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| Grains of Salt |
In a few short months, we've moved away from plans to address 'aggressive' panhandlers via a local law, and instead will be looking to give people a leg up towards improving their situation.
How did this transition occur? According to this article,
Four months ago, then-County Legislator Ryan McMahon proposed a different tactic against "aggressive" panhandling. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh voiced support for McMahon's efforts at the time, but stopped short of endorsing the legislation.
... after extensive discussions with social service providers and others, McMahon and Walsh unveiled what they called "a better option."That option? A $200,000 pilot program designed to provide jobs and support to this both visible and invisible population of the city. The program, called Hire Ground Workforce Development, will provide transportation for up to eight people to job sites three days a week, and also connect them to services, such as drug counseling and health care.
McMahon, now the Onondaga County Executive, said his change in approach came from listening to the experts, something that a good leader should do. He said the old plan, the local law, never had the goal of putting people in jail, but was designed to avoid safety issues that come from panhandlers basically refusing to take 'no' for an answer.
Part of our dialogue was, is there an alternative approach to take, a conservative approach. That's kind of what we're doing here.
