St. John's business group says it wants to help panhandlers off streets, not banish them

A group representingdowntown business owners wants to see the City of St. John's take progressive steps to help panhandlers off the streets.

Downtown St. John's met with city councillors and members of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary on Thursday to discuss what can be done to help both business owners and panhandlers.

Scott Cluney, executive director of Downtown St. John's, says they want to help the panhandlers off the streets, not forcethem out.

"I think if we can come together as one big group and then provide a little more assistance to those individuals on the street then I think we can curb that panhandling," he said.

Discussing big ideas

One of the ideas kicked around is hiring outreach workers to be a link between panhandlers and the outreach groups that already exist, Cluney said.

They also discussed what is being done in other cities such as the initiative in Charlottetown, P.E.I., to install meters around the city where people can donate to charity.

In Calgary, a lofty plan was launched in 2008 to end homelessnessby this year and cut a chunk out of poverty. In the time since, the program has housed more than 8,000 people.

According to Joanne Thompson, executive director ofthe Gathering Place, getting supports as close to the street level as possible is the key.

She believes the increase in panhandlers is linked to the increase in people availing of their services. It is now a regular occurrence to have more than 350 people at the Gathering Place for lunch on a given day.

The staff meets with guests and listens to their stories, and the same patterns are usually present.

"There's a whole series of complex issues at hand and it is illness and it is addictions, and very few people choose to live hungry and cold and on the street."

How do you curb aggressive behaviour?

Craig Flynn, owner of several restaurants and bars downtown, said some of the panhandlers have become a problem for his businesses.

Speaking to theSt. John's Morning Show,Flynn said some customers at YellowBelly Brewery recently broke up a fight between panhandlers outside their front door.

"It's not all of them, but without a doubt there's probably over half of them that have more aggressive tactics," Flynn said.

It's often the people with behaviour problems that end up living outside the social services system, Thompson said.

"It is incredibly hard to break out of that cycle," she said. "There's expectations around how you behave and how you present and how you are able to speak for yourself and for many people, that's just not possible."

The meeting at St. John's City Hall was just the start of a discussion, Cluney said. Until changes are implemented, the status quo will continue.