New law irks advocates for homeless

The 'quality-of-life' law tries to keep the homeless off the streets and criminalizes aggressive panhandling. Advocates for Philadelphia's homeless have renewed a war of words with city officials over a so-called "quality-of-life" bill designed in part to get homeless individuals off the streets. The bill, signed into law by Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell late last week, makes sleeping or sitting on city streets for prolonged periods of time illegal. It also criminalizes aggressive panhandling, defined as "repeated begging, insistent panhandling, retaliatory comments, blocking of free passage of a pedestrian, touching or yelling at a pedestrian." The bill targets a group long considered beyond the reach of city services, the so-called "hardcore" homeless -- individuals who refuse to go to shelters or take advantage of treatment programs. Such individuals pose a stumbling block for city leaders intent on making the Center City area more attractive to businesses and families. But more importantly, said Kevin Feeley, the mayor's spokesperson, the bill is an opportunity to help individuals the city previously could not reach. The number of such individuals is the subject of much dispute. City officials estimate it to be in the neighborhood of 100 people. Advocates for the homeless put the number closer to 500. And for these advocates, the bill is an attempt to criminalize homelessness and the mental illnesses from which many homeless people suffer. Under the bill -- which will take effect in mid-January 1999, 120 days after the mayor signed it -- the police can levy fines ranging from $20 to $300 for the proscribed behaviors. The police will only be able to do so, however, if an aid worker is on hand to offer the offender treatment, shelter or other services. The fines will be based on ability to pay. For University City residents, however, the 120-day clock has yet to start ticking. The area was removed from the bill in the spring at the request of West Philadelphia Councilperson Jannie Blackwell. Blackwell was one of three council members to vote against the bill, passed on June 18 by a count of 13 to three. After exempting West Philadelphia from the bill, Blackwell came under fire from University officials and community leaders. She has since agreed to include University City in the law by passing a separate bill in the fall. The rest of West Philadelphia will remain exempt. Another section of the bill, banning the distribution of handbills, has raised the eyes of free speech advocates. It is likely to be modified as well. Council President John Street has said he will support both of the changes. Despite the council's support for the quality-of-life bill, it has yet to provide additional funding for the expected influx of homeless forced into shelters. In testimony before the council last spring, Estelle Richman, the city's health commissioner, said at least six "outreach teams" and shelters able to handle up to 250 people would be needed to meet the demand. A bill to provide $6 million in funding for such programs is currently under consideration. But a recent study by City Auditor Jonathan Saidel has raised questions about the efficacy of existing city programs for the homeless. Such programs already receive about $63 million annually in city, state and federal funding. Saidel found the programs have done little to move the city's homeless population toward self-sufficiency, instead supporting what he terms a continuous shuttling between shelter and street. Councilperson James Kenney, who requested the audit, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the conclusion is simple. "[Homelessness] isn't a problem you can throw money at." The Saidel report's conclusions are hotly contested by the Rendell administration, which has repeatedly blasted them as anecdotal and based on unscientific data.