Opinion by Ernesto Portillo Jr. : Accept it: Downtown homeless here to stay
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.07.2007
Five days a week, Randall Becher sits under the mesquite shade on the Joel D. Valdez Main Library Plaza. He reads books about spirituality, watches people walk by and talks to strangers who approach him.
By his own admission, the 49-year-old homeless Becher is a bum. And he's not alone on the North Stone Avenue plaza and other parts of Downtown.
There's a contingent of people, mostly homeless, who each day sit around the Downtown library or Veinte de Agosto Park, where the Pancho Villa statue stands, or panhandle in front of the businesses.
For many Tucsonans, Downtown's loitering contingent degrades the area and scares away visitors. Roust and hustle them elsewhere is what many Tucsonans would like to do.
But it can't happen. Civil-rights laws place the city on a balance beam as it addresses public complaints, enforces existing laws and respects individuals' rights.
"We're addressing criminal behavior, not homelessness," said police Lt. Jeff Coleman of the Downtown Patrol Division.
Since early July 15, officers — nine on foot and six on bikes — have patrolled Downtown and nearby parks on 22nd Street and North Stone Avenue.
Officers have cited and arrested people for public drinking and drugs, Coleman said. Panhandling is not a crime but aggressive panhandling is. However, few people have been cited for unruly panhandling, said Coleman.
Tucson seems to be attracting more homeless people and transients. It's the weather to be sure, but Tucson also is perceived as a homeless-friendly town, said Donovan Durband, executive director of the Downtown Tucson Partnership.
Social services and shelters are nearby. And most of the homeless people who hang around Downtown are not committing crimes, said Durband.
The crime rate Downtown is lower than other parts of the city, Colemin an said. Most of the violent crimes that occur Downtown are committed by homeless people against the homeless.
It's the perception that Downtown is unsafe, he said.
Exactly. It's a perception common in many people who don't work or live Downtown.
Despite the reality that Downtown is not dangerous, Tucson struggles to improve its Downtown image to attract more businesses and residents. Tucson is coping like nearly every American city.
"We should not assume that all the people who loiter Downtown are homeless or dangerous," said Peggy Hutchison, executive director of the Prima-vera Foundation, which works with homeless.
Among the many who hang out Downtown, there are homeless people, people who have a home but no job and young people who may or may not be enrolled in the nearby charter schools, she said.
Even if people in suits and people carrying shopping bags filled Downtown, the homeless would still be among the mix. They just wouldn't stand out so much, Hutchison said.
Many of the people who loiter on the sidewalks and parks and sleep on the sidewalks or in a building's entryway or rooftop are mentally ill or addicted to drugs and booze.
But there are too few beds for them and facilities to help them, said Hutchison.
Moreover, Durband said services for homeless are unavailable at night.
Hutchison said, "We have to challenge ourselves to be more creative."
Becher, who camps by the Santa Cruz River and has been homeless here for 12 years, is unlikely to move away. Police can't arrest him and he can't be run out of town.
We'll have to be creative to bring more commerce and residents to Downtown while helping the homeless who will loiter.
● Contact columnist Ernesto Portillo Jr. at 573-4242 or eportillo@azstarnet.com. His blog is at go.azstarnet.com/blogs
