Dallas police arrest a panhandler earlier this year. (Photo from DPDBeat.com)

Dallas police arrest a panhandler earlier this year. (Photo from DPDBeat.com)

Lake Highlands Councilman Adam McGough is partnering up with Preston Hollow representatives Lee Kleinman and Jennifer Staubach Gates to explore the public’s opinion on homelessness in Dallas. They are inviting the community to come together during a meeting on Monday, Aug. 1, from 6:30-8 p.m. at Churchill Recreation Center, 6906 Churchill Way to hear from those working on the frontlines here in Dallas and add their own thoughts to how the problem should be addressed.

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The council members will be joined by Britton Banowsky, chair of the Dallas Homeless Commission; Catrina Cain, president of Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance; and Daniel Roby, executive director of the Austin Street ‪Shelter.

Earlier this year, Dallas Police launched an extensive crackdown on aggressive panhandlers, leading to more than 200 arrests. In the City of Dallas, it is illegal to beg for dollars from passing pedestrians or cars, but the campaign focused on those who acted unruly.

“While the term can be subjective, we recognize the acts of walking into the streets and highways to approach vehicle occupants and demand money as aggressive,” Dallas police said in a statement in March. “Additionally, blocking or impeding sidewalks in an effort to coerce money from fellow pedestrians is seen as aggressive, as is standing at or in front of a business demanding money as patrons enter and exit, and then shouting obscenities when money is not given.”

On a city-wide level, the Dallas City Council has been working with homeless advocates and police to address the situation, which in May led the city to shut down the makeshift “tent city” where dozens lived downtown under Interstate 45.