European city makes giving to beggars illegal

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA    has prohibited begging and giving money to beggars in the streets.

 The Mayor of Vilnius, Arturas Zuokas, says that the city government and NGO’s are fully capable of taking care of all the people who need help. A penalty of 1,0000-2,000 Litas‘ (290 – 580 Euros) was set by the Vilnius City Council.

“When you give beggars money, you aren‘t providing them with a chance to recover. On the contrary, you support their way of living and justify panhandling. A better way to help them is to give that money to a charity“, stated Mayor Zuokas, who attracted global attention last summer by providing a unique solution to the problem of illegally parked cars by riding over one with a tank.

Vilnius recently issued special cards with useful information for the homeless. The cards include addresses and phone numbers of organizations and charities that provide food, clothing and shelter. These cards can be found in hotels, cafés and restaurants around the city.

The prohibition on begging or giving money to beggars is not imposed near houses of worship, monasteries and convents or during religious services and events that have official permits from the city government.

A similar legal regulation recently came into force in Hungary where homelessness is now punishable by a fine of 444 Euros or imprisonment.

Mayor Zuokos first gained  world wide attention through a YouTube depiction of him in a tank driving over an illegally parked Mercedes. He was later invited to Harvard to receive an IG-Nobel prize for raising public awareness. Later Vilnius beat Paris to the punch, by introducing consumer friendly maps to bus stops  allowing passengers to check the  best way to a destination by touching the map with a finger.