ADDA Discusses Downtown Panhandling
Every city has its panhandlers and people sleeping on the street, as Athens Downtown Development Authority board member Drew Dekle pointed out at a recent meeting, but to many, the problem seems to be growing worse lately, and business owners say it’s driving away customers.
The ADDA—made up of city officials, downtown property owners and business owners—had a frank discussion about homelessness and panhandling at a Mar. 14 board meeting. The two are not always the same, Athens Area Chamber of Commerce President David Bradley was careful to note.
Bradley, whose office is downtown, said he’s personally experienced less panhandling in the past year or so. But, “other peoples’ perception is their reality,” he said, and the perception is that downtown Athens has a problem.
“We have a high population of people who are downtown all the time, and I think people pick up on that,” especially visitors, said Jeff Bishop, a banker at First American.
In discussions with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team, which pairs officers with mental health professionals, ADDA co-director David Lynn said he learned that police are making fewer arrests for offenses like public urination or disorderly conduct since 2020, when George Floyd’s murder led to policing reforms nationwide.
ACC attorneys and the courts have long held that asking for money is protected by the First Amendment, but “aggressive” panhandling is a crime in Athens. However, most victims don’t want to bother with filing a police report, then showing up in court to testify, especially if they live out of town.
“Anyone can ask you for a dollar. It’s almost like asking you for directions to Clocked,” Lynn said. “But when you’re at a parking meter, you’re at an ATM, and they won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, that’s aggressive panhandling… If they leave you alone, that’s free speech.”
Nor is having a mental illness a crime. Sometimes, though, the only way to help a mentally ill person who is, for example, screaming on the street is to arrest them so they can get into the system and access services, Lynn said.
Some cities have banned camping or sleeping on the sidewalk, but that could be politically unpopular in Athens, said Lynn, a former county commissioner. One of the challenges of enforcing a loitering ban would be to craft the wording in a way that separates panhandlers who annoy people from, say, buskers who add to the charm of downtown.
Another idea that Bradley and ADDA co-director Linda Ford have suggested—inspired by Greenville, SC—is signs or card readers where people could download a QR code or swipe a card to donate to nonprofit organizations rather than give to panhandlers.
Ford had another suggestion: “In some communities you have to have a license—it’s free—to panhandle,” she said.
Even though it may be a hassle, Ford said she encourages downtown merchants to call police about aggressive panhandlers so that a police report is on record.
The topic could come up during a planned ADDA dinner with the ACC Mayor and Commission next week, where plans to improve the College Square pedestrian plaza and the ADDA’s parking management contract will also be discussed.
Homeless Coalition Gears Up
A new organization created to implement a strategic plan addressing homelessness has appointed a board of directors and plans to hire an executive director and other employees within the next few months.
The Athens Homeless Coalition, formerly a loose group of nonprofit service providers, was reorganized after receiving $1.1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds from the Athens-Clarke County government last fall. Its new board includes a four-member executive committee led by Envision Athens Executive Director Sally Kimel-Sheppard, with Laura Paterson, until recently the pastor at Oconee Street United Methodist Church and now at Princeton UMC, as vice chair and chair of the faith-based committee; Cole Shackleford, founder of the website and branding company MORE, as secretary and chair of the coordinated entry improvements committee; and Clarke County School District CFO Chris Griner as treasurer. Other board members include Katherine Rose Adams (chair of the lived experience committee made up of people who’ve experienced homelessness), Norman Baldwin, Linda Ford, Jason Leonard, Charlie Maddox, Ed Moore, Monica Magee and Tony Sanchez. Jason Jacobs resigned last week, when he qualified to run against Commissioner Melissa Link. “This is an amazing board,” Kimel-Sheppard told ACC commissioners at a Mar. 14 work session.
Kimel-Sheppard said the board is set to interview two candidates for executive director, and short-term goals include better coordination among nonprofits and other agencies like police, hospitals and CCSD to get a better grip on the size of the homelessness problem and to get more people into the system to receive help. Because ARPA funding is time-sensitive, the executive director will also be tasked with finding new sources of funding when it runs out.
