Upon reading Rita Tillery’s comments (“Giving to panhandlers does not fix problems,” Sun City Independent, Aug. 18, 2021), I was reminded of the sad situation of the panhandlers along many of Sun City streets.
Yes, Rita, I do agree the situation has escalated in the last few years and should not happen in my community of Sun City, let alone our United States of America. It also reminded me of what Sun City Home Owners Association states about feeding pigeons and Recreation Centers of Sun City about feeding the ducks on the golf courses. They both say “Don’t feed the birds as they will come to depend on it.” The same can be said about the people standing in the intersections asking for a ‘hand out.” We all want to help, but giving money doesn’t really help.
There is no easy fix of the problem. First, we are not a city, with our own government (like our neighbors Youngtown, Peoria, Glendale or Suprise) who can enforce ordinances they place in affect. We have to rely on Maricopa County to provide any assistance. From what I have witnessed, the county is not so inclined to keep these people from the medians.
Second, these people are generally homeless with no income. Some could work, but choose not to, while others have mental and drug problems that hinder any employment. Actually, there are a myriad of reasons why they do what they do or don’t do.
Thirdl, there are some shelters for the homeless. However, there are not enough and our government, whether it be state or federal, does not see why they should spend the effort to proved additionally for the homeless. All one has to do is to drive into Phoenix and you will see hundreds living along the streets in so-called “tent cities.” It sickens me that our federal government sees fit to spend billions and trillions on people crossing our borders and nearly nothing for our own citizens that are hurting.
So what is the solution? I don’t know! All I know is that if we the people don’t do something, the problem will only fester and get even worse. Rita is absolutely right when she stated this will affect all of who live in Sun City. It will affect us healthwise, crime will rise and in time will affect our property values. Our safety is at stake. We are being approached in parking lots for money as well. How many have not been vaccinated against the virus?
Sun City resident Greg Eisert addressed this problem Nov. 25, 2019 and a bill was introduced in the Arizona State Legislature. I believe it died from lack of enough interested legislators and not enough noise from the voters. Might I suggest, if this problem bothers you, contact the representatives and senators that represent you and ask them what they are doing to address this situation. Here are the contacts for Sun City: Rep. Kevin Payne, kpayne@azleg.gov, 602-926-4854; Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, bpingerelli@azleg.gov, 602-926-3396; and Se. Rick Gray, rgray@azleg.gov, 602-926-5413.
Another good source is our representative to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Clint Hickman at chickman@mail.Maricopa.gov or 602-506-7642.
Go to the meetings of SCHOA Roads and Safety Committee and speak up about this issue to the county officials there at the meeting. To hammer the point home, go to more than one meeting and address your concerns so the county officials will understand this is a real concern of Sun City residents. Perhaps they will realize that we need their help and not lip service. The next committee meeting is 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the SCHOA office, 10401 W. Coggins Drive.
SCHOA also has a Government Affairs Committee and Gail Warmath is chairwoman. She can be reached by leaving a message with the SCHOA office, 623-974-4718. Talk to her.
What I am advocating is a continuous presence in relating our concerns to the above officials to let them know that we would like some action. Remember, be firm in your request, however, be polite. Honey attracts more bees than vinegar. We want to persuade people of power to come around to see the importance of our situation and help find some kind of solution.
Editor’s Note: Lloyd Maple is a Sun City resident.
