Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Give homeless money by scanning their barcode
Donation app helps them save
ROUGH sleepers can now wear codes which passers-by who have no spare change can scan with their mobiles to give them money.
Funds they receive via Greater Change go into an online account managed by a case worker who helps them reach targets such as a home rental deposit.
It also means they cannot spend donations on alcohol or drugs.
Greater Change founder Alex Mccallion said: “The problem we’re trying to solve here is that we live in an increasingly cashless society.
“As well as this, when people give they worry about what this money might be spent on. So the solution we’ve come up with is a giving mechanism through your smart phone with a restrictive fund.”
Homeless people register with Greater Change to get a personal QR code on a laminated card attached to a lanyard they can wear.
Passers-by then donate via their phone’s browser – or download the app, which brings up the beneficiary’s personal profile. It can also include how they became homeless and what their goals are.
The system is currently on trial on the streets of Oxford and is supported by the University of Oxford. Labour MP Neil Coyle, co-chair of the All-party Parliamentary Group on Ending Homelessness, said: “Necessity has become the mother of invention and now there is an app to try and help generate more public donations.
“This intervention should not be necessary but with a Government ignoring the scale of the problem, any extra donations may help homeless people directly.”
But he warned Greater Change does not address deeper issues behind homelessness, including a lack of drug and alcohol programmes, affordable housing and mental health care.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “It’s encouraging to see that people want to help rough sleepers, but the bigger picture here is that neither rough sleeping nor any form of homelessness should be an issue in Britain today.”
The Big Issue has claimed its sales have suffered as people increasingly rely on contactless cards and mobile phones instead of carrying cash.
Critics claim the scheme is like “wearing a dog tag”, but supporters argue it ensures donations are spent on the right things that people need.