SALINAS, Calif. -- The Salinas Old Town Association will be holding a meeting Thursday to address the homeless problem in Old Town and surrounding areas.
The meeting will be in the City Hall Rotunda on 200 Lincoln Street, from 5:30 to 7:00pm.
According to Amit Pandya, President of the Old Town Salinas Association, the city needs a change, and the association wants the community's input.
"The merchants decided that we want to meet up, get together and hopefully find a solution to the homeless issue," said Pandya.
Back in October, a homeless man known as Ramon was beaten outside the XL Grindhouse, and now the two owners face charges. But Pandya said, it's not uncommon for panhandlers to be aggressive too.
"A number of times people get approached for panhandling and some of the times the approach gets aggressive," said Pandya, adding that Thursday's meeting will help find solutions to the homeless problem in Old Town. "We hope to sit down and brainstorm as to exactly what the homeless issue is and what are some of the solutions."
According to the Old Town Salinas Association, empty store fronts are another problem that need to be addressed. Pandya said the meeting will be the first of many, since these problems can't be solved overnight.
"The homeless problem is quite big and it is not a single issue... And there is no magic bullet to address the homeless issue," Pandya said, "We have development and energy in old town that i have not seen in years and years."
