Montgomery County officials are seeking a total ban of roadside solicitation, which would prohibit homeless people and firefighters alike from seeking donations from road medians. County Executive Ike Leggett receives complaints every week about solicitations from the homeless and charity seekers on the county’s main roadways, according to his spokesman, Patrick Lacefield. The County Council’s public safety and health and human services committees said at a meeting Thursday that they plan to seek support from the rest of the council to change legislation submitted to the Maryland General Assembly to allow the county to ban roadside panhandling. Currently the bill asks the legislature to allow the county to require permits for roadside solicitation. Seven of Maryland’s 23 counties have a total ban.
However, some council members are concerned about backlash from the county’s firefighters, who count on drivers’ charity for their annual Fill the Boot campaign. Last year, they raised $212,000 for muscular dystrophy in their three-day campaign.
Donnie Simmons, who spearheads the campaign, said he is worried that a ban would push the firefighters to raise money in stores instead.
“It’s proven the money’s not there,” he said, citing a ban in Anne Arundel County that pushed firefighters into stores to collect change, resulting in $5,000 fewer fundraising dollars.
Councilman Marc
Elrich, D-at large, joined other council members in saying a once-a-year campaign does not justify the enforcement nightmare of permitting.
“Once you open it up to this, you open it up to everything,” he said. “Police are going to waste their time trying to figure out who has a permit.”
Other council members questioned who would regulate permits and how much the system would cost.
Councilman George Leventhal, D-at large, who has spearheaded the effort to end panhandling, said legislation alone will not address homelessness.
“Unless we change the behavior of the people giving the change, panhandlers will continue in some shape or form,” Leventhal said. He suggested fining drivers who give to roadside solicitors.
Sally Kaplan of Bethesda Cares, a nonprofit that addresses homelessness, said current efforts, such as meters where people can drop spare change, have not been successful.
“The reality, of course, is there are just not enough spaces [in shelters] for the folks that are out there,” she said.
