Story behind the signs: County posts 'please do not give' signs to curb panhandling

In medians scattered around the city of Tallahassee and Leon County, drivers are seeing blue signs discouraging them from giving money to people standing in intersections.

The signs are the latest step county commissioners are taking to confront the issue of homelessness, which became more visible in the capital city during and after the pandemic. The signs are being posted as county staff works to develop a countywide ordinance that will make it illegal to hold “a sign or display advertisement in the median of a road for any reason.”

"For your safety and theirs, please do not give to persons in the roadway,” the signs say. “Contribute to solutions.”

The signs include a link for people to donate instead to the Big Bend Continuum of Care, an organization that develops and implements strategies to fight homelessness in eight North Florida counties.

“Your contributions to the Big Bend CoC actually work to try and solve the problem as opposed to just exacerbating it or furthering the problem,” Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Welch said he sees the signs being helpful in two ways: They promote safety by keeping people from potentially stepping into traffic and ensure people’s personal donations aren’t "enabling them and encouraging them to live in a situation that is dangerous and unhealthy."

The signs, which started going up July 6, have sparked criticism from some, including Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, who tweeted a photo of one on Tuesday.

"Wow," he wrote. "I don’t think we need the government telling us what we can and can not do with our own money. We already contribute to solutions via taxes, but there is a refusal to address the actual need in our community."

Funds 'trickled down to the street' level

Last year, county commissioners invested a half-million dollars in the Leon County Sheriff's Office to establish a street outreach team to focus on connecting individuals and families with housing and social services, such as mental and substance abuse counseling and veterans programs.

In a Facebook post unveiling the signs, Welch said "startlingly, our street outreach teams determined that approximately 60% of the people panhandling in Tallahassee were not actually homeless or in need of services." When asked about the figure, he realized he conflated an incorrect number with a 60% increase in the number of unsheltered people in 2022. He edited the post to say agenda materials revealed "most" were not actually homeless, but were rather transient or had homes.

While unable to verify an exact figure, Johnna Coleman, the executive director of the Big Bend CoC, said people tend to assume that every person with a sign is homeless, when that's not always the case. By giving, it encourages more people to take up signs in the median.

By donating to the organization, this is a “for sure way” to know your money will actually be used to fight homelessness, Coleman said.

“For the people who don’t believe their funds will actually get trickled down to the streets, I want to say just give it a chance,” she said.

The CoC oversees homeless shelters and programs to help the homeless, Coleman said. They also help cover day-to-day needs by paying for things like bus tickets, medications, food and travel items.

How many signs will be posted?

So far, the county has produced 22 signs that have been or will be installed at 11 intersections, said Matt Cavell, a Leon County spokesperson. Locations were determined by panhandling activity and right-of-way access, he said. Most intersections will have two signs because of traffic flow.

As of Wednesday morning, the county has already had to replace one that was taken from the intersection of Miccosukee Road and Capital Circle Northeast, Cavell said.

Each sign costs the county roughly $100 to making, Cavell said, totaling about $2,200 to kickstart the initiative.

How the signs came to be and what's next

About a year ago, Welch said a resident had sent him a photo of a similar sign in a different city, and he thought it was an idea worth presenting to the county administrator.

The idea filtered into this year’s homelessness workshop May 23 when commissioners discussed a solutions package of eight different options. In a 6-1 vote, commissioners approved the implementation of the signs and seven other steps that included proposed ordinances and allocation of funds to initiatives already in place.

An additional $500,221 to “expand emergency homeless shelter operations, address unsheltered homelessness and loitering in the community” was authorized as well as direction to staff to bring back an ordinance that would prohibit median panhandling.

If passed, the ordinance wouldn’t be exclusive to panhandlers. It would also apply to people who are advertising things like fundraisers.

“It’s just completely unsafe,” Welch said. “We don’t want car wash kids in the medians either.”

Even with the ordinance, panhandling and advertising can still happen, but it will be limited to sidewalks only, he said. Freedom of speech on sidewalks is a protected right and will never be taken away, even under this ordinance, he said.

Cheers and jeers for the signs

Commissioner David O’Keefe was the only commissioner to vote against the measures at the homelessness workshop. Many of the suggestions were good, O’Keefe said, but he told the Democrat he believes the ordinance, signs and a proposed relocation program are not effective.

“The signs, in particular, I find to be a distraction,” he said. “Here we are all talking about signs when the package included millions in funding to do things that will actually get people off the street; and I think it’s unfortunate.”

Also, he said, a person most likely won’t change their mind because of a sign if they’ve decided to give a panhandler money.

Instead of those measures, O’Keefe believes continuing to fund the homeless outreach street teams and increasing permanent supportive housing are more beneficial uses of time and money.

But regardless of his criticism, O’Keefe said he does believe the county is headed in the right direction.

The signs garnered a mixed reaction on social media.

While some praised the sign idea as a "step in the right direction" and a "solution oriented action," many others expressed concerns about the new signage.

'Absolute chaos': A day in the life of a homeless family of six in Tallahassee

Faces of homelessness in Tallahassee: Meet 15 people living on the streets or in shelters

“All due respect, I think this sign is gross,” a Facebook commenter wrote. “It reads like a ‘Don’t feed the animals’ sign and seems like a waste of resources to lecture folks about what to do with their pocket change.”

Another commenter noted how the city tried this years ago and people would tear down the signs.

While some said the signs dehumanize homeless people, Coleman said this is the exact opposite of what officials are trying to do.

"The important thing for us is to make sure that we are able to serve individuals who are experiencing homelessness and meet them where they are," she said.

Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahasee.com. Follow her on Twitter @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon commissioners target intersection panhandling with new road signs