“Why you should not give to panhandlers” is the focus of a recent initiative to help downtown Madison’s homeless population receive social services to work toward a better future.

The reasoning behind Reach Out Downtown Madison’s initiative, which started last May, is for students and other State Street pedestrians to realize giving extra change to the homeless is not the best way to help them, because it does not address the long-term challenges that perpetuate homelessness.

Contrary to people who believe some of the money earned by panhandling goes toward food, the initiative’s research found that panhandled money rarely goes toward food.

Co-sponsors of the initiative held four focus groups, including one comprised of street people, to learn how to effectively address people who want to help. The homeless people responded to the question of why people panhandle with three reasons: alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, according to Susan Schmitz, president of Downtown Madison, Inc., which is co-sponsoring the initiative.

“[The homeless people] said that in this city they can get food anytime, any day, anywhere,” Schmitz said.

She said Madison has several food pantries and shelters, such as the Salvation Army and various church-run groups that homeless people utilize for food, so they do not have to spend money on it.

Under the outreach program, Schmitz said trained individuals walk State Street and discreetly approach panhandlers in hopes of spending a couple hours analyzing their situations and informing them of the various options for services including housing and substance-abuse counseling.

To date, the workers have reduced panhandling by more than 200 hours, have connected 17 individuals to housing services, accessed inpatient addiction treatment for five people and helped three people relocate to other areas of the country where they have family or other opportunities, according to Greater State Street Business Association President and owner of A Room of One’s Own bookstore Sandi Torkildson.

Contributing to the drug addictions of panhandlers by giving them spare change on the street only makes the agencies’ jobs harder, Schmitz said.

Torkildson said she disagrees with those who give to panhandlers because they believe panhandlers have had a rough life and if they want to drink it should be okay.

“I think that view is uninformed; it doesn’t look at the long-term effects on people. Alcohol and substance abuse destroy lives; it’s bad for families,” Torkildson said.

The student focus group also helped program organizers learn how to educate people who want to help the street community, Schmitz said.

“Many of the students were aware of the needs of the people on the street but were totally unaware of the city services available to them,” Schmitz said.

Torkildson also said students in the focus group said they usually did not give money to panhandlers because they did not have any to spare, so the program also wanted to educate students on ways they can contribute their time.

Schmitz said the program receives funding from the city of Madison, Dane County and United Way of Dane County, in addition to other support from Downtown Madison, Inc., Steve Brown Apartments and other non-profit groups in Madison, such as Briar Patch and Tellurian, aimed at helping the homeless.

Erika Monroe-Kane, spokesperson for United Way Dane County, said one of the challenges to reaching out to panhandlers is that they can be unmotivated to take action on their situation.

“If it doesn’t come to them, they may not get there,” Monroe-Kane said.

She said the mission of the program is to create long-term change and address root causes of problems rather than treating the symptoms.

“We’re not saying you should not be allowed to give [spare change] to panhandlers, but if you want to make a difference, there’s a better way to do it,” she said.