Vagrants in Valdosta

By Malynda Fulton

May 06, 2008 01:00 am

— VALDOSTA — Whether you have read about them in The Valdosta Daily Times Rant & Rave or seen them posted near stores or interstate exits, the increasing number of vagrants in Valdosta has definitely become a topic of concern.
In recent editions of The Times, citizens have submitted complaints such as the following:
“How can Valdosta hope for new businesses to come in when professional panhandlers are at every corner? One lady sleeps on the side of the road right off our busiest Exit, 18. I do have a heart here, as I attempted to give her two sausage biscuits one morning, she told me to stick them up my a**. She wanted coffee.”
“As for the panhandlers in Valdosta, do what I do. I have a cardboard sign in my truck that says, ‘Get a job, it worked for me!’ I show it to all the ones who look fit to work. If they can walk, talk, spell and stand in the hot sun all day, they can get a job.”
“I have had enough with the beggars who are meeting up and then harassing our community. If you are in fact ‘just passing through town,’ you should keep passing through and harass someone else. It’s bad enough that they have posted themselves at each exit (both sides of the road), but they are now taking to the mall, harassing shoppers there as well. Please do something about this.”
While citizens are dismayed about Valdosta’s appearance due to the surplus of panhandlers on some of the city’s busiest streets and corners, many also fear for their safety. Concern has been particularly heightened since a woman was threatened by a homeless person outside the U.S. Post Office/Federal Building at 401 N. Patterson St. less than two months ago.
According to police, a 47-year-old woman was exiting the building around noon when 51-year-old Danny Brown, a homeless man, approached her and asked for some spare change. When the woman refused, Brown reportedly shoved her, pulled a hammer from a bag he was carrying and threatened her.
Another male citizen saw the interaction and tackled Brown from behind. During the altercation between Brown and the 33-year-old man, the woman grabbed the hammer from Brown’s hand and struck him twice on the head with it. Brown was treated for injuries by EMS on-scene, transported to South Georgia Medical Center and later charged with aggravated assault, battery and simple battery.
Panhandlers are also affecting the smooth flow of business for various area stores, restaurants and hotels. Country Inn and Suites General Manager Stacy Bloomberg mentioned receiving several complaints from guests who said they feared being attacked after they were approached and harassed by panhandlers who loiter at a nearby wooded lot. According to Bloomberg, one guest became particularly upset after opening a window in his room and observing a vagrant urinate and defecate in front of him. Because Country Inn and Suites does not own the lot adjacent to its facility, administration was unable to remove the vagrants for trespassing.
In response to the increasing number of complaints and requests for vagrancy laws, Valdosta Police Cmdr. Brian Childress said, “We have gotten a tremendous amount of calls about homeless people in the area and the city is working on a vagrancy ordinance as we speak. We are aware of the inconveniences, but the city of Valdosta is taking a little more time to craft the ordinance to make sure it complies with federal and state law. We ask that the citizens remain patient.
“While there are currently no laws that deal with vagrancy in Valdosta, there are laws that deal with loitering, indecent exposure and impeding the flow of traffic. However, simply standing alongside the road is not a violation of the law. If someone is out in the road stopping traffic, using the restroom in public or creating a danger for themselves or others, then they can be asked to leave an area. If they refuse, please contact us (VPD) immediately.”
For now, citizens anticipate the vagrancy ordinance in hopes that it will create a safer environment as the city grows.

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