Homeless advocacy groups oppose DiCicco’s panhandling bill

Project H.O.M.E. and several other homeless advocacy organizations in Philadelphia have drafted a letter to oppose a bill introduced by Councilman Frank DiCicco that would amend the city’s Sidewalk Behavior Ordinance.

“This bill diverts us from the real work of continuing to develop effective solutions to meet the needs of men and women living on our streets,” reads a statement from Project H.O.M.E. about the legislation that would change the way authorities can regulate panhandling.

DiCiccio described the bill as follows:

“What we want to do is give the police a little bit more authority to make decisions as to people who are either aggressively panhandling or homeless as to whether a police officer believes that person needs to be taken to a facility without having to wait for all the outreach program folks to come.”

The organizations are asking people to sign and send this letter to Mayor Michael and their City Council members to oppose DiCicco’s bill. They’ve also organized a press conference Thursday, June 2 before the bill goes before Council.