'Every time you hand out a dollar, you’re killing someone,' video on panhandling says

There's a major difference between panhandlers and people who are homeless, according to a new video called Save Shaw Ave, which focuses on Fresno's homeless problem.

The video features interviews with Pastor Rob Cravy, chief operating officer of the Fresno Rescue Mission; H. Spees, who works for Fresno Mayor Lee Brand; a convenience store owner; and a Fresno man who kicked his addiction and left homelessness by way of the Rescue Mission.

First uploaded on June 29, the video was viewed nearly 6,000 times on Vimeo by midday Wednesday and was shared all over Facebook in groups such as Save Shaw Avenue, which has 1,400 members.

Jim Jakobs said he created the Facebook group in February because he was concerned about numerous business closures and homeless camps that sprang up in their place on Shaw Avenue. A common discussion among members is how to treat panhandlers. Members often will post photos in the group of panhandlers they see along Shaw or when they see homeless camps.

"The cool thing about the Save Shaw Avenue Facebook group is that we have people from across the political spectrum that have come together for a worthy cause: to clean up our neighborhood and make it, once again, a thriving area of Fresno," Jakobs said in an email to The Bee. "I don't want it to be forgotten as the city pushes north to Herndon and beyond."

The video contrasts photos of Fresno from the 1970s with how it looks today, saying trash and homeless camps have become the new normal along Fresno's main thoroughfares.

The video suggests that the money people give to panhandlers only feeds their addiction, and many times those people aren't really homeless or don't spend the money on food.

Cravy sais that most nights, only about half the beds in the Rescue Mission are filled because people don't want to abide by the rules, such as not consuming alcohol or drugs and meeting with a case manager.

The video says people in Fresno who give money to panhandlers prevent them from getting the help they need.

"I think Fresno's at its tipping point," Cravy says. "What our constituents need to hear — what our citizens need to hear — is that every time you hand out a dollar, you're killing someone. If you could visually see where that money is going, whether it tugs on our heartstrings or not to see someone left outside, if you could see them…and you know that's what your money's going toward, then you wouldn't want that for yourself. You wouldn't want that for your family or your kids. Why would we leave people outside? Why would we intentionally hurt them?"

Cruz Avila, chief executive officer of the Poverello House, said, "We must understand that panhandling and homelessness are two separate issues."

Spees says in the video that the Fresno Police Department's officers with the homeless task force say most panhandlers aren't homeless. Up to 90 percent of the people the officers encounter deny services and move on.

Fresno police Capt. Burke Farrah, who supervises the homeless task force, said that number is a low estimate. "It's more like 97 or 98 percent," he said.

Farrah also pointed out the panhandling is not illegal unless someone does it on a road median or freeway on-ramp or off-ramp. He agrees with the video's premise that few panhandlers are actually homeless.

"It's their First Amendment right to fly a sign," Farrah said. "There's not a whole lot we can do from an enforcement point of view on panhandling."

The video includes a short section on Harley Ray Williams, who says he previously lived homeless because of an addiction. He went to the Rescue Mission to turn his life around.

"I was hopeless," he says. "In the height of my addiction, how much money I would need was, I say, at least $25 a day. That was for the drugs that I used, the alcohol, maybe to buy some food. Nah, probably not even to buy food. This is death. My next step is dead. I had a choice: Either I want to live, or I choose death. And so I decided to choose life."

When you give money to panhandlers, "it undercuts the work by these great folks who are doing work in their ministries," Spees said.

It's also hurting businesses, the video says. In an interview on the video, Rani Bassi says she and her husband regret opening their convenience store and gas station at the corner of Shaw and West avenues because so many people give money to panhandlers in the area.

"They come to us because many people give them money, whatever change they have or many buy (things) for them," Bassi says. "Shame on all of us."

Bassi says when she lived in India, the U.S. was held on a pedestal and she believed this country didn't have beggars.

"The moment that the cash flow stops, people will either have to seek help or start stealing," Cravy says. "And either way, they're going to get the help that they need."

Farrah said his officers see holes in social services, mental health services and access to low-barrier shelters. He also pointed out that fewer people facing addiction seek treatment after Proposition 47 decriminalized narcotic possession.

"We appreciate the video and the conversation it encourages in the community," he said. "The more people we can get involved, maybe the more solutions we can come up with."

This story was originally published July 3, 2018 at 3:08 PM with the headline "'Every time you hand out a dollar, you’re killing someone,' video on panhandling says."