Dori: We should pay panhandlers to clean up the city

A controversy over panhandling has erupted in Everett, where a new proposal could put panhandlers in jail. But answers to this social ill may not be found in a jail cell, rather, in New Mexico.

“If you’ve walked around downtown Seattle, you know how bad the aggressive panhandling is here,” KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson said. “In Everett they have aggressive panhandlers. And they are trying to limit that now (by) saying they are trying to jail aggressive panhandlers. The (American Civil Liberties Union) has a problem with that. I think panhandling is protected free speech, but when it crosses a line and people’s physical safety is threatened, that’s when the law has to step in.”

The Everett City Council already failed to pass an ordinance aiming to rid its streets of panhandling. On Wednesday, the council approached the issue from another angle. A new ordinance under consideration would cite panhandling when it “is calculated to make someone feel threatened,” KING 5 reported.

Everett currently responds to such aggressive tactics with a fine. The new approach, if the council ultimately gives it a thumbs up, will make that fine steeper and add a 90-day jail sentence as a possible consequence. Part of the new proposal also establishes a fund for residents to donate. That fund would be used for homeless services.

The ACLU has reportedly expressed concern over Everett’s latest approach to panhandling, stating it still criminalizes free speech, and notes “aggressive” is a relative experience for different people.

The problem of homelessness, or panhandling, is not unique to Everett, as anyone walking Seattle, Portland or other major cities can testify. In Albuquerque, however, the city has taken another approach that avoids jail cells.

“In Albuquerque, at a tiny cost, they got a grant, one person drives a 16-person van two mornings a week, and picks up panhandlers.”
That van then takes panhandlers to places in the city in need of attention, and puts people to work picking up litter, or landscaping. It pays them $9 per hour.
“Which is more than minimum wage in Albuquerque,” Dori said. “We could make it $15 an hour here in the Puget Sound area And you got to go and pick up trash on public medians or pull some weeds and earn some money.

“This is what we should be doing to help the panhandling situation. They all have their cardboard signs saying ‘will work for food.’ Let’s take them on it.”

Anna Wren told KOAT News in Albuquerque, that the program was a step up from her panhandling option.

“I didn’t even hesitate, I got in [the van],” she said, noting that she might have a chance at getting a better job after working for the city.

“It gives me something to put on my resume. It puts money in my pocket and I don’t have to beg from people and embarrass myself. I’m uneducated and I’m a convicted felon.”

Dori concedes that there are some panhandlers who won’t take the option; panhandling can be profitable for some, beyond $9, or even $15 an hour. On the day the KOAT news crew featured the program, seven out of 14 panhandlers chose to hop in the van. But it would still work for some while cleaning up the town.

“Why wouldn’t you, as a citizen, give to this program that says, ‘You have to work for your money?’ And donate to that program instead of giving money to panhandlers,” he said. “And maybe you can discourage people from giving panhandlers an incentive to sit on a street corner.”