What can we do to deal with the beggars all over Detroit?

[ragnarok1981]

I don't want to come down on the poor or the homeless, but I think that if Detroit wants to make people like the city and encourage tourism that it really needs to do something about all the homeless not just downtown but all over the city. Downtown it has gotten progressively worse year after year and walking a few blocks from your one place to another you get at times at least 5 or more people asking for money. It is one thing in my opinion to ask for a handout, but lately the guys and sometimes women are getting really aggressive about it and harassing people who don't give them money. In particular there is that one guy who drives me nuts, the guy with the fading red beard who will follow you going "sir, sir, sir, can I have some money for a coney? sir, sir, sir" and he does not stop until you basically scream at him in frustration or relent and give him something. Some of the homeless are clearly in bad health and personally I don't want to get too close because it looks like they have something contagious. When you see someone passed out in a doorway to a office building, or even worse taking a piss on the street or preferably in an alley I think it really makes the city look and quite frankly smell awful [[especially when it gets warm outside). Outside of the downtown area it seems that every major freeway exit/entrance is being staked out by beggers, and at some intersections they are at every corner.

So my question is what do we as a city and community do about this issue? One option talked about in the past was a pan handling ordinance but that does nothing to help solve the homeless problem, it just stops them [[in theory) from begging. Should the city create work programs to employ the homeless and give them jobs? What about those who are clearly in ill health, should we be willing to pay for their health care?
I do not mean this post to be a bitching session about the homeless because they are people too, and have rights, but with that being said I think the problem has a negative effect on the city and needs to be addressed.

[LodgeDodger]

"Sir, Sir" will leave you alone if you intimidate him.

The others? When they ask you for something, just tell them, "No thank you." I'm not sure if it confuses them or if they think I'm a demented old woman.

It works.

[SWMAP]

"The guy with the fading red beard" - I haven't seen him in awhile walking near washington Blvd. and Fort. I was starting to wonder if he's sick.

[Neilr]

"Sir, Sir" will leave you alone if you intimidate him.

The others? When they ask you for something, just tell them, "No thank you." I'm not sure if it confuses them or if they think I'm a demented old woman.

It works.

I look him/her in the eye and say, "Thank you; but not today." And I keep on walking. And like LD, I find it works.

[Danny]

What to do will all the beggers in Detroit?

1. Let them beg.

2. Provide medical and psychological treatment.

3. Give them housing.

4. Give them a job.

Then the beggers would go away. Until then let them beg and for us to give them some quarters, nickels and dimes.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

While the rich and the poor in Detroit are divided.

Neda, I miss you so.

[RickBeall]

1. Let them beg.
2. Provide medical and psychological treatment.
3. Give them housing.
4. Give them a job.
5. Give them a full open mouth, lingering French kiss to show that you fully realize that they are human.
6. Give them Danny's address.

[EastSider]

Ship them all to Farmington Hills and other points north.

[R8RBOB]

@ragnarok1981

If you think the panhandlers here in Detroit are bad, you never want to go to San Francisco. They would put the bums here to shame. I agree that we have a problem here with the homeless but we have to mindful that Detroit isn't the worst place in the world. There are other cities who have the same problems as Detroit but Detroit gets flak because we are Detroit.

[Kevgoblue]

Aaargghhhh!!!! You beat me to it, EastSider. Great idea. And as LBP is such an incredible executive I'm sure he'll come up with a new highly efficient way to deal with the homeless, all the while preserving their dignity. Maybe a new shelter in the heart of downtown Birmingham.

[DetroitPetanque]

New York has aggressive beggers who "interact" with people constantly - yet there's plenty of tourism in New York. That's the same for Chicago; Los Angeles; and most cities that have a large amount of tourists...

Beggers and homeless people aren't typically physical - though they may at times be vocal. That doesn't seem very threatening... at least not to me, a New Yorker.

Beggers and homeless people don't impact tourism; lack of a reason to visit a city is the problem. If people think that there is no attraction then they won't come to Detroit. If there is a good reason to visit Detroit, people won't care about the aggressive beggers and homeless.

[softailrider]

I offered to buy one a bowl of soup earlier today at the Subway downtown [[ the one on Congress ) He said "no thanks" he wanted a sub instead.

[DetroitPlanner]

If any of you go out west to visit a National Park, you will see signs warning you not to feed the bears. Fed bears have a reason to return. If you don't feed them they will go away.

[R8RBOB]

I offered to buy one a bowl of soup earlier today at the Subway downtown [[ the one on Congress ) He said "no thanks" he wanted a sub instead.

Then you should have told his broke ass to go and buy a sub.

[iheartthed]

New York has aggressive beggers who "interact" with people constantly - yet there's plenty of tourism in New York. That's the same for Chicago; Los Angeles; and most cities that have a large amount of tourists...

Beggers and homeless people aren't typically physical - though they may at times be vocal. That doesn't seem very threatening... at least not to me, a New Yorker.

Beggers and homeless people don't impact tourism; lack of a reason to visit a city is the problem. If people think that there is no attraction then they won't come to Detroit. If there is a good reason to visit Detroit, people won't care about the aggressive beggers and homeless.

Agreed. Detroit beggars are nothing compared to NYC beggars. And in NY they literally make it into an art form. It's a very competitive field.

Heck, even Ann Arbor has a significant beggar population.

[BrushStart]

This is just in jest, but we could buy them all nice clothes so that it makes the city look more populated with pedestrians rather than bums.

