Valley ponders panhandling

Their faces are no doubt familiar to Spokane Valley residents. The young woman at Pines and Sprague. The man at Thierman and Appleway. And others who stake out their spots near the Interstate 90 interchanges.

Spokane Valley residents often complain to the city’s staff about panhandlers, and on Tuesday the City Council discussed its options for curbing the activity.

“It’s a very undesirable element out there,” Councilman Gary Schimmels said.

But alternatives for restricting beggars are limited, said Deputy City Attorney Cary Driskell. The Washington state Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld panhandlers’ rights under laws that protect their freedom of expression.

The council considered placing signs near congested intersections that encourage drivers to donate to charities that serve downtrodden people rather than giving cash directly to individuals.

“Obviously people would not be there if they didn’t continue to receive funds,” Councilman Dick Denenny said. “Your best avenue to help these people is to give to agencies that can provide a full gamut of services.”

The council also discussed enforcing laws that prohibit blocking the flow of traffic and starting a program with restaurants in which citizens could buy food vouchers and donate them to the individuals. Councilman Richard Munson asked whether the city could require panhandlers to register as business owners.

In the city of Spokane, panhandling has sharply declined during the past eight years, said Larry Killstrom, director of the Downtown Spokane Partnership’s Security Ambassadors and Clean Team. He attributes that to collaboration between the ambassadors, who patrol in the city’s core, the Spokane Police Department and downtown businesses.

Killstrom said if generous people gave to charities rather than to panhandlers, the number of people begging for money could be further cut.

Downtown businesses have launched a couple of programs aimed at donors. Four years ago, they posted signs that read “Keep the Change,” but the group abandoned the project after social workers said the message was offensive, Killstrom said. Three months ago, businesses placed collection containers downtown into which citizens can drop cash. The funds are given to homeless shelters.

Killstrom said he didn’t know how much money the container program has raised and that it was too soon to say whether it is effective in curtailing panhandling.

“Some of them get fuller than others,” he said. “Our next step will be to advertise it more.”

Spokane Valley’s council will consider the panhandling issue at a later date. In the meantime, some wonder whether the number of panhandlers in the new city will soon grow.

The city of Spokane recently passed an ordinance that bans camping on public property. Spokane Valley Police spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said he doesn’t think Spokane’s new law will spur a migration of homeless people to Spokane Valley, where there is no such law.

“Those folks are going to stay nearest to where the hot meals and shelters are,” he said. “Those are primarily in Spokane.”

But Bow Mackenzie, a homeless Vietnam War veteran with crystal-clear eyes and a firm handshake, said he’s seen a lot of new faces in Spokane Valley since talk of the Spokane ordinance began.

Mackenzie waved to drivers on I-90’s Sullivan Road off-ramp Tuesday. A woman handed him a $5 bill—a very generous amount, he said, putting the money in a knapsack packed loosely with a can of Pringles and a bag of tortilla chips.

When asked how he would get by if the city banned panhandling, Mackenzie’s reply was frank.

“I wouldn’t,” he said.