Signs have gone up around Salisbury, reading: “Don’t Contribute to Solicitors.”
They are appearing near stores in the city to address panhandling by the homeless population.
Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan told the Salisbury Daily Times that her department made a request to Public Works in April to put up the signs.
The concern is two-fold: driving customers away local businesses and safety.
Duncan says this is not meant as a condemnation of the homeless but rather an attempt to bring the issue to groups like the Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization.
Celeste Savage, executive director of the group and a member of the Wicomico County Commission for Women, told the paper that the commission began talks last year to provide residents with information about various agencies to which they could donate instead.
