<\/p>\n
Downtown businesses have asked nicely. They\u2019ve moved or removed benches. They\u2019ve called the police.<\/p>\n
And now they\u2019re trying something new \u2013 a campaign asking people to donate to local nonprofits that help the economically insecure among us rather than handing cash to panhandlers.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many communities around the country, Durango has experienced an increase in panhandling,\u201d said Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District, which is leading the \u201cMake it Count! Durango Cares!\u201d campaign. \u201cWe are not heartless, and as a community we have put together a Homeless Coalition to address the bigger needs, but the BID\u2019s constituents \u2013 basically our merchants downtown \u2013 have requested we try to do something now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The something now is a small handbill explaining why people should not donate to panhandlers and should donate to \u201creputable\u201d local human-services agencies, putting information about 10 of those agencies on the back.<\/p>\n
BID is encouraging merchants to insert the handbills in shopping bags and restaurants to add them when returning checks to diners\u2019 tables. Posters for businesses\u2019 windows are also available. Handbills and posters are available at the BID office. Walsworth said he knows it is late in the season to be trying this gambit, but it took time to determine a careful way to address the problem.<\/p>\n
Fall and winter weather may prompt transients to move on, and the issue may appear to have been resolved, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut come spring, we expect they will be back,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to test the waters now with our constituents with this effort, and then be prepared for a larger public-awareness campaign come spring, to get ahead of any potential problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Terminology matters in the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cBID is making a distinction between people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and transient panhandlers,\u201d Walsworth said. \u201cAnyone can be in a public place like downtown Durango and ask for donations. Even so, the manner in which some people ask for money and the places they choose to do so are hurting our downtown businesses and are harming our reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n
BID is also differentiating between buskers \u2013 people selling jewelry or performing \u2013 and panhandlers, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery now and then buskers and panhandlers in the \u2018traditional sense\u2019 appear to be the same kind of person,\u201d Walsworth said. \u201cBut some street performers really add to downtown, so while we had some conversations about busking, we\u2019re not doing anything in that regard right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Panhandling became more prevalent in Durango after the American Civil Liberties Union notified the city of Durango in fall 2014 that its blanket prohibition of loitering for purposes of begging was a violation of free speech. Since then, the Durango City Council has passed ordinances against aggressive panhandling, blocking sidewalks and begging in certain medians where it may be dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know (the program) is not going to completely solve the problem,\u201d Walsworth said. \u201cBut if these transient panhandlers can\u2019t make a living on our streets, perhaps they\u2019ll choose another town.\u201d<\/p>\n
abutler@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/p>\n