[news] Panhandlers Rally in Gastown!

[ron]

-------- Original Message --------
From: apc at resist.ca

Panhandlers rally to protest 'harassment'

John Colebourn
The Province


Wednesday, February 11, 2004

It's tough being a panhandler in Vancouver.

Competition is fierce at some of the tonier spots, and the hundreds of
"panners" who stick their hats and cups out daily say store owners and
police are putting the squeeze on them.

To get their message across, about 100 panhandlers yesterday staged a
rally in Gastown -- some even stopped cars asking for change -- while a
handful of police watched nearby.

Lisa Wulwik, an organizer with End Legislated Poverty, said her group
helped plan the protest outside the offices of the Gastown Business
Improvement Society to remind people they still have rights.

"There's definitely a lot more people living on the streets and there's
more people panning," said Wulwik. "A lot of people panning are being
harassed by the police and the merchants' associations."

Wulwik said merchants in both Gastown and other parts of the downtown 
have hired "ambassadors" to make a panhandler's life miserable.

"My rights while I'm panhandling mean that the ambassadors have no legal
authority to ask me to move on," says an information pamphlet that 
Wulwik handed to the protesters.

Leanore Sali, director of the Gastown Business Improvement Society, said
aggressive panhandlers are driving away customers. "The issue of
panhandling is a concern throughout the city," she said.

Sali said the society has hired two full-time "ambassadors" who walk the
streets of Gastown keeping an eye on panhandlers.

She said Gastown merchants feel it's time to clamp down on aggressive
panhandlers.

Last fall, Vancouver City Council discussed adding some teeth to an
existing bylaw that outlaws aggressive panhandling. But in the end 
nothing was done.

The bylaw, passed in 2001, makes it illegal to obstruct pedestrians. It
requires panhandlers to stay at least 10 metres away from banks, 
automated teller machines and liquor stores. Violators can be fined up 
to $2,000.

David Cunningham of the Anti-Poverty Committee said it helped organize 
the protest to warn civic politicians that panhandlers have a right to 
be on the street.

"There's a lot more competition out there," he said. "There are single
mothers out there panhandling. Nine out of 10 [panhandlers] are in a
desperate situation and about one out of 10 has a mental illness or
addiction problem."

Panhandler Amanda Tyler, 32, who took part in the rally, said on a good
day she can make more than $100.

"Panhandlers are being pushed out of everywhere," said Tyler, an 
admitted cocaine and heroin addict. "I'd rather panhandle than steal 
from stores or sell my body."