SAN ANTONIO — Signs reading "Panhandling. It's okay to say no for your safety and theirs. Please give to local charities that help those in need," stand across four intersections on the northside.
Councilman for district 8, Manny Pelaez is behind the signs.
"I'm asking San Antonio to make a difficult choice, and that is when they see somebody in trouble in need of help to not roll the window down, but instead when they get home, open your web browser and make donations to the agencies that are going to use those dollars and stretch them," he said.
It isn't the first time the councilman has discouraged people giving to panhandlers. In 2019, he helped launch SA Gives, a program encouraging San Antonio to text donations, instead of giving to panhandlers.
"I don't care about being canceled if what I'm doing is the right thing, right? And what I'm doing is the right thing," Peleaz said.
Christian Assistance Ministry has a location on De Zavala Road, blocks away from the I-10 and De Zavala intersection where some signs stand.
"We want someone to get a higher quality of life and living on the street and begging for money long term shouldn’t be the kind of solutions we want,” said Dawn White-Fosdick, CEO and President for Christian Assistance Ministry.
White-Fosdick is in support of the signs, and the messaging to support organizations instead.
"Long run it is more compassionate if you feel that strongly about helping people to get engaged, volunteer at nonprofits, donate your dollars to that, because I think that we are really working on some solutions to help people,” she said.
SAMMinistries also agrees. In a statement regarding the signage, Nikisha Baker, President and CEO wrote:
"SAMMinistries supports efforts to redirect the compassion of our community away from panhandling and towards local homeless service providers.
We are working collaboratively to facilitate a homeless response system that ensures appropriate interventions for each individual experiencing homelessness. There is no silver bullet because each individual and their circumstance is unique. By harnessing the power, and investments, of our community of supporters, we can have a greater collective impact.
The issue of homelessness has been deemed a top priority for San Antonians. With the help of the community, we can encourage more of our neighbors experiencing unsheltered homelessness to access the resources available and support them in navigating the homeless response system."
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