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So you're cozy at home nursing your second bottle of 2 Buck Chuck : 11/25/2009

"Touching someone" I understand but we have so many aggressive behaviors out there and I don't know why there is so much attention on people that simply can't make it and who are for begging for money.

Don McDermott

Panhanlers : 11/25/2009

The panhanlders in Santa Barbara appear to be capable of working. They are not thin with ribs showings, but with big guts. Many of the them have told me that they receive SSI approximately $700 to $800 per month. They panhandle just so they don't have to spend their own money on food and eat at the Rescue Mission or Casa Esperanza. If you decide to give them money go one step futher and invite them to your home. They can work, but chose not to.

BIG GUT

CLUE Supports the Alternative Gicing Portion of the City's Proposal : 11/25/2009

Members of CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) support the City’s efforts to engage the problem of homelessness with “real change.” We are hopeful that the Alternative Giving campaign will provide greater generosity from faith communities, increased awareness about the plight of those who are homeless, and more compassion and dignity for those who are currently living on the streets. We fundamentally believe that permanent housing with services for all those who are chronically homeless remains the most proven, compassionate, and cost effective solution. Until this goal is met, however, we believe that by promoting alternative giving we can provide a wonderful opportunity for a shared sense of responsibility and mutual accountability that meets people’s needs while promoting compassion, mercy and justice that makes the best use of our desperately needed resources.
We encourage everyone to promote the following goals associated with the campaign that we are communicating to our faith communities:
v Give generously to those in need. Each year more than 6,300 people experience homelessness within Santa Barbara County. On any given night, over 4,000 people are homeless. We believe that we can alleviate this problem by being compassionate and strategic in our giving.
v Give good gifts that promote real change. A fundamental premise of the Alternative Giving campaign is to encourage everyone in the community to provide gifts that won’t promote a life of dependency on the streets. We are encouraging everyone to give creatively: hygiene related items, clothes, shoes, pre-packaged foods, and bottled water not to mention equally important gifts like time, compassion, and a listening ear.
v Redirect giving to helpful hands. We continue to affirm the importance of social service providers who remain on the “front-lines” and an important bridge between the needs of those who are homeless and the resources required to meet those needs. These workers represent the best means of helping people off the streets and into more permanent housing.
v Get involved. We are encouraging all of the Santa Barbara faith communities to explore further, ways in which they can personally address the problem of homelessness. In the next few months, we invite you to explore with us the plan in more detail, as well as other related efforts: creating alternative food distribution locations to lessen the impact on particular neighborhoods and the need for greater funding to provide a volunteer coordinator at Casa Esperanza and more outreach staff who can serve the mentally ill on our streets.
v Educate and empower yourself and others for systemic change. We truly support the city’s efforts to make a difference, particularly the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. We commit to collaborate with you in this new effort and to keep everyone accountable to the purpose of the campaign – “real change.”
We are excited to join you in this new giving campaign. We urge everyone to give – compassionately, generously, and strategically. We promise it will be worth it – people always are.

Jon Lemmond

to Don : 11/25/2009

Maybe don mcdermutt needs to leave his apartment and actually go downtown. maybe then you will realize why these people cause so many issues.

full time sb

Who's going to tell the panhandlers? : 11/25/2009

Looks good on paper but how is this more than just more politicizing? Who's going to tell the panhandlers? Will they understand the complexities? Will they remember? Do they care? Who's going to enforce the new laws? Who's going to collect the fines? Is the SB Police supposed to rummage through the panhandler's clothes, backpacks, and shopping carts? These regulations are not worth the paper on which their printed.

sszinke

Panhandlers : 11/25/2009

I moved from the Midwest several years ago and was pretty shocked at what SB considers to be "people in need". Go to Chicago or Detroit, and you will see actual homeless people in real need of help. The level of desperation, mental illness, and lack of compassion in other areas of the country makes SB look like paradise. Most of the panhandlers in SB just choose not to work. They prefer to have BBQs at the beach, drink beer and smoke pot. That is not a person in need, that is a person that chooses not to work. I will leave off with an actual quote from a guy panhandling on State St.
Me: Would you like my leftover sub?
The dude: What kind is it?
Me: Pastrami.
The dude: Oh I don't eat Pastrami
BTW...He had on Ecco shoes

Frank

It's so easy : 11/25/2009

Why didn't we think of this before. Just make it illegal to be poor, hungry or in need.

RHS

What's worse, CIty Council or panhandlers? : 11/25/2009

At least if someone asks me for money, I can say no. They City just loots taxpayers at will for the money to throw away on these programs.

