Panhandling On the Rise in Downtown Evanston: Director

EVANSTON, IL - “There’s been an uptick in panhandling in the last several months,” Anne Coakley, executive director of Downtown Evanston, alerted residents at a recent ward meeting, as reported by Evanston Now.

Reductions in state funding for at-risk populations has been cited as a major reason for this. To combat the problem, Coakley is organizing educational campaigns that will urge residents to donate to organizations which help the homeless instead of giving in to the panhandlers.

Some of them aren’t even homeless, Coakley says. “And they’re doing quite well making money here.”

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