{"id":15293,"date":"2023-07-12T22:15:41","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T02:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?post_type=wfsu-news&p=15293"},"modified":"2023-07-12T23:09:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T03:09:33","slug":"blue-anti-panhandling-signs-at-leon-county-intersections-ignite-debate","status":"publish","type":"wfsu-news","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/blue-anti-panhandling-signs-at-leon-county-intersections-ignite-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue anti-panhandling signs at Leon County intersections ignite debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Blue signs are going up at Leon County intersections and igniting a fierce debate on social media. The signs urge the public to donate to services for people who are homeless, such as the nonprofit Big Bend Continuum of Care, rather than directly to people panhandling on the street.<\/p>\n

The Leon County Commission approved the signs in May, in partnership with the City of Tallahassee and Big Bend Continuum of Care. The funds collected would support Street Outreach services such as food, lodging and bus tickets.<\/p>\n

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County Commissioner Brian Welch posted a photo of the sign on his social media, saying a citizen had given him the idea and he\u2019d passed it on to the county administrator. Welch was taken aback by the responses, some of which compared the sign to those cautioning people at zoos not to feed the animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see people say that and I frankly disagree with that perspective,” he said. “I mean, the sign literally says, \u2018Go to our Continuum of Care and contribute.\u2019 It\u2019s not \u2018Don\u2019t feed the animals.\u2019 It\u2019s \u2018Let\u2019s provide assistance in the best way possible.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The signs say, \u201cFor your safety and theirs, please do not give to persons in the roadway. Contribute to solutions.\u201d It adds the URL for the Big Bend Continuum of Care, a non-profit that works with unhoused people.<\/p>\n

Commissioner David O\u2019Keefe was the only commissioner to vote against the package of recommendations that included the signs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will say if you look at other parts of Facebook or Facebook groups, there are people that like these signs,” he said. “And so, I do think that part of the motivation for some folks to vote on this and put this in place is to show people that don\u2019t like panhandlers that we\u2019re doing something – which, to me, is not how we should legislate.\u201d \u00a0 <\/p>\n

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