CLEVELAND, OH — Two local organizations disagree on how best to help the homeless community in downtown Cleveland.
In downtown Cleveland, construction sounds can be heard for blocks away, and homeless people can get lost in the boom.
Josiah Quarles works with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless to help underprivileged people get off the streets.
“So we’re doing a lot of outreach, reaching out directly to people on the streets and in their homes, and trying to accompany them on their journey to stabilize housing,” Quarles said.
This week, they saw what they called “anxious” flyers on how to deal with homelessness.
“It really suggested that if you feel uncomfortable in any way with someone on the streets or begging, you should call the police. Panhandling is legal and there is nothing illegal about it,” he said. Quarles said.
The flyer was distributed by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and was created to help downtown thrive, said Ed Eckhart, senior vice president of operations for the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. I’m here.
“The goal is for downtown to be inclusive, safe, clean, and welcoming,” said Eckart.
That leaflet says, “Responding to panhandlers,” and includes things like walking away. After that, his last two lines read, “If you really feel threatened, call the downtown ambassador or the Cleveland Police Department, and in case of emergency he will call 9-1-1.”
“These are situations where someone feels physically harmed or is in danger of being harmed. Not when someone is asking you for a dime, That’s not the situation,” Ed said.
Ed advises them to call the downtown ambassador first and leave the police as a last resort. The coalition disagreed with that advice, saying calling the police would only make it harder to find the house.
“It can cause a lot of problems like a criminal record and keep them from getting housing,” Quarles said.
News 5 went downtown to talk to people walking down the street every day about how they feel about begging.
“Many people are already struggling to make ends meet since the pandemic, so I think it’s a little more to not have to give and change attitudes when you don’t get,” Tracy McGee said. She was walking down Euclid Avenue.
“There are aggressive handlers who approach you and become aggressive, but I don’t think calling the police on them is the best step,” said Sharon Kincaid walking down East 9th Street. .
Ed said they plan to keep working to help downtown thrive, and Josiah said he would call Verification if he had questions about how to better help the homeless.
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Source: www.news5cleveland.com
