Have you seen the Make it Count donation boxes in businesses around downtown Durango? They say, “Make it count and show that Durango cares by giving to nonprofits and not to panhandlers.”
It seemed so positive until that phrase about panhandlers, which left me queasy. I emailed the Business Improvement District, asking if it could strike the phrase about panhandlers to keep the message positive. After some back and forth dialogue, the result was that the wording would stand.
Here’s where I stand: Yes, let’s support our local nonprofits. Their work supports many in need. However, singling out a group to not support suggests that this may not be a humanitarian effort. Is BID’s agenda to “clean up” downtown Durango? If that’s not accurate, why the phrase about panhandlers?
Offering generous people an option to give is enough. They can assess, when encountering an individual, if this is someone who looks too cold, hungry or tired and could use some immediate assistance. Kindness and compassion are deserved by all. Intolerance, hate and fear are ineffective in resolving issues. Singling out panhandlers is mean-spirited at the very least. I’m ashamed to have citizens and visitors confronted by this language while being asked to open their hearts and wallets for others.
Lisa Pedolsky
Durango
