{"id":65929,"date":"2019-06-16T05:03:11","date_gmt":"2019-06-16T11:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-do-panhandlers-want\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T22:05:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T22:05:47","slug":"what-do-panhandlers-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-do-panhandlers-want\/","title":{"rendered":"What do panhandlers want?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Justin
Justin Crosby said he makes about $30 a day panhandling. But he also appreciates socks and gift cards. The city of Durango has issued four citations since last spring for people violating a sit-lie ordinance.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

What do panhandlers want? Cash, food, toiletries, a ride out of town?<\/p>\n

Justin Crosby held up a sign reading \u201canything helps\u201d last week in front of Walmart. He said his message is generally true. He is thankful even for a smile.<\/p>\n

However, he tries not to eat any food from strangers after getting food poisoning seven times in the 1\u00bd years he has been homeless.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also received gifts too big to be practical, he said. He claims a woman gave him a boat that he could not sail. On another occasion, a man gave him a manufactured house, but Crosby didn\u2019t have any property to set it on.<\/p>\n

However, on average, he makes about $30 a day, he said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A Durango city ordinance prohibits anyone from sitting or lying on sidewalks downtown.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Panhandlers, particularly on Main Avenue, have been a topic of controversy for years. Several programs have been started to help tourists and residents feel safe.<\/p>\n

So far this tourist season, complaints from business owners about panhandling have been nonexistent, said Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Business Improvement District.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat issue is literally not coming up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The cold spring might have contributed to fewer homeless residents coming to town, he said. But he couldn\u2019t say how much of a difference that might make.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t pretend to know 100% who it is that is choosing to panhandle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A new city ordinance prohibiting anyone from sitting or lying on sidewalks downtown also might be making a difference, Walsworth said, but he couldn\u2019t say for sure.<\/p>\n

Durango City Council approved the sit-lie ordinance last spring, describing it as a measure to protect public safety and keep sidewalks clear.<\/p>\n

\"A
A driver stops and gives Justin Crosby a few dollars last week near the Durango Walmart.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Since the measure was approved June 16, 2018, the Durango Police Department has issued four citations for violations of the sit-lie ordinance.<\/p>\n

While panhandling hasn\u2019t triggered complaints among business owners this year, the Business Improvement District plans to maintain programs aimed at addressing the problem.<\/p>\n

The BID hires a seasonal homeless outreach coordinator to connect panhandlers with services and inform them they may be breaking the law, Walsworth said. For example, if a panhandler is sitting or lying on the sidewalk, the coordinator would talk to him or her about it, he said.<\/p>\n

The district also hired seasonal downtown ambassadors to help tourists with questions and to report problematic and illegal behavior downtown, Walsworth said. The Ambassador program was started four years ago, and this year, 12 ambassadors have been hired to work about 900 hours, he said.<\/p>\n

The district also runs a campaign called Make it Count to encourage residents and tourists to give to charities not to panhandlers in an effort to encourage panhandlers to move on. The campaign has generated about $3,300 since it was launched. Manna, Durango\u2019s soup kitchen, the Durango Community Shelter and a Durango Christian Church program that provides emergency survival gear received the funding, Walsworth said.<\/p>\n

However, some panhandlers are wary of soup kitchens and areas where other homeless residents and travelers congregate.<\/p>\n

\"Dale
Dale Coriell panhandles last week near the Durango Walmart.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While panhandling near Walmart on Thursday, Dale Coriell, 59, said he didn\u2019t seek assistance from Manna during the winter because he doesn\u2019t want to get involved with other homeless people. Some of them tend to be \u201ca little sketchy\u201d and involved in illegal activity such as drug use, he said.<\/p>\n

He spent the winter camping alone after arriving on Thanksgiving Day.<\/p>\n

He lost his housing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, after clashing with his girlfriend\u2019s family. He left with just a sleeping bag and a few clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s very little actually worth carrying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His minimalist philosophy seems to have extended a bit to his panhandling. If Coriell makes $20 panhandling, he\u2019ll leave. But what he really wants is a job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am still holding out hope for a job, but it\u2019s hard to get presentable when you don\u2019t have a home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Dale
Dale Coriell panhandles last week near the Durango Walmart.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Crosby\u2019s position on soup kitchens is similar to Coriell\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Crosby said he tends to stay away from areas where homeless residents congregate to avoid conflict and theft. Instead, he chooses to rely on the generosity of passers-by. In 1\u00bd hours, he received $7 and a Pepsi.<\/p>\n

Crosby said he has observed panhandlers who con the public. He watched some who dressed down in ratty clothes or used donated money for drugs. He\u2019s not one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am disabled. I\u2019m hungry. I\u2019m being honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In general, most panhandlers are interested in cash, socks and gift cards for food, he said.<\/p>\n

But what Crosby really needs is a lawyer to help him fight for his federal disability benefits, he said. A serious spinal injury left him unable to work, he said.<\/p>\n

He moves from town to town frequently, because if residents continue to see him on the streets, they see their help isn\u2019t changing his situation, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you stay in one place too long, it gets sad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

mshinn@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes it\u2019s money or a job. On a bad day, even a smile works<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[611,409],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-65929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-homelessness","tag-poverty"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65943,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65929\/revisions\/65943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65929"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=65929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}