Don't give to beggars

Brighton and Hove wants to attain city status, but it certainly does not need big city problems.

Solving the begging problem, however, is a far from straightforward issue.

Homelessness charity Shelter's three Sussex housing aid centres had 448 calls from people claiming to be living on the streets between April 1999 and April 2000.

Although some were beggars, some beggars have homes. And homelessness appears to be decreasing.

Government statistics put the number of people sleeping rough in Brighton and Hove at 26, compared with 43 in 1999 and 44 the year before.

Yesterday we revealed that much of the money people give to beggars goes on the drug trade. Today we are urging people: Don't give to beggars.

The Argus campaign aims to get well-meaning people to instead channel the money into charities and support services which can help the homeless and vulnerable.

This will deprive beggars of the need to clog up our streets, help prevent money going to the drug dealers who prey on these unfortunate victims and, in the case of bogus beggars, drive them away from what they see as a town with a soft touch.

It is not a vendetta against the homeless and street sleepers but a genuine way to tackle a problem which has been a blight on us for years and offer a solution worthy of our bid to call ourselves a city of the future.

Among those who have given their support to the campaign are politicians and members of organisations which help homeless people and beggars.

Frazer McEwen is director of services for Addaction, which helps people, including beggars, with drug addictions.

He said: "Rather than giving money to beggars, people can make a donation that can contribute towards improving access to information and services for people on the street.

"The people we work with rely on the money they get on the streets to survive but there is also evidence that they are continuing to feed their habits."

The Vicar of Brighton, Father Douglas McKittrick, said: "In my experience a lot of people are trying to give money to people who are legitimately poor and homeless and that must be supported.

"The difficulty is trying to find out who are the genuine ones. We must drive from our streets those people who are not the real poor. I don't see why we should be giving money to those who appear to be beggars but are actually using money to feed alcoholism or their drug habit."

David Lepper, Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "I certainly support the view that it's better to give money to organisations like Shelter.

"I know of one case of a young person begging in Western Road claiming she had nowhere to live and upon investigation it was clear she had a council flat to live in and the money she was getting was financing a drug habit.

"I prefer to support organisations like Shelter, St Patrick's, Brighton Housing Trust and individuals working through The Big Issue because I feel then that I know the money will be well-used."

Peter Bottomley, Tory MP for West Worthing, also gave the campaign his backing. He said: "My strong view is that beggars should not be given money. You should take them to a cafe and buy them a meal if you want to help them."

Ivor Caplin, Labour MP for Hove, said: "I entirely endorse the Argus campaign because there is no question in my mind that a lot of beggars are not locals and are using the money for drugs habits.

"I would rather people give to legitimate charities like The Big Issue or Shelter."

Paul Elgood, leader of the council's Lib Dem group, said: "Nobody minds a gentle beggar but more often than not it seems to be harassment of people.

"My particular concern is beggars around cashpoints, which are not acceptable and has got slightly out of hand."

But a spokeswoman for Shelter said: "The Government wants to reduce crime as well as reduce drugs. If people stop giving to beggars there could be a rise in street crime."

And Lucie Russell, chief executive of the Big Issue Foundation, said: "It's wrong to ask the public to become self-appointed experts on support services for homeless people. We firmly believe that the public should have the right to choose to give.

"People beg for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they don't have access to benefits because they are under 18, or they can be sleeping rough and in desperate need.

"There should be more opportunities like selling The Big Issue, which help people find work and increase their self-esteem so they do not have reason to beg."