Blue signs are going up at Leon County intersections and igniting a fierce debate on social media. The signs urge the public to donate to services for people who are homeless, such as the nonprofit Big Bend Continuum of Care, rather than directly to people panhandling on the street.
The Leon County Commission approved the signs in May, in partnership with the City of Tallahassee and Big Bend Continuum of Care. The funds collected would support Street Outreach services such as food, lodging and bus tickets.
County Commissioner Brian Welch posted a photo of the sign on his social media, saying a citizen had given him the idea and he’d passed it on to the county administrator. Welch was taken aback by the responses, some of which compared the sign to those cautioning people at zoos not to feed the animals.
“I see people say that and I frankly disagree with that perspective," he said. "I mean, the sign literally says, ‘Go to our Continuum of Care and contribute.’ It’s not ‘Don’t feed the animals.’ It’s ‘Let’s provide assistance in the best way possible.’”
The signs say, “For your safety and theirs, please do not give to persons in the roadway. Contribute to solutions.” It adds the URL for the Big Bend Continuum of Care, a non-profit that works with unhoused people.
Commissioner David O’Keefe was the only commissioner to vote against the package of recommendations that included the signs.
“I will say if you look at other parts of Facebook or Facebook groups, there are people that like these signs," he said. "And so, I do think that part of the motivation for some folks to vote on this and put this in place is to show people that don’t like panhandlers that we’re doing something - which, to me, is not how we should legislate.”
