depleted. The problem has had increased help from the public mainly due to the media but well-receiv- Page 6Forum ed the problem is constantly growing. Homelessness is a year- - round problem and we are always seeking donations and volunteers, Bush said. Bush suggested that people volunteer now and also commit to come back quarterly or however often their schedule allows. We would appreciate help the next few weeks because of the holiday work load, and it would also be nice if people set a date on their calendars like a doctor or dental appointment during the next year, Bush said. St. Vincent Depaul needs volunteers to wrap Christmas presents, assemble hygiene kits and prepare and serve food. c me We are known primarily as a soup kitchen but we also provide counseling and other services to help get people back on their feet again. So volunteering doesnt have to be in the food department, Bush said. St. Vincent Depaul like other organizations, is in need of socks, toiletries (especially toothpaste and toothbrushes), food and money. We have a surplus of clothing (except socks) and were really in need of any hygiene products sample sizes like you would get in a hotel or motel are the best , Bush said. People interested in volunteering should contact Ann Bero, St. Vincent Depaul resource coordinator at 534-150- 0. dlers to the area. Many learned about our city in Seattle where signs were posted saying Utah had shelters that werent full, said Cheever. , The police spend a fair amount of time dealing with the increasing crime rate and numberof panhandlers downtown, but they have a difficult time dealing with the panhandlers because laws of free speech make begging legal, he added. There is a rough draft of an ordinance requiring panhandlers to have a solicitors license and pay taxes on earnings which will be proposed to the new mayor, said Cheever. Mayor Palmer DePaulis will not accept any proposed aggressive begging ordinances. The ordinance will be enforceable if we get the manpower and resources we need, said Cheever. Perhaps Salt Lake City needs a minimum-securit- y jail. to Getting people quit giving panhandlers money is better than increasing services for the homeless, said Cheever. We could build shelters until the cows come home and end up with even more homeless coming to the city. SaltLake City needs to shake this juvenile attitude that we can just say no to panhandlers and the problem will go away, said Steve Erickson, chairman of the Salt Lake County Homeless Coordinating Committee. The Downtown Alliances education campaign was over before it started, he added. About half of the homeless in Utah are from elsewhere. They come to Utah because they hear the economy is good and they are looking for jobs. They dont come with the intention of being housed in a shelter and panhandling for a living, said Erickson. An ordinance against aggressive begging would be a waste of time and energy and could leave the city open to lawsuits, said Erickson. The Salt Lake County Homeless Coordinating Committee would oppose an ordinance regulating panhandlers, said Erickson. What I fear with police involvement in the problem is periodic sweeps of people off the streets, said Erickson. This would mean reshuffling people from the street to jail and back again. Utah organizations that help the homeless have received overwhelming support from the private sector, especially in the number of volunteers. Now, businesses need to team up with the rest of the community and address the real problems of lack of jobs and low income housing in Utah. The community needs to work together to plan for the future, said Erickson. iTTH Di0t nEDK- - mmr. |