JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — At Interstate 10 and Veterans Boulevard in Jefferson Parish, there’s a message to drivers that panhandling can cause accidents.
“This has been an issue going on for many, many years,” said Sen. Patrick Connick of Marrero.
Street signs direct folks to donate to charities, specifically Unity of Greater New Orleans, instead of handing out cash from cars.
“There are a few signs they put paper over, so it must be helping,” said Connick
Sen. Connick says the signs, which have been popping up for about a year, are strategically placed in areas where panhandling has been a problem.
“There’s a better way to help the homeless. Giving money directly on the street is not a good way because it only feeds addiction,” said Connick.
Jefferson Parish started making these signs because of what Connick calls safety issues. He points to what happened in January 2022 under the Westbank Expressway.
A woman was injured when a parish work crew cleared an encampment. Surveillance video appears to show the woman falling to the ground after being picked up by heavy machinery.
“She had a laceration from the fork of the bobcat that split her from her lip up to her cheek,” said the woman’s mom Tia Marie-Chapman.
Marie-Chapman told Eyewitness News her daughter had a six-hour surgery and was living on the streets by choice.
“That’s the kind of stuff that happens when there’s no organization and there’s no way to keep the homeless from doing what they’re doing,” said Connick.
Connick says millions of dollars have been spent through the Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority to help with things like healthcare and programs for people who are unhoused.
“It’s not enough,” said Connick. “We need to do more, and we need to be more proactive rather than waiting on the sidelines for something to happen and then react to it.”
Connick knows not everyone wants help but hopes a newly created task force through the Jefferson Parish Council will help those who do. That task force will connect needed services to people in need. It’s a balancing act, Connick says plays out every day on the street.
“We have people who need help, living in the streets and then we have the issue of quality of life in Jefferson Parish,” said Connick.
State lawmakers passed a bill this session allowing Jefferson Parish to take over the areas underneath the Westbank Expressway and Interstate 10. This will allow parish leaders to create ordinances to limit panhandling and encampments.