Donation meters to help homeless

Atlanta’s civic and business leaders have a message for people when they’re approached by panhandlers asking for spare change.

Put your money in a meter.

City leaders on Wednesday unveiled one of five donation meters for people to give to groups that help the homeless — part of a new campaign titled “Give Change That Makes Sense” to discourage pushy panhandlers.

The meters are yellow with black posts and look like parking meters. They will be put in five locations downtown: City Hall, the Fulton County Courthouse, the Georgia World Congress Center, the Hilton Atlanta hotel and Atlanta Police Department Zone 5 precinct. The Buckhead Coalition said Wednesday it will pay for three meters to be put in the Buckhead area.

All of the money from the meters will go to organizations that aid the homeless, such as the United Way and the Gateway Homeless Services Center.

“We believe that this effort will help those in need more than any handout ever will,” said Kathleen Bertrand, a senior vice president of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The effort is in response to an April report about public safety issues in downtown by the convention and visitors bureau and Central Atlanta Progress, a nonprofit funded by downtown businesses to promote the area.

Research shows panhandling is a constant complaint among tourists, according to that April report.

Debi Starnes, senior policy adviser to Mayor Shirley Franklin on homeless issues, said many of the people asking for money are hustlers, not homeless.

Some City Council members discussed the idea of donation meters about three years ago when they passed tougher guidelines on people panhandling downtown. Franklin said the meter issue was discussed again after officials visited Denver, which has donation meters, earlier this year.

The mayor put the first quarter in a meter during a news conference at City Hall.

“It is an alternative [to giving to panhandlers],” Franklin said of the meters.

The campaign has some critics.

Otee Johnson, who has been homeless for 15 years, stood at one corner of the Fulton courthouse Wednesday afternoon in search of donations. On a good day, Johnson, 49, said he can get $25.

Johnson said he’s been more careful in recent weeks about asking people for money as police have been more aggressive in cracking down on panhandlers.

Giving to people on the street, Johnson said, “should be a spiritual choice and a personal choice.”

He suggests city leaders give one-time stipends to the homeless to help them get back on their feet. If the person winds up on the streets again, Johnson said they should be sent to jail.

“Why not give them a start?” he asked.

Starnes said the money for the program — $40,000 — is coming from Central Atlanta Progress, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Atlanta Police Foundation and the Georgia World Congress Center.

City officials will evaluate the campaign in March.