Fort Worth drivers will soon see new blue signs stationed at more than two dozen key intersections across the city.
Emblazoned with the message “It’s OK to say no to panhandlers” in bold, white capital letters, the signs are part of a $55,000 pilot program meant to curb panhandling in Fort Worth. They’re intended to redirect people from donating to panhandlers at intersections and instead consider financially supporting organizations that provide “sustainable assistance” to people experiencing homelessness.
City officials announced the initiative April 11, three months after the project was presented to City Council members at a council work session meeting. It’s part of a broader effort to improve the city’s response to homelessness, officials said in January.
The signs encourage residents to “contribute to the solution” by visiting fortworthtexas.gov/change, where they can find information on how to help people in need. The page includes a list of Tarrant-based organizations focused on reducing homelessness, information on how to report cases of panhandling and legal statutes defining “aggressive panhandling.”
Bethany Warner, the city’s intergovernmental relations manager, said via email that staff will install the new signage at 27 intersections across the city during the next 14 weeks.
Intersections were selected using data from the MyFW app, which residents can use to report panhandling and other complaints. Warner said the app recorded more than 2,000 complaints of panhandling across the city during fiscal year 2024, which was Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024.
The initiative comes as council members have placed a renewed emphasis on addressing the city’s homeless population. During an April 1 work session meeting, several council members expressed a desire to tackle what they described as “the panhandling problem.”
Council member Gyna Bivens said she believes many people who panhandle at intersections aren’t homeless. Instead, she believes there are panhandlers who target specific intersections because they know they can make a living off of the community’s generosity and desire to help those in need.
“Just because you’re giving to a panhandler doesn’t mean you’re helping a homeless person,” Bivens said at the April 1 meeting. “You’re probably helping a business person.”
In an April 14 interview, Bivens said she’s skeptical the signage campaign will do much to address panhandling. Bivens pointed to existing city signs meant to deter panhandling, such as the plain white signs that say “Soliciting from roadway prohibited” at many intersections. To her, the new initiative is putting out “new and improved” signs, but she’s not sure that it’s doing enough.
“I don’t think it’s going to make a hell of a lot of difference,” Bivens said. “I think the average person who thinks people are law-abiding will say, ‘Oh, good, that’s a good idea.’ But at the end of the day, if people are determined to panhandle, they’re going to do that until we do something that makes panhandling not attractive to them.”
In January, council members Charlie Lauersdorf and Jared Williams expressed support for the initiative, saying that they had already implemented similar signage in their districts using their own offices’ funds.
Fort Worth isn’t the first city in North Texas to attempt to crack down on panhandling. In 2023, the city of Arlington rolled out a nearly identical campaign — and, earlier this year, staff reported that the signage has been successful in reducing the number of panhandlers seen at key intersections.
In 2022, Dallas officials approved two ordinances to address panhandling. The first banned pedestrians from standing in roadway medians less than 6 feet wide or in the middle of streets without medians, and the second allowed city marshals to issue citations to people violating the first ordinance.
Bivens has another idea to deter panhandling: “Taking on the donors” by issuing citations to people who donate to panhandlers. That’s a proposal she and former council member Cary Moon floated in 2016 but weren’t successful in implementing. Now, she said, it’s time to revisit the option.
Lauersdorf voiced support for the idea during the April 1 meeting, telling his colleagues that penalizing those who donate to panhandlers gives them “an out” from feeling the need to do so. Williams also agreed.
In January, council members explored a variety of other ideas on how to address, and potentially penalize, homelessness.
Council member Macy Hill encouraged city staff, and her colleagues on council, to consider “the balance between compassion and tolerance.” She floated the idea of a “no tolerance” ordinance to crack down on homeless camping.
“It’s a human dignity issue. It’s a public safety issue. It’s a public health issue, frankly,” Hill said in January. “And I think it’s a direct reflection on how we look at the city of Fort Worth, our values and our cultures, and we can do better, and we owe our citizens better.”
The city is encouraging residents to report instances of panhandling. They can do so by submitting a report through the MyFW app; calling the Fort Worth Police Department’s nonemergency line at 817-392-4222; calling the Fort Worth Contact Center at 817-392-1234 or by simply dialing 311; or by texting 17-835-MYFW (6939).
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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