17-26 Resolution in Support of Putting Panhandlers to Work

Home Browse Search

PrintFriendly.com: Print & PDF Page 2 of 9 Similar bans were discussed in Bangor and Biddeford, but dropped. Bangor's police department now collects donations of mittens and gift cards to distribute to those in need. Biddeford City Manager James Bennett said his city would still like to do something. "If we had a workable solution, there would be interest in it," Bennett said. With court decisions striking down restrictions, many communities around the country are looking for more constructive ways to tackle panhandling and homelessness, according to Eric Tars, a senior attorney for the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that is dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness. Cities such as New Haven, Connecticut; Orlando, Florida; and Denver, Colorado, have begun installing brightly colored parking-style meters where well-intentioned visitors and residents can make donations to local nonprofits rather than hand money to panhandlers. A dozen meters installed in Orlando have raised about $2,250 since 2011, according to The Associated Press, while Denver has raised $100,000 a year by using the meters, collection boxes near airport security checkpoints and a new program that allows people to text donations. In Portland, a downtown merchants organization has formed its own group to look at ways to address panhandling, which local business owners believe is a black eye on the city's tourism industry. Casey Gilbert, executive director of Portland Downtown, said it's too soon to say what recommendations the group will make. https://www.printfriendly.com/print?url_s=uGGC_%7E_PdN_%7E_Pc S_°/`7E_Pc SJJJmC E... 6/6/2017