Such an approach was welcomed by Myles Selwyn Hemopo, who said he had been begging in Napier since 2016.
"I was finding it hard to make ends meet, so I thought I'd try this," he said.
Mr Hemopo said everyone needed to work together to solve the issue, but emphasised that the Government needed to improve mental health services.
"It's how you treat people, that's how you change the situation around you."
This call has been supported in Napier but in Hastings a local approach is seen as being more effective.
Napier mayor Bill Dalton said a wider view needed to be taken to solve the issue, as "the begging is a by-product of the fact they've found themselves on the streets".
"In a country that's got a booming economy and an enormous number of jobs there's something gone wrong that means our people haven't got houses, and our people are having to beg on the streets."
"It needs to be a cross party approach no question about that," he said.
Napier City Council is involved in a cross-sector group with other local agencies. But as well as getting councils and police involved, central government had to play a part as "they are the ones that can do something about the housing problem".
This was echoed by Napier City Business Inc manager Zoe Barnes, whose organisation represents about 400 Napier businesses.
"We absolutely agree that a cross-agency approach is the best way to take on this issue," she said.
"Central and local government, along with multiple other agencies and the general public have their part to play in this situation and we are very pleased to see this being discussed."
Begging and homelessness do not appear to be as big an issue in Hastings - with credit given to the City Assist programme.
Hastings City Business Association president Susan McDade said while begging had been an issue previously, it had noticeably decreased in the past six months.
As well as the City Assist programme, Ms McDade said most people were more aware that giving people "handouts" was not the best option, and that it was better to give to organisations that actually helped people with real need.
When asked if a central government approach was needed, she said "in a country as fantastic as New Zealand we should not have these sorts of issues . . . I don't know if that's actually the solution, but I think the conversation needs to be had."
Acting Hastings mayor Sandra Hazelhurst also thought the issue could be addressed better at a local issue.
"I believe a local government approach is the most effective. We know our community and we can address our own issues," she said.
"I think that if there's anything that the Government could do to address this issue would be through funding support for volunteer organisations who are carrying this work out," she said, citing organisations like the Salvation Army's Kai Collective, or Nourished for Nil, and the City Assist Programme.
Earlier this month the Government announced they would be investing $325,000 over the next two years in Whatever It Takes (WIT), a Napier-based charity which delivers community support for those in need.
The funding is set to provide the charity with the ability to potentially support up to 20 individuals each year, including two homes that could house up to five chronically homeless individuals at a time while they're helped into more permanent accommodation.
Whatever It Takes Trust general manager Caroline Lampp also felt a local approach was better than a national one, as it involves people who knew the community.
"That is what we have endeavoured to do in Napier. A directive from a national body [such as the police] to their local staff might help get more resources directed at working on this issue," she said.
"Having said that, there is no easy solution to this issue as people will continue to beg so long as folk keep giving them money - and unfortunately people feel sorry for them and so do give them money."
When asked for comment on the suggestion, Minister for Social Development Anne Tolley said it was a matter for councils, as they had the power to make bylaws under the Local
Government Act 2002 to manage begging.
Currently, Wairoa District Council is the only one in Hawke's Bay which does not have a bylaw that prohibits, or limits people from soliciting money.
The Hawke's Bay District Health Board was unable to comment yesterday.