“Homeless Parking Meters” Are The Latest Craze In Solving Homelessness

Started in Denver a year ago, these “innovative” collection boxes for helping the homeless are now in San Francisco, Portland, Baltimore, Tempe, Chattanooga, and even in Canada. (Just a note... the city of Santa Monica, CA created "dolphin change" programs years ago, where people could put their pocket change in metal dolphin statues that would help the homeless.)

They look like parking meters, but are really collection boxes for people to donate their change. The money goes to help the homeless. Compared to the amount of money that local and federal government funding sources are invested into helping the homeless each year, these meters are simply pocket change.

But cities are saying that these meters are also reducing panhandling. People are not willing to donate their money to roadside panhandlers, because they now know that they can give their money to the homeless meters, and be certain the money will go to truly help homeless people.

Is this effective? To collect funds to help homeless people, it is ineffective. To encourage people to stop giving to panhandlers, it is effective.

But the real solution is not some Madison Avenue marketing campaign to stop people from begging on the streets. The real solution is to help these people find living wage jobs and permanent affordable housing, so they don’t need to panhandle.