Our View: Take care revising code; being poor, desperate is no crime | Editorial | Idaho Statesman
Boiseans love Boise for its clean streets, its safe-at-any-hour Downtown, its family-friendly feel. Idaho's isolation has bred a live-and-let-live ethic, a belief that we take care of our own. Big-city problems are problems that occur "somewhere else."
Seeing more and more panhandlers on our busy sidewalks and street corners is disconcerting - for what it says about our once-vibrant economy and about our community self-image.
The city of Boise is looking at doing something to give its anti-panhandling ordinance more teeth. But it's not clear what the right thing is, or what the Constitution permits.
It's right for the city to make sure that panhandlers are not abusive, don't use intimidation and don't obstruct or harass local businesses. The community has an interest in keeping streets and other public places safe and welcoming; nobody benefits when parts of town become dangerous, off-limits eyesores.
And it's right that the city and social-welfare institutions educate big-hearted Boiseans who are confronted by a rise in panhandling. The fact is that not giving is usually the right thing. The city is following the lead of communities across the nation in handing out brochures that tell people that the best way to respond is by helping soup kitchens and shelters with their dollars, and to direct the homeless or hungry person to go there.
The fact is, many - though not all - advocates for the homeless say that panhandlers often use the money they get on the street corner to buy booze or drugs; giving that person your money just encourages them to keep making the bad decisions that landed them on the street. Other panhandlers are just people out to make a buck with a fictitious sad-luck tale.
That said, it's not clear what more a tougher law can do that still respect people's rights. Being out of work is often not the individual's fault. Being poor, needy and desperate is not a crime. It's a there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I reality for too many of our neighbors.
As distressing as their presence may be, Boise needs to be careful not to make panhandlers' lives worse by treating them like criminals.
Boise also need to respect freedom of choice - for givers as well as panhandlers. Some people don't want to give money to a religious-themed charity. Some people think the best way to help the guy at the corner is with a $20 bill. They want to know their money goes to a real person, not to an organization's marketing, management or overhead.
We don't want a law that tells people they can't do that.
What's the best way to get panhandlers off the streets?
We can support our effective, efficient shelters and food programs.
We can support more options for affordable housing.
And we can get the economy moving and creating jobs again.
The best ways of responding to panhandling don't have anything to do with tinkering with city code.
"Our View" is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman's editorial board. To comment or suggest a topic, e-mail editorial@idahostatesman.com.
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