HOT SPRINGS, Ark.- It’s a national problem in cities all across America.

“Why do we have so much homelessness now,” says John Ferguson, who moved to Hot Springs earlier this year.

The Spa City certainly isn’t exempt.

“You’ll see them sitting along the tree and stumps, just all over the place,” says Matthew Mullins, who works downtown. “Just sitting, waiting for money. It just looks bad for our city.”

The Salvation Army of Hot Springs says they’ve noticed a significant increase of the people they’re serving.

“We noticed we didn’t recognize a lot of them,” says Capt. Stephanie Hargis. “[We’ve] come to find out that there’s been a lot of people who have relocated here to Hot Springs.”

Capt. Hargis says they’ve gone from feeding anywhere between 80-100 families to closer to 200 in the last three months.

“Because we have doubled in number that has definitely put a toll on us financially wise,” says Capt. Hargis.

Hot Springs police say not everyone you see panhandling is homeless, but it’s hard to tell who really needs help.

“There’s a lot of people who are upset because people are taking advantage of that situation,” says Cpl Joey Williams with the Hot Springs police department.

A court order prevents police in Hot Springs from enforcing loitering laws and that includes panhandling.

“We don’t really have the answer,” says Cpl. Williams. “We have to abide what the law says and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

The Salvation Army of Hot Springs will continue to feed whoever comes to them for help. They do need donations because of the growing population of people needing to eat.

If you’d like to donation you can contact the Salvation Army of Hot Springs at 501-623-1628.