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Hello there. I am the executive director of a not for profit that, among other things, serves people who are homeless in a shelter designed for rehabilitation. I have recently put together a concept and sent it to other agencies, senators, the congressional delegate, etc. I would GREATLY appreciate your feedback and ideas as well.
As 'panhandling' behavior does not work for the community or the person, I would like to use our organization to start a 'voucher' system, starting with 25 cent vouchers. Instead of giving someone in need change, giving a voucher would enable them to go to various food service businesses and to purchase food and non-alcoholic beverages only.
As we have a rising drug abuse problem on the island (St. Croix, but would like to extend to STT and STJ next year), giving cash does not often help the people, although the intent is good. This would circumvent this problem and allow people to be less afraid of giving to the people who are homeless as it would be for the purpose of nutrition.
Vouchers would be made conveniently available for purchase at face value (25 cents, 50 cents, etc.) or in booklets. I started another program like this in a challenging inner city environment in the late 1980's, and it worked beautifully. It still continues to date.
This, finally, also teaches 'consumerism' as the people who are given vouchers actually have a choice in foods. Among people who are homeless, many have diabetes, are aware of it, and have information on how to eat and what to eat. It would also help as although the soup kitchens do some wonderful work, they are only open for one meal per day. This leaves many people hungry, if they make it on time, or starving if they don't. This leads to petty theft and other undesirable behavior. These vouchers would be able to be used during most daytime hours, and therefore allow people to gain strength, clarity of mind, not having behavior driven by hunger, and for those who participate or engage in someway in employment (we offer drop in employment services at our center, Ten Thousand Helpers at 301 Hospital Street, F'sted), greater sustenance to be able to work enough to get back on their feet and eventually into some form of housing.
I do not have all of the answers. I know that. As such, I am hoping you can provide me with feedback to assist in the development of this, or perhaps even a better program.
If you can take a few minutes, I would truly appreciate hearing from you,
Sincerely,
Dan G.
Posted : November 12, 2009 3:52 pm
My initial gut reaction to this is positive. There are some issues. If you give a person a $dollar coupon, then they have to get two or three more before it is worth anything. They could lose it, give it away, trade it, etc. And... a .25c one would be even worse. I think it should be a meal coupon. XYZ business - Chicken and Rice plate. ABC business (cheesburger with fries. LMN business - Beef Roti. etc.
I'd think you could start with one or two well located businesses that would partner with you. Are there businesses in town that want this business? Could they have a set meal price, discounted, like a $5.00 plate , that they would trade a voucher for? I almost think that people would be happy to buy a meal voucher at $5.00 more than they would buy a bunch of .25C vouchers... knowing that they are giving the needy person a meal. The voucher would say the name of the business or businesses (ABC, XYZ,LMN) that it was good at and be just a 'meal ticket' - no associated monetary value. The person could choose to use it where they wanted to. The restaurant would take the ticket and give the person a the designated meal and then get the vouchers redeemed. This more controlled exchange might work better initially.
Just offering a little feedback. I do not give cash to any of the homeless... it really just doesn't work. I might do this four times a month though... a meal a week to someone in need! $20.00 a month out of my pocket. Not a bad exchange.
Posted : November 12, 2009 4:57 pm
Topic starter
Thank you for the feedback. Yes, I agree that the smaller the denomination, the more confusion it causes for many folks. In a study I did in inner city New Haven, CT, people generally were most willing to do $1-. We had a number of small food industries that had a special $1- menu....generally, something small but nutritious and a small beverage. It was at cost, but worked quite well.
In the Yale University area, we found that people did do (and this goes back a few years!) a $3- voucher, and that was most popularly used by a local restaurant that was vegetarian, but was able to offer soup, bread and a drink for the $3-. They averaged some 30+ servings per day.
The nice thing was that over the course of a few years, people knew each others names, and people who were homeless gained social skills that were more the norm. Many even made sure to be polite, clean and dressed up as much as possible for the occassion. It was both for food and a bit of contact with other people.
I really appreciate your well thought out ideas. I agree. I am trying so much to stop the people who do give cash, and there are quite a few. I see it in the shelter. The more money that is given, especially when in early recovery, and suddenly the person is high or drunk. I do wish there someday would be one solution for this, but there just is not. Very challenging when you are looking at food, housing, disability, veterans, employment, etc.
One step at a time, something do-able, and we at least make progress.
Thank you again,
Dan
Posted : November 12, 2009 5:32 pm
As a regular contibutor to 3 or 4 street people I think this is a great Idea and would totally support it. Thanks for your efforts
Posted : November 12, 2009 5:52 pm
I like the idea of $1.00 and $3.00 vouchers. I would buy them. I wonder if they could be used to buy alcohol or drugs from a dealer who would then go get his groceries with them......just like real money. Vouchers for certain restaurants might preclude that, I think.
Posted : November 12, 2009 8:52 pm
Great feedback everyone. Daniel, let me know what I can do to help. Let's make this happen.
Posted : November 13, 2009 11:45 pm
Dan, I think this sounds like an excellent idea and I would support it wholeheartedly! If you'd like to bounce some ideas off of someone and maybe learn how area churches can help also, PM me. My sister is the Executive Director of several non-profits in Richmond, VA that deal exclusively with the homeless, most of whom have substance abuse or mental health issues.
Thank you for your efforts so far!
popflops
Posted : November 17, 2009 7:24 pm
