Friday May 16, 2008, 12:15 am
I don't think that this would work. Think that to many would end up being left out, and maybe end up being worse off than before.
Monday May 19, 2008, 3:59 am
That's a wonderful idea, wish more cities would try to help instead of banning and jailing people.
Noted with thanks Kelli
Monday May 19, 2008, 5:09 am
Noted. I was thinking along those lines Jim. If the money went to the food buses or vans, there would be more for the homeless. Anything is better than nothing. These poor people are at a loss to what they can do. Its an added help.
Monday May 19, 2008, 7:24 am
This is kinda weird. Im with Jim and Judy. If they the charities could in fact get the money it would help the kitchens and so forth. But would anybody put money in and how long would that last.
Monday May 19, 2008, 8:27 am
I can't decide if this is a good idea but I can just see it now... the local charitable organizations disputing the disbursement of funds! One other thought I had was if people are putting money into meters then they are not likely to give directly to the homeless they encounter so ultimately those people might suffer more.
Monday May 19, 2008, 10:02 am
Lol, if you want to help the homeless, don't give to the homeless, obviously give instead to a facelss orange box. That way you can truly be certain you will have no clue who'll actually benefit from your money in the end. So what if only 10% of your donation ends up feeding the homeless? Gotta keep the charities & the orange box collection guy running, heh?
Monday May 19, 2008, 10:25 am
Hmmmm.Who do you think would pay for the meters and their installation and
the cost to maintain them????? Better you donate directly to a charity. If
you feel the need to directly give these people something - walk into a restaurant and buy them some soup and a sandwich. Many places do not let
them go in themselves. Maybe they could use a warm blanket. You must be
careful in how you "Help". Other people could rob them of what you give
them or they could just use any money you hand them for booze or alcohol.
Please consider these things before you offer your help so that it is truly
"Helping" them instead of creating more problems. Charities that are trying
to meet their needs are always grateful for donations of money, food,clothing,etc. and any time you may be able to donate. Can you help
cook, wash dishes, wash or mend clothing,shop for needed items, or give a
needed ride to a doctors office??? If you can do any of those things you
would be helping them and keeping yourself a lot safer too. Check out
your own areas to see if there is a shelter or soup kitchen you could offer
your help to. Thanks. Please remember the homeless.
Monday May 19, 2008, 11:41 am
Guess I just feel sorry for them all...Yeah maybe some put theirsleves there and some didnt but I can help but feel like some need the help...maybe not all of them, but some....Yeah my bad I one of the ones who gives to them when they stand on the street corners...Yes I probalby have dumba----'s typed on my face. I just cant stand it...
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Monday May 19, 2008, 12:25 pm
i don't know, i just don't trust these townhalls and whatever authorities are in charge, and remember this can happen to anybody, it did happen to me more then once (taxes, exes, jobs etc.), borderline, somehow i had the strength to pull through. bless
Monday May 19, 2008, 1:17 pm
This is in my opinion, the most ASSININE idea I have ever heard!! Yeah, the government is going to help! My ass the government is going to help! They helped make most of these people homeless by putting them out of a job or kicking them out of a mental institute!! Sure the government cares! My ass the government cares! They only want to have the money for themselves! I am so sure NONE of this money would end up where it needs to go to ACTUALLY benefit these destitute people. Now granted, some of them got that way by their own addictions, but having people give to a nameless, faceless, orange meter!?! What kind of freaking joke is this! You see this picture of this man with a dog? Do you have any idea of how easily ANY of us could be in that picture? I was. I lost my job when they had me train the woman from India on how to do my job. She took it with her when she went back to India. I lived in my car with my dog and my three dogs. I lost my home, I had no money to rent a place. I drove my teenage son to a different friends home every night while I slept in the parking lot of Women's Workout World in Schaumburg, IL every night for almost 3 months til I could save up enough money to put money down on a place to live. Do you know how hard it is to save money when you are a single mom raising two teenagers and everything is so expensive. Nobody in the government helped me! They didn't care. I tried. This is bullshit! This will not help a homeless person. What helps homeless people are PEOPLE who have a heart - NOT a nameless, faceless meter! Get real!! Donate your money to a real shelter or take a homeless person home with you for a day, wash their clothes, let them take a shower, feed their dog, give them a place to sleep for a night, give them a couple of good meals to eat, treat them with dignity and pack them some food to take with and get them to a shelter so they have someplace to be til they can get on their feet. I have done it. We can all do it. The homeless are still PEOPLE! They are a burden to those who made them that way and they would rather pretend they don't exist! Don't let a homeless person be faceless!
Monday May 19, 2008, 5:48 pm
This poor man in the picture has more humanity in him then all the governments of the world. Look at the dog and feel how the two of them are one. They trust each other. Carolyn Dimmick, you are right on.
Monday May 19, 2008, 7:13 pm
This has been done in other cities and has proven that it doesn't work to either raise money or address panhandling issues. I wrote a blog post about this some time ago - here are a few links from those in other cities who've tried something similar:
The meters “don’t raise a lot of money — maybe $100 a month”
Stone Soup Station, October 18, 2007
Sorry but I have little faith in the use of parking meters as surrogate fundraisers for the Homeless. We had them here in Nashville years ago and they were a flop, and even those who do use them will tell you they raise very little money; it probably costs the taxpayer more to put them in place and have an attendant go around and empty them periodically than it would if we just gave that money directly to those folks who really need a few bucks."
Link to full article -
http://stonesoupstation.blogspot.com/2007/10/meters-dont-raise-lot-of-money-maybe.html
Plans for homeless not panning out
Independent Florida Alligator - Gainesville,FL,USA
By VINCENT GAGLIANO
Nearly two months after Gainesville banished panhandling, I’m giving a D-minus to Gainesville’s “Give a Better Way!” program for refurbishing old parking meters into collection stations. It doesn’t take a math major to see that spending about $259 for signs while raising only $101.70 in donations is not profitable. Forty dollars was also raised online through PayPal.
Link to full article -
http://www.alligator.org/articles/2007/10/17/opinion/columns/column1.txt
Monday May 19, 2008, 8:07 pm
The article says, "It's not fair for the government to create this incredible level of poverty and then turn around to the rest of the community and say, 'Harden your hearts and give the money to us.
GIVE THE MONEY TO US. Who? The government? Why? So they can have more, to spend as they see fit? I suppose they think this will help to get the homeless out of site in a shelter someplace? The government is what is causing much of this. Where in this country can you make a living off of minimum wage??? Scoundrels - the rich and greedy, should be made to make a living of minimum wage.
