Dismissing panhandlers as lazy 'lets you off the hook,' says advocate

St. John's will have a better chance of ending panhandling if people are united,instead of divided by knee-jerk reactions and quick fixes, says an anti-poverty activist.

"Panhandling is a visible symptomof an increased poverty rate," says Dan Meades, a businessman who alsolives in downtown St. John's.

"The way it needs to be addressed is we need to look at root causes of poverty and not a knee-jerk reaction to criminalizingor passing a bylaw that you can't panhandle on Water Street. That just ignores the realities of our city."

Last week,representatives ofDowntown St. John's met with Coun. Debbie Hanlonat city hall to discuss the issues around panhandling. Some business ownerssaid they have asked people to leave due to aggressive tactics.

"It's not all of them, but without a doubt there's probably over half of them that have more aggressive tactics," Craig Flynn, owner of YellowBelly Brewery, told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show last week.

Meadessaid he has noticed an increase in panhandlers, but isn't as convinced that they are more aggressive.

A choice?

Meades, co-founder of Third Place Cocktail Co.,said people buy into outdated thinking when it comes to panhandlersin order tomake themselves feel better.

"It is really easy to say to be able to say to yourself, 'Ah, he can just go get a job if he wanted to, it's laziness.'That's just not the case," Meades told the St. John's Morning Show on Monday.

"It lets you off the hook, right?"

Meades said several factors can affect employment, including a tough economy that can hit some harder than others, and mental health challenges, too.

"If you've been living on the street, panhandling, it's very difficult to present well to get an interview," he said.

'Let's work together'

Meades questions wherethe outrage or indignationfrom business ownerscurrently speaking out against panhandling is on other issuesrelated to poverty.

"We don't hear them and come out and say, 'Oh, City of St. John's, you definitely can't increase the cost of transit for people living in poverty, low-income individuals or people with disabilities!'We hear nothing from some of the business community on this," he said.

"We want a thriving downtown, and the way we get that is by advocating for things that make sure everybody is prosperous. Let's work together, let's end poverty and then we don't need to worry about [panhandling]."