By Edmond Ortiz
A newly adopted ordinance in Windcrest gives local police more flexibility in directly dealing with individuals who are panhandling or aggressively seeking money from local merchants and residents.
But an executive leader of one San Antonio-based nonprofit that serves the homeless population says law enforcement is only one part of a larger, complex challenge facing communities trying to address unsheltered people.
What is happening
City Council on Aug. 3 unanimously approved a second and final reading of an ordinance that would subject anyone caught for aggressive panhandling or blocking the entrance or exit of a certain public spot to prosecution for a Class C misdemeanor and a maximum $500 fine.
City leaders have said there have been many instances where a resident encounters an individual seeking a handout near automated teller machines, bank lobbies or drive-thrus, check cashing businesses, restaurants, bus stops, crosswalks and cryptocurrency kiosks.
In an April 20 council meeting, Councilmember Rainbow Presti said Windcrest’s code of ordinances had not covered aggressive solicitation and panhandling until now. However, the city has been able to prohibit camping on private property thanks to state law.
At the Aug. 3 meeting, resident Sherillyn Flick, a former council member, said enacting the new ordinance is a matter of bolstering public safety.
“This is a no-brainer,” Flick said, adding that some homeless individuals have been seen traversing alleyways or even entering homeowners’ yards to urinate or defecate.
Resident Elvie Ortiz said she frequently sees panhandlers as well as unhoused individuals camping near retail store doorways.
Ortiz added that an unsheltered person once stole her purse while visiting a local gas station, an incident that scared her from returning to that establishment.
Ortiz said she realizes homeless people want to find someplace where they can rest, and that some are not mentally well or need money for medication and food.
However, she added, unsheltered individuals walking and camping in Windcrest, asking for money and leaving trash make for a public hazard, and create an unwelcoming sight at local businesses.
“What else is the city of Windcrest supposed to do? Do we have resources?” Ortiz asked.
A larger perspective
Focus on San Antonio reached out to Windcrest officials for further comment and information after passage of the panhandling ordinance, but received no response from City Hall.
In recent council meetings, Windcrest officials acknowledged that dealing with homeless individuals is a difficult issue because panhandling is essentially a protected form of free speech, and unsheltered people are unable to pay their fines, so an arrest and a criminal record will not deter many of them.
The state does not ban panhandling. San Antonio and other Texas cities have done little more than adopt ordinances that prohibit aggressive panhandling on roadways and in certain public spots.
Windcrest Police Chief David Ellis agreed the new ordinance strengthens his officers to more directly contend with a homeless person who is reported to be aggressively panhandling or impeding customers from entering or exiting a business, but it’s not a be-all and end-all, easy fix. He added homelessness, at its most basic level, is not a crime.
“We can’t ticket or arrest away a problem.” Ellis told the council.
According to Ellis, anyone who is cited for criminal trespass at a business is banned from returning to that place for 12 months, but the individual in question goes somewhere else, which is often the case for homeless individuals.
Council members urged city administrators to educate Windcrest business owners about the new ordinance, and how it empowers them to call and complain about someone who might be blocking their front door or is camping on their property.
“It’s the safety component associated (with the unhoused),” City Manager Ronnie Guest said. “We know that not all of them bring that component to the table, but there are some that do.”
Guest and other officials added that a police officer responding to a call about panhandling, public disturbance or trespassing still has the discretion to cite an offender.
Nikisha Baker, president and CEO of SAMMinistries, said homeless service organizations such as hers respects local ordinances and regulations, and acknowledges that panhandling, especially when done aggressively, can negatively affect neighborhoods and businesses.
But Baker added that, in some cases, not every panhandler is homeless, and that some individuals who are sheltered and able to earn a living pose as a panhandler.
Baker also said, ideally, law enforcement would be accompanied by plentiful diversionary resources for homeless individuals, including available beds in short-term shelters.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case in our community,” Baker said. “We are over capacity in our emergency shelter resource, and our street outreach teams are doing the best that they can to meet individuals where they are, but that sometimes means they’re not always getting off the street and into a shelter.”
According to Baker, in towns and suburbs further away from a city center, many homeless individuals either grew up or lived sheltered in the area and try to remain camped out in the same general vicinity because it is a place that feels most safe and familiar to them.
Baker said it is easy for local authorities to clear a homeless encampment, but too often unhoused individuals who are forced out of one spot set up camp in a similar place.
“I encourage communities like Windcrest to advocate for more public investment in homeless services for us to be able to clear encampments by giving folks a pathway to housing rather than just clear an encampment because someone sees it as a public nuisance,” Baker said. “It just is not an ideal solution. We have to do both.”
