The city of Dallas is asking people to refrain from giving to panhandlers.
, said Hannah Lebovits, an assistant professor of planning and public affairs, who has a doctorate in urban and public affairs. The issue has left many people unable to access secure housing, contributing to a spike in the socially vulnerable population.
Most unhoused people would rather remain “privately vulnerable,” such as by living in their car or a storage unit, or by going to a shelter, she said. Yet when those options run out — whether because of capacity constraints or their own behavior — they’ll become “publicly vulnerable.” “We only tend to see them right towards the end, when they are finally reaching out to the general public to say, ‘Hey, can someone help me? I can't get help any other way,’” Lebovits said. “When we see panhandlers on the street, that's who we see.”To Lebovits, anti-panhandling signs falsely suggest that the homeless are intentionally not seeking aid. But the reality is that there’s a huge gap in services.
Even if panhandlers were to have a good day — say, passersby were feeling generous on a Sunday — the money raised isn’t part of the formal economy, she said. They still don’t have pay stubs or an employer to put on their resume. That cash won’t carry the same economic benefit as a regular job. How can one rent an apartment without proof of income?“There are more kind and understanding and nuanced ways to discuss this issue,” she said.
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