Is Panhandling Illegal If They Dont Acually Need The Money

Today'due south batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real bargain:

Question: I am writing today as a concerned citizen and thought Answer Man may have some insight. Over the concluding year, my activities have pretty much been limited to work and an occasional outing to the Asheville Outlets or Target in South Asheville. I have noticed a significant increase in panhandlers at intersections along the way to piece of work and shopping, and in parking lots, and they are sometimes very aggressive. Most of the time they demand gas coin, even though they seem to be on pes. In the medical park where I work, we are at present routinely running off women who are driving nice cars and are soliciting from our elderly patients with the story that they need gas money. I was even accosted by a well-dressed female in a late model auto at the Asheville Outlets who asked for cash to go home. She looked like someone who could be working in an upscale function. So, some accept learned that if y'all dress nice your need must exist legit. Anyhow, we used to frequent Charleston, South Carolina, where our daughter is in schoolhouse. This issue of soliciting at intersections became such a problem that the city put signs upward at stoplights stating it is illegal to paw out donations to panhandlers from your car. This was very effective — at least at intersections where people are asking you to whorl down your window. If Asheville would do this, and then ideally, folks who desire to aid the needy could funnel their donations to organizations who are in the business of helping them. I realize this is idealistic, but who could this suggestion exist sent to in Asheville for consideration and hopefully affirmative activeness? I feel like women and the elderly are easy targets in parking lots, equally I've witnessed and been subject to (I'm prematurely grey and walk fairly slow, LOL). Please annotation that I realize during hard times such equally these that homelessness and the inability to cover basic needs has increased exponentially. We help with donations when possible. I hope this doesn't come up across as insensitive. I am concerned that Asheville is ignoring this upshot, and information technology is not going to get abroad on its own. Safety is the central business and elderly patients being accosted when trying to make it or out of their cars are going to get injure or someone is going to be injured walking upwards to moving cars at intersections.

My answer: First, I'm going to hold with any reader who comments on what a crazy world information technology is that nosotros go to me for "insight." On any subject...

Existent reply: This has been a constant conundrum in Asheville and environs for a long time now.

From my experience, most of the panhandling by roadways occurs in the city, and then nosotros'll kickoff with city of Asheville spokeswoman Polly McDaniel. Beginning, McDaniel noted that the city's Municipal Code "prohibits roadside or intersection solicitation activeness."

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"Some solicitation activity can be immune if the group applies to and receives a let from the city, such every bit a charitable organisation collecting donations during a specific time period," McDaniel said via email.

Those are the more than organized groups y'all see out at that place, sometimes affiliated with a church or a drug treatment program. Simply the everyday panhandlers at intersections are technically breaking the urban center'southward laws, in many cases.

Just they're unlikely to get disrepair...

"Equally to enforcement, the Asheville Constabulary Department prioritizes response to crime and infractions and right now is focused on violent crime and gun/drug dealing crime in our customs," McDaniel said. "Soliciting donations at locations that practice not present a danger to public prophylactic is broadly immune within the city limits."

I'll interruption hither to annotation the panhandling issue gets pretty complicated. I wrote about this issue back in November 2019, and the Asheville Police Department had to issue a correction, which we ran, noting, "Panhandling is legal downtown and in Biltmore Village. However, in a small portion of downtown and in Biltmore Village, the individual is required to make a request via signage or passive gesture."

That's the sidewalk kind of panhandling, which differs from the roadside diverseness. The city has a lot of rules virtually legal panhandling, which is tied upwardly with free speech problems, and they include conditions such every bit not physically touching someone when panhandling, non doing it next to ATMs and a lot more.

The city does recognize roadside panhandling tin pose a safety gamble.

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"Anyone actively in the road is posing a danger to him/her cocky or motorists, and should be reported to the police," McDaniel said.

McDaniel also addressed the stickier outcome of how to deal with these folks.

"As to how to respond to this situation, remember this is a human existence, a community fellow member in crunch," McDaniel said. "Be kind, look people in the eye. Sharing resource with panhandlers is OK if y'all feel compelled to do it — it'due south a human being kindness and may help meet an firsthand need, only recognize that information technology's not likely to event in a long-term solution to their homelessness. Consider redirecting those resource to organizations catastrophe homelessness."

Since the reader asked for my guidance, I'll offer some, too. Mostly speaking, I don't give money to the roadside panhandlers, mainly because over the years I've heard as well many stories nigh them scamming folks, and partly because I feel like I'thousand probably simply funding a substance abuse addiction.

I have on occasion bought someone a fast food meal and in one instance bought a woman a sleeping bag because she said hers had been stolen. I also requite to United Way, which in turn funds a diverseness of community groups.

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I retrieve you're much better off funding the various organizations we take in town who help the homeless and others in need, which include Western Carolina Rescue Ministries, Homeward Spring, the Salvation Regular army, Asheville Buncombe Customs Christian Ministry (ABCCM), Love Asheville, Haywood Street Congregation and Eblen Charities, among others.

As far as the people approaching you for gas money in a parking lot, this may be unkind of me, but I always presume this is a scam. If you're really touched by the story, go to the gas pumps and offer to put $10 in their tank.

But I usually keep walking at a brisk pace and say I'm sorry but I don't take any cash, which is usually, and sadly, true. Definitely practice non offer to go to an ATM for anybody, and do not handle your wallet or a money prune correct in front end of them. As well, I'd never give someone like this a ride.

This may sound heartless, just I'g going to bet 95%, or more than, of these folks are scammers. I'd also alert the shop manager, and if in that location truly is a need, they tin can contact a social service agency or nonprofit that can help.

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I also asked the Buncombe Canton Sheriff'southward Office about this consequence, and spokesman Aaron Sarver replied.

"For the unincorporated areas of Buncombe County, which is the jurisdiction of the Sheriff'south Office, in that location is not a county ordinance regarding 'panhandling,'" Sarver said.

Now that we've run through all of that, I'm curious: What do y'all proficient readers do in these situations? Consider them scammers? Give them a cadet? Purchase them food? Tell them to go a task?

Drop me a line.

This is the stance of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com

Source: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/02/17/answer-man-roadside-panhandling-legal-how-should-you-handle-it/6754112002/

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