MONROE, Washington — Thousands are reacting to a video from Monroe police that was shared over 22,000 times on Facebook.
The video discourages giving money to panhandlers and instead encourages people to give to charities that help people experiencing homelessness.
Monroe's deputy police chief said giving to panhandlers could be doing more harm than good.
"There's the unintended consequences of what that money is supporting, if it furthers a substance abuse disorder and what can that lead to," said Deputy Police Chief Ryan Irving.
"We feel that people engaging or approaching vehicles to exchange money is a risk to the public and the motoring public as well as the pedestrian [public]. We also think it's an unsafe practice for people to engage in hand to hand exchanges of currency, [it] creates risks for opportunities," he added.
KING 5 reached out to several people who responded to the Facebook video with a different view from police.
Matthew Kampff said he is homeless by choice.
In an email, he said not everyone in the homeless community are substance abusers, but those who are, are casting a negative light on the people who really do need the money for help.
Kampff also said "most times, the only charity facilities in a city are miles away and some of these people have injuries that prevent them from being able to travel to and from one building to another."
Monroe police said that's why the city's community outreach program provides bus vouchers to those who need rides to get to services.
"Our obligation is to try to be proactive in our approach," said Irving. "We have a community outreach team with a social worker and an officer that engages people that are experiencing homelessness during the week. So we have wrap around services to support those folks."
Aggressive panhandling is not allowed in the City of Monroe.
Panhandling is considered aggressive if someone asks for something in a threatening or forceful way, someone keeps asking even when you say "no," or someone blocks your path trying to get something from you.
If you feel like aggressive panhandling is happening get to a safe place, call 911 and provide a report to the responding officer.