City reports drop in panhandling, planning for shelters this winter

A citywide campaign to discourage giving cash to panhandlers seems to be working, and several ordinance changes passed this year are giving officials more tools to address behavior issues downtown.

Earlier this year, a public awareness campaign involving signage at key intersections and digital marketing encouraged residents and visitors not to offer cash to those asking for it on the streets. Almost 9 million impressions were delivered through the marketing campaign.

“In real time, we saw little to no panhandling downtown” for much for the summer, said Michelle Treasure, the city’s homeless coordinator.

“The ‘cash handouts don’t help’ campaign was super-successful.”

Treasure gave an update Wednesday to the City Council as part of an effort to be more proactive about communicating the collaborative approach the city, county and nonprofits are taking to offer resources to those experiencing homelessness.

“Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of collaboration (from the outside), but I will tell you it’s really going fairly well when it comes to that,” Treasure said.

This year also brought multiple new ordinances, including those banning alcohol in  additional city parks — including all of Nelson Park — banning alcohol on city property and banning camping in public places.

The city is still working through how it will handle an amendment to the encampment ordinance requiring personal property that’s not disposed of or retained as evidence to be stored for at least 30 days and no more than 60 days. The city will work with an outside organization to handle storage.

“We’re close to landing on a decision there, but it’s not been solidified,” Treasure said. “In more recent situations, we’ve been lucky because people have been willing to pick up their stuff and move along.”

Shelters appear to have capacity to handle current demand, she said.

In August, the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House averaged 117 adult guests each night. About three in four were men. Its Family Commons shelter consistently is full.

Through the first half of the year, South Dakota Urban Indian Health supported 180 individuals through street outreach efforts funded by the city, including many multiple times.

“Our community is calling. They’re seeking out their assistance, which is what we would really like to see,” Treasure said.

Through September, the Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. ambassadors have completed more than 51,000 tasks  — everything from helping those on the streets to cleaning up trash and other beautification efforts. More than 2,000 of those tasks are direct interactions with people downtown — situations where behavior was deescalated, individuals were connected to social services or issues were handled without requiring law enforcement.

“When the heart is healthy, the whole body thrives. And when we take care of downtown Sioux Falls, we strengthen the core that fuels every neighborhood, every business corridor and every impression a visitor has of Sioux Falls,” said Brandon Hanson, CEO of Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.

“We often say the downtown ambassadors are downtown’s first responders. They’re on the street every single day, often 12 or more hours between April and September, and because of that consistent presence, response times are very fast and interactions are proactive. The ambassador program is absolutely working.”

Entities involved in serving those dealing with homelessness have started planning for the colder months when more shelter beds tend to be needed.

“Living outside is dangerous,” Treasure said, adding that there will be continuous assessment of emergency shelter capacity and that “mercy” beds will open up at shelters based either on the time of year or the temperature.

“Our community is committed to ensuring every person has access to a safe shelter, moving people out of extreme cold and into warmth and stability,” she said.

The city is mindful of best practices in other communities, she added.

The emergency weather template is based on one used in Kansas City with modifications for Sioux Falls, for example.

“It’s nothing different necessarily than what we’ve done in years past but maybe a little more catered. We’ve met. We’ve talked about it,” Treasure said.

The five pillars being used are:

• Living outside is dangerous.
• Continuous assessment of emergency shelter space is vital.
• Wrap-around services are critical.
• One size does not fit all.
• Family reunification is a priority.

“Since July of 2024, we have seen over 100 family reunifications that were facilitated by the Bishop Dudley House, and more so we’ve seen an increase in that here just in the month of September of 2025, so definitely something that not only our providers are seeing as successful, the people in our community see it as a success as well,” Treasure said.

This graphic shows current shelter capacity:

“This could change today just based on the needs of our community, bed availability, what’s going on with staffing at the shelters, but it was important for us to just get something together, just generally what we base our bed capacity on and our availability on and how we communicate,” Treasure said.

The 211 Helpline is the hub for those seeking shelter, and street outreach providers also play a role in connecting people with services.