FIVE THINGS ABOUT ‘HOME- LESS’ METERS

1 ANOTHER CITY JOINS IN

New Haven is the latest city in the U.S. to install the meters, which sit curbside and collect donations in the form of cash or credit cards for programs that benefit the homeless. The city has four brightly coloured meters in areas where panhandling has been a problem and plans to install six more.

2 THE HISTORY

The first meters went up in 2007 in Denver, and other cities have followed suit. They were recently installed in Pasadena, Calif.; Indianapolis; and Corpus Christi, Texas. “We get at least one call a month from cities who are looking to replicate the program,” said Julie Smith, a spokeswoman for Denver’s Road Home.

3 PETTY CASH

In Dade County, Fla., a food and beverage tax provides about US$24 million a year as part of a US$61-million budget for programs to help the homeless. Meters, by comparison, bring in about US$50,000 a year, said Ron Book, the chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust.

4 THE CRITICS

Some advocates for the homeless say the meters do little to stop the needy from requesting handouts. Panhandling is not illegal, and people who need money will still ask for it, meters or no, said Mark Horvath, a national advocate for the homeless and founder of the advocacy group Invisible People. The meters, he said, reinforce the stereotype that all panhandlers are bums who want money for drugs or booze.

5 MAN ON THE STREET

Joe Drury, 57, begged for change on a late December morning in Annapolis, Maryland, which has several downtown meters raising money to help defray transportation costs for people residing at a shelter. “These meters just sit here all day, but nobody gives me nothing,” Drury said.