Ads Stir Controversy: Is Giving Homeless People Spare Change Helping or Hurting?
Bus stops, libraries, and phone booths in affluent London neighborhoods are plastered with warning messages for tourists and residents: Handing out spare change can kill.
“Please don’t contribute to a person’s death,” reads an anti-begging campaign from The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s council. Smaller print on the ads state that “the money you give [beggars] is more likely to be spent on alcohol and drugs."
The ads went on display in August, but have most recently drawn ire from singer Ellie Goulding, who tweeted her disdain for the campaign on Thursday.
Goulding’s not the only one upset with government’s response to people begging on the street. Other social media users called the campaign “disgusting” and “ridiculous” and also pointed out that not all homeless people are addicts.
Two-thirds of homeless people in the U.K. cite drugs or alcohol as their reason for first becoming homeless, according to a 2014 study from U.K. charity, Crisis. That number drops off considerably when looking at drug and alcohol use while homeless: 27 percent of homeless respondents reported having or recovering from alcohol problems, and 39 percent reported taking drugs or that they are recovering from drug abuse.
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Council members say that they aren’t implying that all homeless people are addicts, but moreover that not all beggars are homeless.
“Only a small minority of the most prolific beggars in Kensington and Chelsea are actually homeless,” reads the campaign’s press release.
Council leader Nick Paget-Brown cites research from Thames Reach, a charity that assists homeless people in London, as the thinking behind the campaign. Thames Reach advises against giving money to people begging on the street. They point to a 2013 arrest in which police officers drug-tested 40 people who were begging. All of the people begging tested positive for drugs, but only 16 people were actually homeless. Their outreach teams estimate that 80 percent of those asking for money on London’s streets do so in order to buy drugs. There are no national or local figures on the number of people asking for money in the U.K.
The number of homeless people is also difficult to quantify, as it is typically based on one night count of people seen sleeping on the streets. Under this method, government officials counted 2,744 on one night in 2014, a 14 percent increase from 2013. London saw an increase of 27 percent in people sleeping on street over one year’s time.
Paget-Brown and his fellow councilors suggest donating to charities instead of putting money directly in a needy person’s hand. The ads also include a web address that first offers a hotline to report begging or people sleeping outdoors along with four local organizations supporting homelessness.
But some homeless advocates note that although street donations are not a long-term solution, they can make a big difference to those who need it most. “People who beg are often some of the most vulnerable in our society,” Matt Downie, Crisis’ director of policy and external affairs, told the Evening Standard. "We know from our own clients how important a simple act of kindness can be to those in desperate circumstances."
Goulding, for one, hopes that the ads don't dissuade her fans from helping those on the streets.
Related stories on TakePart:
• 4 Things to Know About America's Homeless Community and the One Thing You Should Do to Help Now
• Fined for Feeding Homeless, Woman Says Her Religious Freedom Is Under Attack
Original article from TakePart
