HICKORY, N.C. — In 2018, the Hickory Police Department took part in a community discussion with Lenoir-Rhyne University to address the homeless issue in the city.

What You Need To Know

Hickory Police Department has installed four signs asking drivers to not give handouts to panhandlers

​The new signs are part of a larger project of the Hickory Police Department to help combat homelessness.

Signs ask you to donate to local charities instead of panhandlers

Out of that discussion, the department hired Casey McCall to be the new community navigator.

McCall grew up in Hickory and had been working for the last few years for the Salvation Army. 

McCall had experience working with the homeless community in the city. He has gotten to know them and since he started working with Hickory police, and he has helped house over 50 people. 

As part of the initiative to help combat homelessness, Hickory police also installed four street signs asking the public to not give handouts to panhandlers. 

The department says the four signs are located at spots where the most calls for service originated. 

The calls for service include everything from traffic accidents, to pedestrians being hit and even assaults. 

Police say their number one goal is safety for the entire community. By asking the public to not give to panhandlers in these high incident locations, police hope to end the traffic accidents and calls for service that have involved both the homeless and drivers. 

McCall says in his years of working with the homeless community in Hickory, 90% of the money given to panhandlers is used to aid their addiction, whether it is alcohol or drug abuse. 

“In this line of work, your ultimate goal is to work yourself out of a job," McCall said. 

He would rather see money go toward charities, which have resources to help the homeless out of their situation.