Panhandling: Its Got To Go

The article Panhandling: Its Got To Go by Conner is a well developed and thought out argument.  I too constantly see people standing on the street with card board signs asking for money, work, and/or food.  I see them on my way to work, to school, back home, out shopping, they are everywhere.  But instead of making the leap to out right ban or make panhandling illegal, we should think of why they are standing there in the first place, and how we can get them off the street.  At Austin Homeless Shelters and Services for the Needy, displays all the local homeless shelters around Texas.  Some of these provide programs for transitioning from homeless to working class.  The problem comes from the homeless not having the resources to gather this kind of knowledge or know where to look.  It is not as though all of the homeless would like to remain living on the streets begging for money.  Giving somebody money of your own free will or even asking for money should not be considered a crime.  Instead of helping the homeless we would be filling up our jail cells and providing the same services as a homeless shelter but at a price on us.  Jail cells are funded by tax dollars where as homeless shelters rely on charity and donations.  If I had to choose between the two I would choose to help the homeless shelters and keep the homeless out of jail, rather than making Panhandling illegal.