CHARLOTTE, N.C. - 'Tis the season for giving. But some business leaders would rather you not give to panhandlers.

Charlotte Center City Partners believes the homeless can best be helped by saying no when they beg. They also discourage restaurants from what they call feeding the hungry out the back door.

But some believe this is driven by politics.

"In Charlotte, nobody helps a veteran," is the sentiment shared by Shane Nelson, who is homeless in uptown.

On the same day, you have families walking around the corner of Trade and Tryon Streets, enjoying the Christmas spirit. With decorations and holiday music playing in the background, it's a picture perfect evening for them.

"Tell you what man, I went to war in '91," says Nelson, who doesn't belong in the uptown portrait according to Center City Partners.

"I walked around for a long time around your little city right here," said Nelson as he showed us an injured foot, "and it hurt really bad."

Nelson approached the FOX Charlotte news team, asking for money. According to an anti-panhandling city ordinance, he can do that. As long as its not at night and away from an ATM or business.

"Are we informed of the unintended consequences of street feedings," said Center City Partners President and CEO Michael Smith, "and responding to the appeal for panhandling?"

The business group put together a task force that looked into Charlotte's street population. It concluded the best way to help the nearly 3600 homeless adults is for people to give to organizations that feed the hungry, rather than individuals that beg for help.

Dale Mullennix with Urban Ministry Center says that's the way to end homelessness. "Then if somebody's asking for money on the street, they're probably not homeless," said Mullennix. "They've decided that's their way of making a living, and obviously we don't need to support that."

Serve Charlotte's Homeless is another organization that also helps people in need. "We don't want precedent set right now that effects all the homeless in Charlotte that are fighting everyday to survive," said volunteer David Levine.

This new initiative that discourages restaurants and people from helping the needy would itself have unintended consequences, according to Levine.

Some also worry this is being driven by the Democratic National Convention coming next year.

"We don't want anything to happen right now," said Levine, "during the time of the DNC that's going to end up affecting the generations after the DNC."

The Center City Partners Task Force would also like to reexamine the current anti-panhandling city ordinance, and it's being enforced.