[Hypestyles]

...being ambushed at a fast food drive-in is annoying.. on the other hand, if it prevents folks from being dependent on junk-food..

Some of these closed schools can be converted into homeless shelters.. partner with local non-profit/philanthropic groups..
when the Masonic Temple has an event, how does management deal with the local homeless folk?

[adamjab19]

It's called the pre-show bum sweep. About 15 people line up and go through the grounds and kick out the ho's, bums, and dead krak-heds. Finally one of those jet blower trucks comes by to blow away any remaining ish. If you look closely right before a show some of the more resilient will hide behind the trees at Cass park there.

[rhythmc]

Not sure what can legally be done about the homeless. If they don't bother anyone, there's not much police can do if they are in public space. I lived in Chicago and found one sleeping in the back vestibule of my building on the Mag Mile. I looked, he looked, and he went back to sleep. It was weird, but nothing happened. In the DC area, they're all over the place, including the tourist sites.

Just let them be.

Oddly enough, I'm surprised with all the prosperity of the county to the north that there are still homeless downtown, with all it's issues.

[jt1]

I think that the homeless and panhandler [[as well as NSOs, group homes, etc) shoudl be distributed evenly throughout the region. The region is never happy when Detroit gets more than other cities so we shoudl also share this

[gazhekwe]

Busking and begging have been an issue for many many years and in many cities in the US. I've been panhandled in New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DC, Baltimore, Portland, OR, San Francisco, Denver, Tuscon and Albuquerque to name a few.. Buskers are the ones that will do tricks for you, expecting a handout as reward. Never look to see where a whistle is coming from. I just say "No, thank you, not today," smile and keep going.

[401don]

Toronto and Vancouver have huge numbers of beggars downtown. A lot of runaway teens from small towns tend to migrate to these cities and the homeless problem is just as bad. The problem in Detroit is not the number of beggars, it's the lack of other pedestrians. You are one-on-one with the beggars instead of part of a crowded sidewalk.

[BrushStart]

Not sure what can legally be done about the homeless. If they don't bother anyone, there's not much police can do if they are in public space. I lived in Chicago and found one sleeping in the back vestibule of my building on the Mag Mile. I looked, he looked, and he went back to sleep. It was weird, but nothing happened. In the DC area, they're all over the place, including the tourist sites.

Just let them be.

Oddly enough, I'm surprised with all the prosperity of the county to the north that there are still homeless downtown, with all it's issues.

That's the thing; there's no way Oakland County would let them hang out there. Police would send them right back beyond the Detroit city limits. This is why you don't see bums wandering in the Pointes.

Detroit needs to take 2 large buildings and convert one into a recovery center that provides temporary living quarters, drug rehabilitation, psychological treatment, a health clinic, job training, food and other basic necessities. The other facility needs to offer similar amenities, but should be situated as long-term housing for those who are handicapped both physically or mentally and cannot care for themselves. Weekly drug testing would be a must, and if a resident dropped dirty, their case is referred to the police for investigation. This would eliminate a substantial amount of homeless beggers.

The facilities should be large-scale and funded by regional government as well as charitible organizations and philanthropy. Everything should be organized under a centralized management to keep costs low. Local churches and ministries should be encouraged to divert funding from their shelters and kitchens and apply those resources to the main facility. The state health department should audit the facilities monthly to ensure that they are humane. High school students could volunteer their time, and grad students could volunteer and do internships in basically any of the medical fields. Other volunteers could also contribute.

Sure, some people will fall through the cracks and end up back on the street, but many will be successful and climb out of their situation. Overall, Detroit would improve immensely and a wide-variety of crime would decrease, i.e. drug crimes, property crimes, and robberies. Many of the homeless are the result of Engler closing the state's mental health facilities. Local charities did not have the resources to absorb that amount of people, so they ended up on the street.

[5speedz34]

The last time I gave a homeless guy money is when he knew the breed of my dog [[it's a cockapoo). I found it funny that he knew. Otherwise I just ignore them and act like they aren't there.

I know some people though who are intimidated and scared of bums.

[RYANGUARD]

This is not a problem that just happened.When I started at Cass tech in 1971 there were always people panhandling down there.But then again there were cheap places to stay in the Cass Corridor at $5 a night hotels.There were mental health treatment facilities that they could go to,for example Northville,Ypsi State Hospital,Eloise,Herman Kiefer,Lafayette Clinic.Now,without the safety net that these facilities provided,we have a problem.The biggest problem is who would pay for these types of places again.Instead,for the most part,the jails and prisons handle these types of people that are on the fringe of our society.So rather than send some of these people to a state run mental health institution when they need an intervention,they get sent to the Wayne County Jail or a Michigan State Prison.There were safe places for the majority of these people to go to but now the State sends X amount of dollars to each county to use for mental health programs.No more big institutions so now we have more "street" people....

[MaxDetroit]

@ragnarok1981
If you think the panhandlers here in Detroit are bad, you never want to go to San Francisco. They would put the bums here to shame. I agree that we have a problem here with the homeless but we have to mindful that Detroit isn't the worst place in the world. There are other cities who have the same problems as Detroit but Detroit gets flak because we are Detroit.

Amen. I've recently been to SF, LA & Seattle, places where supposedly the $hit Don't Stink. They have panhandlers all over the place, much more aggressive than the ones here. It isn't unusual to be literally accosted by them. This dirty little secret is swept under the carpet by armies of marketing specialists hired by the tourism industry to continually burnish the city's reputation and make sure the tourism dollars continue to flow.