Program reduces panhandling

Administrators plan to expand the successful donation box program. University officials say the anti-panhandling program -- instituted this fall -- has met with great success in reducing the number of panhandlers near campus, while still supporting the community's needs. The Office of Community Relations, under the guidance of Director Glenn Bryan and School of Social Work graduate David Eldridge, made the panhandling issue a high priority this year. In the fall, the office initiated a plan -- "Don't Give Change, Help Penn Make a Change" -- with the hope of "still providing services to the community's needy, while decreasing the number of panhandlers on the streets," Bryan said. The University entered into a partnership with the local Wawa stores, setting up donation boxes in the facilities so that patrons may leave money they would have otherwise given directly to panhandlers. The money in each store's donation boxes goes to two local social service organizations -- the Horizon House, which gives counseling and support to individuals with substance abuse problems, and the University City Hospitality Coalition, which provides food for local homeless people. The anti-panhandling program's success has prompted other schools to inquire about the initiative, Bryan said. Joe Gallagher, former manager at the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets, reported a decrease in panhandling around his store since the enactment of the program. And Al Madeira, manager of Wawa at 36th and Chestnut streets, noted that "in the first two weeks we collected over $50." While Gallagher noted that the effort to reduce panhandling did not develop in response to stores' specific complaints, Matt Welch, current manager at the 38th Street Wawa, described panhandling as a "definite problem" that is bad for business. "It intimidates customers," Welch said. Bryan said the program stemmed from Office of Community Relations administrators' own observations of campus and community needs. "We took a proactive rather then reactive stance," he said. Noting that he understands that "students and others who give money to panhandlers do so with the best intentions," Bryan said he feels this program "provides a more effective way to do it." "Sometimes the panhandler is using the money to buy drugs or alcohol," he said. "In the new way, such usage will be impossible. The money is going straight to beneficial services." Bryan said he is currently working to "expand the program to include other service organizations as well as more stores." Expansion of the program will have many positive effects for the University, he added. "As panhandlers stop receiving the money that will now be going into the donation box, they will stop hanging around the campus stores," Bryan said.