The recent furor around the need for new panhandling laws has left some in the homeless community feeling unfairly colored by prejudice.
A few people leaving lunch at Manna Soup Kitchen on Thursday all had different views about their own homeless experience. Some had set goals to find housing, and others have embraced the life. But none agreed with business owners, who are growing impatient with panhandlers along Main, especially those who are aggressive.
“You can’t judge an entire group of people by a few,” said Patrisha Niesen Crawford as she worked on a sign for panhandling. It read: “Hit the bottom, just need a helping hand up.”
In fact, she said she had found more kindness within the homeless community than outside it.
“The homeless will help you more than anybody else,” she said.
The city stopped enforcing a blanket ordinance against all begging for purposes of loitering in the fall because it received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union. Since then, the police, nonprofit leaders and community members have noticed an increase in the visibility of panhandlers.
Durango City Council is considering one law that would limit aggressive panhandling and another that would prohibit standing in the median for any purpose. The board will hear public comment about the laws Tuesday.
It already has heard from the business community, which asked councilors last week to take action to help limit the visibility of panhandling, which, they say, hurts the community’s image.
Betty Heuss, owner of Durango Toy Depot, recently recalled at a Business Improvement District meeting panhandlers yelling and cursing at her, a story later retold in The Durango Herald.
Homeless resident Michael Archuleta and others feel unfairly portrayed by stories of homeless residents who spit or curse at passers-by.
“There are guys out there that are very aggressive, but I ain’t one of them,” said Archuleta, who came to the Herald to voice his view.
He also felt stories about homeless who make hundreds of dollars a day misrepresent reality.
“I’ve got $2 in my pocket, and I’ve been panhandling all day,” said Archuleta, who is not homeless by choice.
Another attendee of the business meeting, Mary Shepherd, said panhandlers are drawn to Durango because it is lucrative. She called on residents not to feed the bears or panhandlers.
Kathy Tonnessen, executive director of Manna Soup Kitchen, which provides meals for those in need, was ambiguous about whether it is a good idea to give to panhandlers.
“One person that’s panhandling may go buy food, another may go buy liquor,” she said.
She also could not say whether the homeless people in Durango should be able to make it relying only on existing nonprofit resources in town without panhandling.
But there are some members of the homeless community who have made the choice not to ask for help on the street.
Non-panhandlers Bridgett Watson and her husband, Marcus Shirley, recently started camping after losing their room at Spanish Trails Inn & Suites in April.
“I was paying $510 every two weeks,” she said.
Watson is determined to get back into permanent housing before winter. She started work Monday at McDonald’s.
Another couple, Justin Allen and his girlfriend, Micah Flaniken, recently stopped flying – slang for holding a sign on the street – about once a week. They said they no longer feel comfortable, especially downtown, because of the way they have been treated, saying they have been flipped off.
The couple, who said they have been homeless for years, oppose the advocacy of fellow homeless resident Brian Harwood, who contacted the ACLU about the city’s violation of free-speech rights and helped reverse the city’s enforcement. He now is advocating for an area within the city designated for homeless people to camp legally. But Allen and Flaniken would rather be left alone.
“He’s going to be a problem for the community,” Allen said of Harwood.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
