Atlanta
(2008-09-12)
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This week, officials said they'll put 5 donation meters downtown. They hope people will choose to give money to a meter and not to a panhandler. Officials say money collected will fund shelters.
Some homeless people in Atlanta say it's a good idea on paper but they have some real concerns.
Homeless people like Otee Johnson know asking for money downtown could get them arrested.
JOHNSON: You see what I'm saying? You see what that police just did to him? What did he do? For aggressive handling? He told him if he don't get off that corner he was going to lock him up. See?
Johnson just saw the city's panhandling crackdown first hand on the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Central Avenue. He understands the city's motive but he says every situation is different.
JOHNSON: Some panhandlers just don't take no for an answer and they keep pursuing it and pursuing it. Like me, if I ask somebody for something and they say no I say good god bless you and maybe another day. But for some people it's different.
Johnson says all he needs is a chance to get on his feet and the city says the donation meters will help homeless people like him do just that. Johnson is taking their word for it but he does have reservations.
JOHNSON: I hope it don't turn out like it used to do when they had the parking meters when they put the money in the parking meters. People started snatching the parking meters up out of the ground and still taking that change and doing whatever they want to do with it.
But some are worried about another type of theft.
MAROCCO: The so-called people that put the meters out there are going to be the ones reaping the profits from it.
That's a man who goes by the name Marocco. He used to be homeless but now he rents. He gets money from social security and from, in his words, hustling. He's sells Newports for a quarter a piece downtown. Marocco has no faith the city will keep its promise about the meters.
MAROCCO: They're going to be the ones taking the money and keeping the money. So, therefore it's not going to trickle down to the homeless people at all. That's how I feel.
It's unclear when the meters will be installed. In the meantime, the panhandling crackdown continues. © Copyright 2009, WABE
