ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Frustration has set in for St. Augustine residents who told News4Jax they are tired of the growing number of panhandlers in the downtown area.
They will get the chance to hear the city's pitch to fix the problem, Monday night. The City Manager will present short and long term recommendations. The commissioners will also hear from a constitutional law attorney about panhandling and any legal actions the commission may be able to look into.
Downtown St. Augustine is probably one of the most famous areas of Northeast Florida. It’s a tourist hotspot, known for its restaurants and shops and a host of sites to see. Lately, however, some people have said it’s picking up another reputation.
Numerous people said the panhandling problem is getting worse, and believe it could give the tourist destination a bad name.
In between the tourist trains and bistros, you’ll notice droves of tourists looking to spend their money, and a number of panhandlers hoping to get a piece of the pie.
Tourists such as Mike Conover, who was visiting from Kansas, are taking note.
“I think they probably need to move to a different part of town," Conover said. "People don’t come in here to see that kind of thing. It doesn’t go with the area well."
Dana Brown is homeless. On Friday she was camped out on St. George Street and spoke to News4Jax.
“We do this to make money, you know? We make a lot of money off the tourists,” Brown said jokingly.
Panhandling is a hot topic in Downtown. Some people, such as Leslie Kill with Aunt Matilda’s Steampunk Trunk, said the homeless are driving away business.
“I think in the long run, it may affect businesses as people plan future vacations,” Kill said. “They may decide they would rather not come to St. Augustine.”
Many residents and business owners are asking for the city and police to crack down, but officers said they can only enforce the laws in place. As long as homeless people are not aggressive, and they aren’t camping on the streets overnight, they’re not breaking the law.
The homeless people News4Jax spoke with said they aren’t trying to bother anyone despite what some think.
“I want food. I want smokes. I want a big pitcher of beer so I can hang out at the end of the night. That’s it,” Travis Smith said.
“Well, we got to make money somehow. And I’m sorry if it offends anybody, but it’s legal,” Brown said.
A St. Augustine police officer told News4Jax that the department gets calls daily. Officers have cited 17 homeless people in the past 30 days for things like having an open container of alcohol and camping overnight. Occasionally, they will take them to jail, but they’re back out on the streets in a few days, the officer said.
The St. Francis House is a homeless shelter in St. Augustine, but it only has so much room. Nonprofits in the area feed the homeless, but many said there just aren’t enough resources for the number there.
Click here for more information about resources for the homeless. Click here for a link to the St. Francis Shelter's website.
Last year, officials recorded more than 800 homeless people living in St. Johns County.