Linus has his blanket, Snoopy his dog house and food dish, and Charley Brown his indomitable spirit; four items which allow each of us to become independent, living a life with which we are comfortable.
An article in the New York Times, dated Oct. 29, 1987, spoke to this spirit about a homeless, mentally ill person who refused assistance while living in the streets of New York city – later winning a court case upholding his independence. All he wanted was to live his life as he saw fit. Ask the homeless person today what is most important in their life, and the first answer you still get, is independence.
Our society provides a necessary assistance to the indigent, but it comes with strings. Rules exist which encroach upon this “I might be down, but I am still my own person” attitude. Rules such as “You must be at the food kitchen at 6 a.m., first come first served (which sometimes means spending an hour or so traveling to the kitchen), and still being turned away because they ran out of food – or “When you spend the night here, you are on your own” – which means you may have your possessions stolen (or worse).
The infrastructure already exists to feed people. Think of your favorite restaurant or fast food establishment. Why rent a building, furnish it with food preparation equipment, hire chefs and servers, and cook the food, if its only purpose is to feed the indigent?
The infrastructure already exists to house people. Think of your favorite YMCA or motel. Why build an edifice, furnish it with dressers and beds, and hire a manager and maids, if its only purpose is to house the indigent?
To relate these aspects, think of your life, how you are able to feed and house yourself. The only real difference between you and the indigent is they lack the funds. Why not, instead of providing the service (which creates a subservient attitude), give that amount directly to them, which allows them to independently feed and house themselves?
This is a paradigm shift, and it can work!
Robert Kennedy said, “I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
Eleanor Roosevelt said it best – “It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”
The “Foundation Advancing Indigent Responsibilities” proposal
In discussing with my daughter some ideas on panhandling permits, she responded about the more pervasive problems indigent persons have, e.g. how those who were hungry had to travel to get to the “food kitchen,” stand in line early (first come first served), and then still might not be fed (limit exceeded).
We started speculating together, thinking “outside the box.”
Pro-rated, how much per person did that meal cost? Taking into account all costs (food, servers, the building, administration, etc.).
Were that amount to be compared to that used by, say, McDonalds (or Denny’s), how many more people could be fed? And without the need to travel to a food kitchen, stand in line, be excluded, etc.
She thought of giving an ID (permit) to those who were hungry, add a “bar code” to it, have the code scanned by a food entity to pay for a meal, and close down the “food kitchen.” I found my mind exploring the implications – computerized validation, expense control, etc. Wow!
“Trickle Down” takes overhead, this is a “Stimulus Up” idea to get the economy moving, take care of the indigent, use donations in lieu of taxes, and in general cut the Gordian Knot of “same-old, business-as-usual” thinking. I think President Obama would be proud of this refreshing, new idea, in line with his “Can Do” policy.
To create yet another foundation to receive monies for the indigent seems overkill, but I always look for new approaches to solve problems – outside-the-box thinking. We currently donate money to entities to help those in need, their overhead being “just a necessary part of doing business.” Why not save the overhead by giving the money directly to the indigent – allowing them to “live their life as they see fit?”
A not-for-profit business plan for Advancing Indigent Responsibilities
The guiding principle of the “Foundation Advancing Indigent Responsibilities” (FAIR) organization is to allow the indigent their own resources to feed and house themselves, visit health-care personnel, etc.
Giving money directly to the indigent (via the FAIR account) will reduce overhead and infrastructure expenses currently used by philanthropic organizations (VOA, food kitchens, housings for the homeless, etc.), where “trickle down” monies are used to benefit the indigent. Eventually it may render these organizations redundant, with the concomitant reduction of associated costs.
Donations will be accepted by the “Foundation Advancing Indigent Responsibilities” (FAIR) account (to be created). This (VISA-like) account will be available online, and will be funded by donees’ credit transfers.
Dispersal will be by the use of the FAIR credit card; freely given to any indigent person. The card will have a picture, name and signature, will be color coded, and expire every three months, when a new card will be required. This “turnover” will prevent stagnation of the system, as well as keeping statistics up-to-date. It is definitely not the intent of this organization to become a “way-of-life” for the indigent. The cost of processing the card will be charged to the FAIR account. The RTD agreeing, it could be used for a free ride on their buses.
The online account will be the same as any credit card account: ID number, date used, entity (fast-food or restaurant, thrift shop, motel, medical office, etc.), and amount.
Privacy will be paramount. Validation checks can and should be done (e.g. only one breakfast per card/day (no freeloading for friends), money limit per transaction type (food, housing, etc.), invalid for alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) during the processing of the credit.
Ideally, the system runs itself – user controlled, definitely transparent, and up-to-date stats.
Slogan – “Give us a FAIR chance to succeed!”
Musings – adaptability of the system:
*Emergency room visits – cost control for the uninsured.
*Replace the current unwieldy food stamp program.
*Food Bank and vouchers-for-motels system.
*Medical insurance payments.
The Pilot Program
Food kitchen attendees will be the first to receive the FAIR credit card. They are the definitive bona fide indigent, and will use this “credit card” to “pay” for their meals. The charges will be computed monthly – meals served dived into the total (prorated with non-ID holders) monthly budget of the kitchen including food, employees, management, utilities, building rent, etc. – to show the kitchen’s actual cost per meal, which can then be compared to “eating out” at a restaurant or fast food establishment. The viability of this FAIR process can then be proven; a positive result could also be considered a redundancy test for the current system.
This technique can be applied to the housing of the homeless, food stamps, Denver Health, etc.
I bank at WellsFargo. My idea is to emulate their processing.
Sign in to the FAIR account using a public password, and obtain all balances and account totals by selected parameters (donee amounts for the past quarter, entity credit transactions for the week, individual indigent’s charges, etc). Even the total processing from day one for the anal. Pure transparency.
To donate, process an input transfer (no output allowed!) from your banking account, using an assigned private account number.
Disbursements are paid to selected, voluntary entities willing to accept the use of the (non-suspended) FAIR credit card. The photo will prevent fraud, and processing the credit thru restriction parameters (e.g. specific entities/indigent, limited daily food charges, no alcohol, etc.) will preclude improper use of funds.
I envision a plain card, without embossment or account number, having a full-sized picture (with signature) of the bearer on the face, both for security and easier verification. The back of the card would show the entities authorized to accept it.
The audit committee will be staffed by volunteers, everyone welcome, open meetings. It would be nice were entities to discount their charges, the bank to donate the processing fees, and as for Linus blanket, a free ride from the thrift shops as well as the RTD.
If a name be associated with this endeavor, I propose it be “The Michele L. Cottage Foundation Advancing Indigent Responsibilities,” in honor of her germinating ideas.
Let us not curse the darkness, rather, light a candle.
Wes Price lives in Lakewood. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
