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Cincinnati Launches New Program To Help Homeless Population

Courtesy
/
City of Cincinnati
New donation station for the homeless at 12th and Vine.

There are now five donation stations in downtown Cincinnati where people can give money to help the homeless population.  

The city along with Downtown Cincinnati Incorporated (DCI) and 3CDC are partnering for the effort.  
The donation stations are re-purposed large yellow parking meters that can accept coins or credit card donations. The funds collected will be given to various agencies to aid those in need on the streets. 

Donations stations are located near Fountain Square, Washington Park, the 12th and Vine parking lot, 6th Street near the Contemporary Arts Center, and The Banks.

They're part of a broader strategy to deal with panhandling in the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine.  
 

Credit Provided / City of Cincinnati
/
City of Cincinnati
Locations of five homeless donation stations in downtown Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine.

The city manager wrote in a June memo that in the last year complaints have increased about aggressive and concentrated panhandling, especially near Fountain Square.   

"The city is limited in what it may pursue related to dealing with panhandling through traditional legislative and law enforcement strategies," Harry Black wrote. "Restrictive panhandling statutes in other jurisdictions have been struck down due to First Amendment challenges."

Other parts of the effort include off-duty police details in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine for general safety, and communicating with residents and visitors that it's better to make donations to social services agencies rather than directly to panhandlers.
 

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.