It was a normal Tuesday, around 7 in the morning.
Candace pulled up behind the building to get a head start on the day. Before she could unlock the door, she had to step around someone sleeping against it.

Notice what that sentence does not say. Not some guy. Not some homeless guy. Someone was asleep against the building, and she had to step around them to open her own business.

That sentence is the whole episode.

Two things are true at the same time. Someone out there is living through a chapter Candace is not living through. And she still has a store to open, a team to keep safe, and customers who need to feel okay walking through the door. Neither one cancels out the other.

This is heavier than what we usually do here. It is not a list of bad behavior and it is not a “those people” conversation. It is one owner talking to other owners about what is happening outside our four walls, what it costs us, and what actually helps.

Tune in to hear:

The one thing your local police cannot do on your property unless you have told them something first

Why one owner’s story gets filed away, and six owners’ stories change what a city does

The piece of paperwork the police wish every business had printed and sitting in a drawer

Plus the thing about panhandling that surprised Candace (and surprised the officer too), and the local resource she did not know existed until two weeks ago.

Additional Resources

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988 | Website
• SAMHSA National Helpline, free and confidential, 24/7, 1-800-662-4357 | Website

A quick note: everything shared in this episode reflects what one merchant group heard from their own local police department. Ordinances, enforcement, and available resources are different in every city. Confirm your own rules with your own department.