{"id":110,"date":"2011-07-18T10:46:43","date_gmt":"2011-07-18T10:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/\/?p=110"},"modified":"2018-04-27T15:14:56","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T19:14:56","slug":"can-you-spare-some-change-considering-possible-responses-that-may-promote-our-common-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/city-government\/can-you-spare-some-change-considering-possible-responses-that-may-promote-our-common-good","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCan you spare some change?\u201d Considering Possible Responses that May Promote Our Common Good"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/span>Recently our nephew John, a doctoral student at Clemson, visited Raleigh for a chemistry symposium.\u00a0 When asked about his impressions of the Downtown, the first thing he mentioned was the number of people who approached him on the street, asking for money.\u00a0 He is not alone in his feeling of discomfort at being confronted by requests for change.\u00a0 District Captain Kevin Craighead of the Raleigh Police Department mentions that panhandling is the most common concern expressed by Downtown residents.\u00a0 See our previous post \u201cDLA Helps Draft Panhandling Ordinance\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many have gotten involved in this issue over time.\u00a0 As early as March 2000, a newsletter of the Historic Glenwood Residents Association discussed possible approaches that residents and businesses could take to meet the growing challenges posed by vagrants displaced from center city park benches and drawn to the development in Glenwood South, \u201c<\/a>Street people, OUR Neighborhood, YOUR Business\u201d<\/a><\/em>. The emphasis has often focused on employing legal means to control this invasion on our sense of safety and well being.\u00a0 Ordinances are in place which require licensing for solicitation and restrict distances from businesses, bank machines and bus stops, as well as limiting hours to after 8AM and before 8PM.<\/p>\n

But there is another way to greet panhandlers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As a past resident of several large cities, including London and Philadelphia, I\u2019ve noticed a different, more inclusive attitude toward street people.\u00a0 In fact, there was a man named Earl who spent each day at the bottom of the steps that joined our Philadelphia condo building to the underground train terminal.\u00a0 As business commuters passed by him, I noticed that people would greet him by name.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Earl!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHi, Earl.\u00a0 Your cold better today?\u201d\u00a0 Over time, I started taking leftovers downstairs to Earl, and especially fruit, which he told me he loved.\u00a0 One day when he wasn\u2019t there, I left bananas and apples at the 7-Eleven near his post, and the clerk promised to give them to Earl when he returned.<\/p>\n

I learned from these people that there was another way to greet panhandlers.\u00a0 Not everyone gave Earl money or food, but most were influenced by the friendliness shown to him. \u00a0I would say that the greetings that flew his way actually gave us all a sense of community that might not have existed otherwise in that stream of suits that came and went by the clock.\u00a0 I decided then that the bare minimum I could offer anyone was to look them in the face and simply see them.<\/p>\n

Something funny happened when I started to do that.\u00a0 I felt safer.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t need to worry any more about that feeling of dread that used to wash over me as someone approached.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t offer them money, but I also didn\u2019t let our interaction steal our dignity.<\/p>\n

I believe that our fear in the economic downturn has increased our avoidance of panhandlers.\u00a0 As many have faced job losses and increased financial hardships, we see in them what visits us in our worst nightmares.\u00a0 We have an opportunity here to express compassion for ourselves through witnessing them with kindness.<\/p>\n

How do we do that in a way that keeps us safe, and doesn\u2019t promote panhandling?\u00a0 The Downtown Raleigh Alliance suggests giving money not to individuals, but organizations that provide support like the Raleigh Rescue Mission<\/a>, the Salvation Army<\/a>, Urban Ministries<\/a> and The Healing Place<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So one scenario might be:<\/p>\n

Hey, you got some spare change so I can get a hamburger?<\/em><\/p>\n

No, but I do contribute to _________, and I know that they have services that could help<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are those who go over the line.\u00a0 If you feel in danger, contact a Safety Ambassador (919-368-7962) or call 911 to dispatch the Raleigh Police Department.\u00a0 But there is a distinction to be made, so that you don\u2019t feel blanketed by anger and annoyance each time you\u2019re approached.\u00a0 This is part of our choice in living Downtown.\u00a0 In the suburbs, we segregated with others who shared our backgrounds and we looked at the rest of the world through our windshields.\u00a0 But by choosing to live Downtown, we choose face-to-face diversity that sometimes creeps into the shadowed places we’ve avoided, including in ourselves. \u00a0 Sometimes that feels uncomfortable, undeniably, yet it also comes with possibility.<\/p>\n

I sat with City Councilman Thomas Crowder at a luncheon for Artsplosure<\/a> today and I mentioned urban living as the new frontier.\u00a0 His Downtown district covers diverse economic and social backgrounds.\u00a0 We all have the opportunity to rise together above old fears and judgments.\u00a0 There is so much potential on these streets, and we can all be part of it by embracing our commonality and discovering solutions together.<\/p>\n

The change we seek can start, one greeting at a time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

For additional information developed\u00a0<\/em>by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance go to <\/em>www.PromoteRealChange.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/span>Recently our nephew John, a doctoral student at Clemson, visited Raleigh for a chemistry symposium.  When asked about his impressions of the Downtown, the first thing he mentioned was the number of people who approached him on the street, asking for money.  He is not alone in his feeling of discomfort at being confronted by requests for change.  District Captain Kevin Craighead of the Raleigh Police Department mentions that panhandling is the most common concern expressed by Downtown residents.  See our previous post “DLA Helps Draft Panhandling Ordinance”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many have gotten involved in this issue over time.  As early as March 2000, a newsletter of the Historic Glenwood Residents Association discussed possible approaches that residents and businesses could take to meet the growing challenges posed by vagrants displaced from center city park benches and drawn to the development in Glenwood South, “<\/a>Street people, OUR Neighborhood, YOUR Business”<\/a><\/em>. The emphasis has often focused on employing legal means to control this invasion on our sense of safety and well being.  Ordinances are in place which require licensing for solicitation and restrict distances from businesses, bank machines and bus stops, as well as limiting hours to after 8AM and before 8PM.<\/p>\n

But there is another way to greet panhandlers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2830,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110\/revisions\/2830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}