A different approach to panhandlers

During a recent visit to a Southern city of some size, I noticed that there were no panhandlers or homeless people visible on the street.  My guide explained that the long-time mayor was a law-and-order type, and had instructed the police force to escort homeless people from downtown to a social services center, some miles away from downtown, where they are fed and housed for the night.  The assumption, I gathered, was that anyone who was on the street asking for money needed help, and the city would provide that help, but not in the tourist district.  It's a soft approach, and one that Portland might well consider -- that is, unless we're not interested in being a tourist destination.