City of Amarillo launches ‘Say No To Panhandling’ campaign

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Amarillo drivers may be seeing some new signs going up around the city, in response to Amarillo’s ‘Say No To Panhandling’ campaign.

The campaign offers an alternative option to giving for those who want to help.

Mayor Cole Stanley says he hopes it will offer a long-term solution to keeping everyone safe while aiding those who are soliciting on the streets and intersections in the city.

“We’re trying to encourage a safer way to give, you can go to the ‘DOT gov’ website and you can give to that organizations where we’re able to resource those funds in a better way through all the human resources that we have,” says Mayor Stanley.

The goal is to protect city drivers from accidents and to protect from those who take advantage.

“This is a way for us to advertise to our community that you’re really not helping like you think you are by stopping traffic and handing somebody cash that may or may not be using that for a good purpose,” said Mayor Stanley.

The mayor is urging everyone to think about the consequences that come from supporting panhandling.

“They stand in the median, they present a road way hazard by being in the road way which is something we can’t allow for safety and public safety reasons, but then they’re not homeless and they’re able to get a job and they’re able to work and they are literally praying on the kindness of our populations,” Mayor Stanley said.

The city is offering an alternative approach to helping, by providing a list of non-profits you can give to in our area, like United Way of Amarillo & Canyon.

“Partner providers that have asked for funding from the United Way of Amarillo & Canyon go through a strenuous process of allocations and they are fully vetted, we know that the money is turning and going right back to a program that’s gonna benefit anyone in the community under our mission,” said 2-1-1 Curator, Janell Manahem.

Mayor Stanley says the city will continue to put up signs in areas with high panhandling activity.

“We definitely want to help those that we can help, but we want to help them the right way so there’s truly a safer way to give,” said Mayor Stanley.

For a list of places you can give instead of supporting Panhandling, click here.

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