But are they working?
by Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
If you drive by busy intersections along U.S. 3 near the shopping malls in Spotsylvania County, you have probably seen a series of signs on the narrow concrete medians.
“For their safety—and yours—please do not give to solicitors. Support a local charity instead,” the signs read.
The signs, easily readable for motorists stopped at key intersections, are also emblazoned with the Spotsylvania County seal. There are similar signs at five key intersections along Patriot Highway (U.S. 1) and Southpoint Parkway.
The signed intersections are also locations where panhandlers, many of them homeless, continue to ask for money from motorists stopped at traffic lights.
Spotsylvania County does not prohibit panhandling or solicitation on such medians because several court cases have overturned such bans, finding them in violation of the First Amendment.
The county’s signs are meant instead to discourage panhandlers or vendors from using the median. But a drive-by over several weekdays this month indicates the signs are not working.
A spokeswoman for Spotsylvania County, Michelle McGinnis, says the signs were put up after complaints by several motorists about some of the panhandlers getting into the roadway and presenting safety issues. But she could not confirm if there have been any injuries or accidents caused by panhandling.
The signs, though, are not enough to stop some people who are down on their luck and need public assistance. And they also don’t help the homeless in need either, since there is no phone number given to connect people with available assistance.
On a recent Monday, 53-year-old Tammi was near one of those signs. (We are not using last names in this story to protect the privacy of those interviewed.)
Tammi is homeless and recently moved to this area from Alexandria. On this day, she had spent part of her time applying for jobs at several of the stores in the heart of the Spotsylvania Towne Center and the busy business district.
Then, she went to the intersection of U.S. 3 and Spotsylvania Mall Drive to panhandle for some cash. She needed it to get a room for the night nearby. Otherwise, she said she would go back to a nearby wooded area where she has been living in the frigid temperatures.
Tammi said she noticed the sign. But she stays on the median and doesn’t feel like there’s any danger from the cars, which can whizz by at 40 mph or faster when the lights are green.
No one harasses her. But Tammi says she has no choice.
Just down U.S. 3, a stone’s throw from the historic Old Salem Church, Jeff is also looking for a few bucks from passing motorists. The 49-year-old unemployed construction worker has been living nearby in his car.
He says he has taken in $20 to $30 a day so far in the two weeks he has been homeless.
“I used to do this in Central Park, but they kicked me out and fined me $50,” he says, referring to the biggest shopping center in the region, a mile or so up the road and across the county line within the City of Fredericksburg.
Jeff says he doesn’t feel that standing in the median puts him in any danger. He says most people, waiting in their cars for the traffic light to change, “don’t bother to talk to me.”
The anti-solicitation signs direct motorists to give to “local charities” instead of handing out money to those asking.
McGinnis says the Fredericksburg Regional Continuum of Care (CoC), a group of 60 local charities, is available to help the homeless. But unlike similar signs in other Virginia communities, the Spotsylvania signs list none of the participating organizations by name, and there’s no contact number or address on them.
Asked why he doesn’t seek out one of the charities, as the sign advocates, Jeff says, “They won’t do anything.” He says the money anyone contributes won’t get to him.
McGinnis says both Tammi and Jeff would not even be counted as homeless according to federal Department of Housing and Urban Development if they end up paying to sleep in a hotel or motel.
HUD defines as “literally homeless” anyone who “has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not meant for human habitation; or is living in a publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state and local government programs); or is exiting an institution where (s)he has resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution.”
The Fredericksburg Regional CoC, which serves five area jurisdictions, conducts the annual Point in Time (PIT) count, which is survey of the homeless population conducted over one night each January.
Statistics for 2023 indicate that there were eight sheltered and 16 unsheltered people in Spotsylvania County who met the HUD definition of “literal homelessness” on the night of the count.
The CoC’s 2023 PIT report also includes information about area students who qualify as homeless according to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This population includes children who are living in shelters, staying in hotels or motels, or are “doubled-up” with other families.
Spotsylvania’s McKinney-Vento data for 2023 show that there were eight students living in emergency shelters, 177 students staying in hotel or motel accommodations, and 206 students doubled up with other families.
There was a 40% increase in homelessness in the region last year, according to the official PIT count. In addition to Spotsylvania County, the region includes Fredericksburg City and Caroline, King George and Stafford Counties.
The 2024 PIT will be conducted on the night of January 24 and early morning of January 25.
There are four charities that provide shelters for the homeless in the Fredericksburg region. They include Micah Ministries, which provides services for single adults, and the Brisben Center and Loisann’s Hope House, which provide services for homeless families.
There’s also Empowerhouse, which is available for survivors of domestic violence.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness says that on an average night, there are 200 homeless people in the Fredericksburg region.
Those seeking help can call the regional Homeless Hotline at 540-358-5801, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Jenn Coolidge
January 25, 2024Whenever I see a person in need at an intersection, I give what I can; if I don’t have money, I give them whatever I have: bottles of water, food, and candy. I don’t judge because, there but for the grace of God go all of us.
Humankind.
Be Both.