perry part 2

The homeless situation escalated in the past few months. The city has tried to crackdown on panhandling, citing negative reviews from tourists, specifically downtown. In early August, APD officers dressed like tourists and made more than 40 arrests over the course of three weekends. The targets were aggressive panhandlers, described as beggars who did not take an initial no for an answer or followed people as they panhandled.

Under Atlanta law, panhandling is legal as long as it is done with one request and out of the "Tourist Triangle". In 2005, it became illegal to beg for money in the area between Marietta Street to Piedmont and MLK Dr to Ralph McGill.

On September 2, a Wanique Odwin shot and killed a Detroit man after they got into an argument. Odwin had asked the man, Kashman Avery, for money and Avery took offense to the request. He shot him in the side and fled before being apprehended. Avery was taken to Grady where he later died from his injuries.

The message to the city was that any panhandler might just shoot you if you refuse. It didn't help that it took place in Midtown, one of the city's more afflulent, if not transitioning, neighborhoods.

The answers are difficult. The leaders are concerned that homelessness and panhandling give the city a black eye. The complaints from tourists, especially those the APD claimed who were so put off by the problem they would never return to Atlanta, raised enough eyebrows to get a reaction from City Hall.

Besides the arrests, the city has implemented five donation stations around downtown. It allows people to drop money in the machine which is later distributed to local shelters. In short, it gives people who want to give a place to do so and everyone else a safe excuse.

As of yet, no stations have been installed in the Midtown or Highlands area. The city is asking businesses to pay to have them installed at their entrances.