As has been my custom, I attended the regular meeting of our church board last night. It wasn’t the only meeting going on in our town. I have considered it to be a blessing that for 24 years, my church board meetings have conflicted with the meetings of the homeowner’s association for our neighborhood. So far, I’ve lived peacefully with my neighbors without feeling the need to become active in the homeowner’s association. I read the newsletter, make a conscious effort to abide by the covenants, and try to be a good neighbor. I don’t feel a need to make additional rules and regulations for my neighbors. Frankly, I’m not very concerned about where they park their boats or what color siding they put on their houses. Some of my neighbors are more interested in such matters and have served on the HOA board and its various committees, including the architectural control committee, which approved both my addition of a shed in my back yard and an extension on our deck without any problems. I don’t think they’d let me put a barn in my backyard, but I haven’t asked. They seem to spend many of their meetings arguing about fences and where people park their cars.

Another meeting that I missed by being at a church meeting last night was the regular meeting of the City Council. I’ve attended several City Council meetings over the years. I delivered the invocation at the meeting before our neighborhood was annexed into the city and no one protested that an outsider was speaking at the meeting. Mostly, I’ve gone to the city council when they were discussing city subsidies for the arts or for human services agencies about which I care. It is an interesting process. I’m sure that those who attend more often than I become familiar with how to get on the agenda and when to speak. Mostly, I find it entertaining to watch.

Last night our City Council voted unanimously on a proposed ordinance, which is something that doesn’t happen too often, though votes are rarely close in the council. The new ordinance is replacing one that probably was probably going to be ruled unconstitutional. The “aggressive solicitation” ordinance banned panhandling near vehicles and automatic teller machines and I think also basically outlawed begging for money when you are intoxicated. The new ordinance is called “unlawful behavior in public places.” It says you can’t obstruct the public right of way. I haven’t read the ordinance and I’m not a lawyer, so I might miss some of the nuances of he change, but it seems mostly like the attorneys have tried to make a new law that does what the old law did, but does so in a way that might help the city avoid a lawsuit.

The basic conversation has been going on around the city for some time. Some people are uncomfortable around homeless people and those who suffer from addictions. They want to be able to go about their business without being asked to give money to another person. Some people even feel afraid of the people who are asking for money. I’ve never felt threatened by any of the folks who ask for money on our streets and I walk in the downtown area a lot. Some argue that pan handling makes tourists feel less welcome in our city. Since I travel around quite a bit, I’d observe that most tourists probably come from cities where there is at least as much panhandling, or perhaps more, than is the case in our city. I’ve been in cities of a similar size that have a person with a cardboard sign at nearly every intersection.

That aside, there is another side to the problem. If you are homeless and have no money, and if you use a gentle approach, some people will give you money. You can probably get enough to buy a meal or do a little shopping at a thrift store by standing in the right place and asking enough people if they can spare some change. It probably isn’t as lucrative as busking with a musical instrument, but a “homeless veteran needs help” sign will usually net you a few dollars an hour. If you are homeless and have no money, asking others to give you money seems like one of the few options that you have.

The problem with the old ordinance, and I suspect with the new one as well, is that if you are homeless and have no money and you violate the ordinance by asking for money in the wrong place or at the wrong time, you receive a citation. The maximum penalty for violating a city ordinance in Rapid City is $500 an 30 days in jail. If you are homeless and have no money, the fine goes unpaid, which results in a warrant which makes you prone to arrest and earns you another court date and a possible additional $62.50 for court costs. After a while the money you owe adds up. People who started with a $60 fine plus court costs and cannot pay the fine, often find themselves in jail when they seek help. Additional fines just compound the problem. Jail time is usually suspended with initial offenses, but repeated offenses end up with the person being labeled as a habitual offender, which does result in jail time being attached to subsequent convictions.

The result is that homeless people develop a suspicion of law enforcement and fail to turn to law enforcement officers for help when they need it. They are assaulted and robbed and the offenses go unreported. Sometimes they fail to seek shelter in severe weather because they fear arrest. And if you are homeless and have no money and you are afraid of being arrested, you tend to ask for money in dark corners and alleyways and other places that make the people you ask nervous. New ordinance or old, I think we still have a problem.

I don’t have the wisdom to know the answer. It is probably a good thing that I wasn’t at the meeting, I’m not sure I have much to add. But I’m confident that this is one issue that will come up at meeting after meeting because our systems of helping those who are homeless and have no money don’t provide sufficient help for our neighbors.

I won’t be running for city council. I have enough challenges at the meetings I do attend.

Copyright (c) 2019 by Ted E. Huffman. I wrote this. If you would like to share it, please direct your friends to my web site. If you'd like permission to copy, please send me an email. Thanks!