I want my $75k back

Another bad idea : 11/25/2009

This program will be another "feel good" failure. They will continue to panhandle and now get a second income stream! This organized cash giveaway to panhandlers will of course attract more panhandlers to the area. I suspect that the majority of locals will see how stupid this is and how it will backfire - and not participate.

Wally

Tourists enable panhandlers : 11/25/2009

I overheard a tourist on State Street say to his kids, "We are tourists with money and the homeless are tourists without money" and then gave his kids money to give to the homeless. Will brochures with info on this program be put in hotel rooms? I have encouraged the homeless to check out Casa Esperanza which has excellent programs to get the homeless off the streets but only one was interested and she was newly homeless. The chronic homeless? Only time will tell how much this new program will effect them.

State Street shopper

Pan handlers are bums not people in need : 11/25/2009

Exactly how many are even on crutches? There's the one in the wheel chair that chases after people like a dog chasing cars, but the usual cast of characters look perfectly healthy to me. They're simply lazy bums who would rather hassle people for money that they take home tax free (or does anyone here think they're telling the IRS what they get?) than man a register or push a broom at the places they stalk people outside of. Some of them even try to down right guilt trip you when you come out with a product (coffee, etc) because how dare you not have contributed to their laziness. Don't be too surprised if some of these people spend the time you spend at work breaking in to your car or house. They have no self respect so why would or should they respect your belongings. They're vermin. Plain and simple. This isn't the era of ebenezer scrooge and if they wanted to be something they'd be working at the mcdonalds instead of camping outside of it. All the people contributing to these people have accomplished is now encourage teenagers and others to join in. Walk down state st and you'll see it's no longer the over 30 crowd practicing this racket.

GG

$75k for what? : 11/25/2009

I would like to see a detailed report of where each dollar of that 75K went to? maybe a few makeshift boxes for counter tops...oh I get it.... a committee of City Counselors to collect, organize and spend the donations.......

Gumme a break

Gotta love SB : 11/25/2009

Let's see, we are mandated to separate or trash from our recycle things, this makes it easy for the homeless to go through our trash at night. Next the city will expect us to separate the bottles and cans and put them into a bag and place them on top of the trash cans....so our homeless drunks can make it down the streets quicker......
I hope every business on State Street refuses to collect donations at their stores.

Dis-belief

teach them to fish : 11/25/2009

Sorry folks, but as a 2nd generation SB native I have a big problem with the bums panhandling. Homeless are capable people without homes who want to work and will work if given the opportunity. Panhandlers are often people who would rather be given money so they can get drunk, piss on the street and pass out on the beach. What has happened to our city? We never allowed this type behavior and shouldn't now. I hope this law will be enforced by the already over worked police department.

SB Native

Let's be Clear... : 11/26/2009

There is a very small percentage of "homeless" in our county and a very large percentage of "bums"... 18% of ALL the housing in the City of Santa Barbara is subsidized. I'm sure with Helene Schnieder as our Mayor, the 18% will grow considerably. Santa Barbara has become a sancutary for "bums" from across the United States- It's no wonder, look outside at our weather,look at how many "homeless enabling" programs we have in our community. Meanwhile, the City of Santa Barbara's tax base DEPENDS on the tourist dollars and bed tax to survive; yet those same tourists who come here to spend get bums in there face begging for money. From the first stop signal at the base of our off-ramps on the 101 to when they are walking up and down State St.
The issue is there are TWO business' that thrive in Santa Barbara; The "Homeless Industry" (it employs hundreds if not a 1,000+ countywide) which DRAINS the taxpayer funds, and the "Tourist Industry" , which actually PRODUCES money for the City and County... The choice seems clear to me- let's stop continuing to be the homeless MECCA.

Real world

Stop being enablers : 11/29/2009

It's time to stop enabling alcoholics and drug addicts. We need mandatory drug testing before allowing social services (including welfare) to vagrants. If they are interested in working they will stay clean if not they will move on to a more liberal city or get help here.

SB Citizen

Aggressive Panhandlers : 12/7/2009

I just wanted to agree that something must be done. I live on the West Coast of Florida. Panhandlers were mostly passive in the past. Now they have become very aggressive. The hang out in front of stores and in parking lots. I've had them actually chase me and just 3 days ago a woman tried to jump into my van with my family inside and wouldn't leave until I gave her some money. She demanded $10, I gave her $2 and when she stepped back, I drove away rapidly. I sympathize with the homeless, but this aggressive form of panhandling is getting out of hand.

Sean