JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Giving to someone asking for money on Jacksonville roadways could soon be illegal, not only for the person asking for it but also for those who want to give them money from your car.
It’s expected the city council will approve that legislation on Tuesday but it brings up a number of questions: Why is the law needed and what if you want to give money to someone, shouldn’t it be your choice?
The measure is supposed to keep roadways safe by not having people asking for money in traffic but it also makes it illegal to give them money unless the people asking for money have a permit to do so.
MORE: Jacksonville looking to crack down on panhandling in medians and intersections
The proposal has many like councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr. asking why even make panhandling criminal, and is it something the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office would have time to patrol? He might be the lone vote against the measure on Tuesday.
“So my biggest concern is the unnecessary arrests, the mass incarceration and possibly discrimination,” Gaffney Jr. said. “I’m also concerned about our JSO. We are already short JSO officers. I’m concerned about our JSO officers and the arrest of homeless people instead of being in the communities. So what would this mean for JSO?”
That is also a concern for a group that actually goes onto the streets to help many of those people, Changing Homelessness. The head of the organization Dawn Gilman said those asking for money have reasons, even though we may not agree with why they are doing it.
“People who panhandle need cash for something,” Gilman said. “We can acknowledge that they may have had a job loss, they may need to be able to pay their rent, and there may have been an unexpected expense. It is one immediate way that people can ask for cash without going through any governmental entity. Or if they don’t have any kind of family, friends, civic rich religious group that they belong to. One of my mentors told me many, many years ago, it’s never a bad idea to give poor people money because they tend to do very good things with it to keep themselves and their families afloat.”
Others like Cindy Funkhouser who runs Sulzbacher, which offers emergency housing to people experiencing homelessness, said instead of giving to those on the road, think about donating elsewhere.
“I always tell people that if you really want to help someone that’s homeless, you give to the organizations that are in place to help those folks,” Funkhouser said. “So we have five very large homeless provider organizations right in downtown. And just as an example, Sulzbacher, we’re open 365 days a year, we serve lunch and dinner to anybody that’s hungry, and are never closed.”
If passed, violating the new law could result in a fine after repeated offenses.
News4JAX reached out to JSO to see if it is concerned about the extra workload.
“We are waiting City Council’s vote on this matter. If this proposed piece of legislation should pass, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is prepared to enforce it,” JSO wrote in a statement.