You’re kidding me. Is this a serious proposal?
Ok – its an interesting idea. There are ways to make it more interesting, but seriously, is this our solution to panhandling? Note, I said panhandling, not homelessness. The two can be, but are not always, the same. And if we do this, is it just an excuse to make it look like we are doing something about homelessness, because the solutions are going to take more than nickels and dimes. We need real solutions, not superficial ones.
The other issue here is it really disrespects the work the Downtown Madison Inc and the groups they have partnered with and all the work they have done on this issue. When the council staff sent out information about the “homeless meter” program, we got this email from Susan Schmitz:
PLEASE Alders! DMI did a years work on this issue in 2004 and we have A LOT of information to share with you. The program is called ReachOut and I am sharing our work with a small group of folks this Thursday at 10am. Mary Schauf, Linda Covert, Steve Amundson (UW), Lori Kay and a few others will be at the meeting. Let me stay in touch with all of you. Thank you!
If you want to hear more about homelessness, solutions and current ideas, come to the Homelessness Forum this evening from 5 – 8 at First United Methodist Church (203 Wis. Ave.). You’ll hear from Porchlight, Interfaith Hospitality Network, YWCA, United Way, Operation Welcome Home, Dane County Human Services, Madison Police, Mayor’s Office, Housing Initiatives, Homeless Services Consortium, Community Action Coalition and so much more.
We need more than “homeless meters”, learn more about what can help tonight!
