If you want to help, don’t give.
That’s the message of a new educational campaign to curb panhandling that was launched today by the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Business Improvement District.
The campaign encourages people to visit www.GiveABetterWay.org, which offers tips on how to deal with panhandlers. It also links to a website for the city’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, where people can donate directly to United Way.
“What’s most important is that people want to give and we really value peoples’ charity in our community, it is important, however, that when they give, they understand what they’re giving to,” Tami Door, president and chief executive of the partnership in a statement.
To spread the message, the Business Improvement District plans to distribute 150,000 brochures throughout the 120-block downtown business district over the next month. It will also hang posters in shuttle stop towers along the 16th Street Mall.
“The citizens of Denver need to know that giving to panhandlers does not help them get off the street,” said Door. “They should be able to recognize aggressive panhandling, and know who to call to report it.”
A survey released last August by the district and the City and County of Denver’s Office of Economic Development of found that Denver residents give $4.5 million to panhandlers annually, at an average donation of $1.84.
In May 2005, Denver officials unveiled a 10-year, $122 million plan to end homelessness, with a focus on developing more transitional-housing units and expanding support services.