Commissioner Dexter Fisher defended the recent decision to award a grant to the Salvation Army without going through the normal bidding process, which Kimel-Sheppard and others in the nonprofit community had criticized because other service providers were locked out of the opportunity to apply. “I’m never going to apologize for giving money to a nonprofit that’s doing good in our community,” Fisher said.
Kimel-Sheppard said that the disagreement led to a “productive discussion” on all sides.
Not Enough Nonprofit Funding
ACC commissioners are set to award more than $3 million in federal funding to local nonprofits for affordable housing and social services, but it isn’t nearly enough to meet needs, based on the number of applicants.
The annual formula funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development comes in two forms: $1.8 million from the HOME program—block grants for affordable housing—and $1.4 million from CDBG, which can be spent on affordable housing as well as economic development programs and social services, particularly in impoverished Census tracts like East Athens and the Hancock Corridor.
Competition for funding is always fierce. This year, the ACC Housing and Community Development Department received about $7.4 million worth of requests for the $3.2 million in funding. “Unfortunately, there just was not enough to go around,” HCD Assistant Director Melinda Lord told commissioners at a Mar. 12 work session. Applications are vetted by HCD and winners recommended by the Vision Committee made up of local residents, but the commission has the final say.
Recommendations for HOME funding include: $1 million to the Athens Housing Authority to build four houses in its Savannah Heights development off Vine Street; $400,000 for Micah’s Creek, an Athens Area Habitat for Humanity development of tiny-ish homes off Lexington Road; and $430,000 to the Athens Land Trust to renovate single-family homes on Colima Avenue and Reese Street.
The Vision Committee recommended that the ALT, Habitat, AHA and Historic Athens split $570,000 from CDBG for affordable housing. The East Athens Development Corp., the ALT and Goodwill of North GA would split $262,000 earmarked for economic development. HCD takes 15%, or $256,000 this year, to cover administrative costs. The Sparrow’s Nest, Family Promise of Athens, Advantage Behavioral Health Systems, The Ark, Georgia Conflict Center and the ACC High School Completion Initiative are recommended for small grants of about $30,000 each under the public services category.
Under public facilities, the Salvation Army is slated to receive $50,000 for roof repairs at its homeless shelter, and the ACC Leisure Services Department $58,000 for improvements to the Lay Park basketball courts.
The latter did not sit well with Fisher, who said it doesn’t look good for the ACC government to be taking these funds. However, Lord said that Lay Park serves the target area, and that there is unspent money from last year that would have to be returned if Leisure Services does not spend it.
The highly competitive nature of these grants was illustrated when several commissioners went to bat for organizations the Vision Committee eliminated—Link for the ALT’s Young Urban Builders, for example, and Commissioner Jesse Houle for child care nonprofit Wee Care. The Young Urban Builders are currently funded with ARPA, while Wee Care has no presence in Athens, Lord said.
Nine local nonprofits are also recommended for funding with $550,000 in local tax dollars under the new Community Partnership Program. This partially replaces the county’s “independent agencies” budget, which funds outside organizations that perform essential government functions. Unlike the independent agencies budget, though, the Community Partnership Program is competitive.
The Vision Committee received 16 applications totalling almost $1.8 million. There was only enough money to fully fund the top nine applicants, Lord said, but the committee opted to spread the money around and fund the top 11 instead. “Some got less, but more got something,” she said.
Recommended recipients include the Bigger Vision of Athens homeless shelter, the Athens Area Homeless Shelter, The Sparrow’s Nest, Acceptance Recovery Center, Project Safe, Georgia Conflict Center, Athens Area Diaper Bank, United Way of Northeast Georgia’s 211 hotline and Divas Who Win.
The commission is expected to vote on the Community Partnership Program grant recipients Apr. 2, and on the HOME and CDBG funding winners in May.
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