{"id":6600,"date":"2014-09-19T16:41:13","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T20:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/?p=6600"},"modified":"2023-08-03T02:26:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T06:26:06","slug":"pasadena-uses-parking-meters-stop-panhandling-help-homeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/pasadena-uses-parking-meters-stop-panhandling-help-homeless\/","title":{"rendered":"Pasadena uses parking meters to stop panhandling, help the homeless"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some panhandlers stay silent and use signs to ask for money; others call out to passersby. No matter the method, it\u2019s unclear if the money given will lift recipients out of their circumstances or keep them there by funding the purchase of drugs or alcohol.<\/p>\n

Pasadena hopes to get rid of that uncertainty with an initiative that introduces a new alternative for supporting panhandlers. Fourteen bright orange parking meters have been repurposed to collect change for nonprofits that assist the homeless. Decorated with smiley faces and inspirational quotes, the meters can be found throughout the city, with the United Way of Los Angeles and the Flintridge Center<\/a> collecting the money donated.<\/p>\n

No city funds were used to create the campaign, which was designed by students at the Art Center College of Design<\/a>. Grants from East West Bank and other corporate sponsorships paid for the $350,000 effort, including marketing, design, and class materials. IPS Group donated the meters.<\/p>\n

So far they\u2019ve raised a little more than $270 over a three-week period, and it\u2019s uncertain just how much the campaign will collect. In Denver, which has 55 meters used for the same purpose, the effort has raised more than $30,000 annually since the city installed the meters in 2007. But in Orlando, where a similar initiative is in place, 15 parking meters collected $2,027 over three years\u2014$27 more than what the city spent to install them.<\/p>\n

Closer to home in San Diego, approximately 20 meters gather $3,600 yearly, but officials with the downtown business improvement district there say the meters have helped raised an additional $50,000 through grants and sponsorships.<\/p>\n

Although the total to be donated in Pasadena is unknown, Bill Huang, the city\u2019s housing director, believes the campaign offers, \u201ca clear alternative where people contributing know that all that money will go to effective services.\u201d<\/p>\n

And business can add to the total by sponsoring meters at a cost of $1,500 annually. The funds raised can help low-wage workers pay rent and avoid eviction, build housing for the chronically homeless, and support the construction of affordable housing, Huang added.<\/p>\n

Such programs have cut the city\u2019s homeless population in half since 2011, when Pasadena\u2019s homeless numbered 1,300. Today the population stands at roughly 650, officials say.<\/p>\n

But not all advocates for the homeless support the program. Paul Boden, director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project<\/a>, a homelessness advocacy group, has called it \u201casinine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we would get serious about addressing the actual economic and social issues that we find so off-putting, we wouldn\u2019t need meters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Those who live on the streets tend to\u00a0disagree. Dorothy Edwards, a former panhandler until she found permanent housing in 2011, says, \u201cHomeless people wouldn\u2019t be out there doing that if they didn\u2019t really need it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the big picture,\u201d she said, \u201cthe meters are going to be a long-term solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fernando Ruiz, who has been homeless for eight years, says he never panhandles and wants to see the program succeed. \u201cPut a meter on every street,\u201d he said. \u201cI do hope it works.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some panhandlers stay silent and use signs to ask for money; others call out to passersby. No matter the method, it\u2019s unclear if the money given will lift recipients out of their circumstances or keep them there by funding the purchase of drugs or alcohol. Pasadena hopes to get rid of that uncertainty with an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPasadena uses parking meters to stop panhandling, help the homeless - MyParkingSign Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No matter the method, it\u2019s unclear if the money given will lift recipients out of their circumstances or keep them there by funding the purchase of drugs or alcohol.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/pasadena-uses-parking-meters-stop-panhandling-help-homeless\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pasadena uses parking meters to stop panhandling, help the homeless - 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