'Thorny issue':Since court ruling, ranks of panhandlers have increased, as have complaints and debate of what to do

By John Howell
Posted 8/30/16

Warwick has some prime spots for panhandling. The homeless have discovered that since the city ceased enforcing local anti-panhandling legislation, and so have the police who have intervened in arguments over who gets to stand at what

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'Thorny issue':Since court ruling, ranks of panhandlers have increased, as have complaints and debate of what to do

Posted

Warwick has some prime spots for panhandling.

The homeless have discovered that since the city ceased enforcing local anti-panhandling legislation, and so have the police who have intervened in arguments over who gets to stand at what spot.

“We’ve told them this is city property; you guys settle this between yourselves,” Col. Stephen McCartney said in an interview last Thursday.

And while homeless vie to stake out the most profitable intersections for donations – returning day after day to the same spot – the police department gets a stream of complaints from residents and businesses who want to see the people off the streets. Many of the panhandlers have little connection to Warwick other than standing on a Warwick corner. They get here by bus from Providence and Cranston, where they spend the night at Harrington Hall.

McCartney would like to see them off the street, too, but since the courts found Cranston’s anti-panhandling laws unconstitutional on the basis of the First Amendment, Warwick as well as five other municipalities stopped enforcing the local measures, according to Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU contested the Cranston law that resulted in a Rhode Island Superior Court ruling that the law was unconstitutional on April 14.

That doesn’t mean the police are powerless to deal with situations arising from panhandling. They responded to complaints of a panhandler yelling at motorists, berating them and waving in a threatening manner. McCartney said officers responded to find an individual exceedingly agitated and apparently disturbed. In that case they were able to get the person some medical attention.

“We’re looking at the law to see what we can do about aggressive solicitation, to craft some language that would cover that situation,” McCartney said.

“Banging on car windows and assaulting, there’s nothing in the law that prevents police from taking action on that kind of conduct,” Brown said.

“If they’re in the traffic, we’re not going to tolerate it,” Mayor Scott Avedisian said. “Screaming is not appropriate.”

Concerns are also being raised for the safety of panhandlers. The mayor puts safety first, adding that if panhandlers are acting appropriately the city would be at liability if it didn’t follow the law.

Aram Garabedian, managing partner of Warwick Mall, notes that panhandlers aren’t on mall property.

“They’re outside on [highway] islands and it worries me a lot,” he said. “At some point the safety of human beings has to be considered.”

Brown doesn’t buy the argument that panhandlers should be moved off the streets for their own safety.

“Firefighters are out there with the boot and so are the little leaguers with cans, and nobody is concerned about their safety,” he said.

So what can be done for those who resort to panhandling because they have fallen on tough times?

Avedisian has looked at what other communities have done, including programs that give the homeless credits toward housing for working in cleanup crews and other municipal run programs. He sees jobs and affordable housing as components, but just as important are services that identify and deal with health issues, addiction and mental illness. Locally, he points out, police were able to get assistance for the panhandler who was yelling at motorists. He sees the Warwick 13 – a coalition of 13 Warwick non-profits – as discussing the issue and looking at ways to address it.

Jennifer Hawkins, interim director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, reported that a group including representatives from the ACLU, the coalition and House of Hope – among other agencies that worked together as the Homeless Bill of Right Committee – is working on the issue of panhandling. While she said the focus has been on Providence, the findings, which she expects will be released at a press conference shortly, will apply to other communities.

“Not all panhandlers are homeless,” she said. “It’s a thorny issue.” She said the coalition’s focus has been directed at veterans and that in the last 19 months the coalition has found housing for 337 homeless veterans.

In a follow-up email, Hawkins said, “Panhandling is a systemic outcome of the economic inequality that exists in our state and country. The lack of a safety bridge to help people overcome the gap between a meager income and the high cost of living has devastating results for individuals and communities.”

She said that, according to the centralized database that collects information on homeless Rhode Islanders (the estimate is 65 homeless families and 660 individuals), half have no source income. She said that even with an income, the amount required to obtain a two-bedroom apartment without a rental subsidy far exceeds the income of many (including non-homeless) Rhode Islanders.

“I’m encouraged that this has resulted in trying to look at the root problem,” Brown says of the ACLU action.

He points to the increased level of discussion about homelessness and problems to deal with it. He doesn’t see shifting the homeless population, as is the effort to change Kennedy Plaza in Providence, as the solution.

“Relocating is not the answer,” he said, “the bottom line is more affordable housing.”

PRODUCTIVE LOCATION:

A panhandler who picked the name Jacobie to identify himself has been a regular at the East Avenue and Route 2 intersection since July. Some days he will take in $100 in donations. He said he is saving most of the money to get an apartment. (Warwick Beacon photo)

Comments

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  • RISchadenfreude

    RI's bad / drunk drivers will take care of the slow ones.

    As far as aggressive panhandling is concerned, I don't tolerate immediate threats to my wellbeing.

    Wednesday, August 31, 2016 Report this

  • Kammy

    Put an undercover police man at the D&D at Rt. 2 and let him see how "harmless" the panhandling really is. I have had them swear at me, bang their palm on my rolled up window and step into the lane just to get a car to stop. This is becoming a very real problem in Warwick and as a tax paying citizen I would like to travel through my city without having to deal with it. It causes traffic to back up and it will be a complete nightmare around December holiday shopping.

    Wednesday, August 31, 2016 Report this

  • bendover

    Put a blank 1040 in an envelope with a note that says the IRS and RI Department of Revenue want to be paid.

    Wednesday, August 31, 2016 Report this

  • PaulHuff

    Don't feed the animals.

    If people refused to fund these guys drug habits they would go away.

    Wednesday, August 31, 2016 Report this

  • patientman

    Cigarettes are $10 a pack. Why buy cigarettes for someone who clearly doesn't need the money,.

    Tuesday, September 6, 2016 Report this