Here's how you do it - homelesness

The mayor of Albuquerque had a brilliant idea - from The Washington Post:

This Republican mayor has an incredibly simple idea to help the homeless. And it seems to be working.
Republican Mayor Richard Berry was driving around Albuquerque last year when he saw a man on a street corner holding a sign that read: “Want a Job. Anything Helps.”

Throughout his administration, as part of a push to connect the homeless population to services, Berry had taken to driving through the city to talk to panhandlers about their lives. His city’s poorest residents told him they didn’t want to be on the streets begging for money, but they didn’t know where else to go.

Seeing that sign gave Berry an idea. Instead of asking them, many of whom feel dispirited, to go out looking for work, the city could bring the work to them.

Next month will be the first anniversary of Albuquerque’s There’s a Better Way program, which hires panhandlers for day jobs beautifying the city. In partnership with a local nonprofit that serves the homeless population, a van is dispatched around the city to pick up panhandlers who are interested in working. The job pays $9 an hour, which is above minimum wage, and provides a lunch. At the end of the shift, the participants are offered overnight shelter as needed.

In less than a year since its start, the program has given out 932 jobs clearing 69,601 pounds of litter and weeds from 196 city blocks. And more than 100 people have been connected to permanent employment.

“You can just see the spiral they’ve been on to end up on the corner. Sometimes it takes a little catalyst in their lives to stop the downward spiral, to let them catch their breath, and it’s remarkable,” Berry said in an interview. ”They’ve had the dignity of work for a day; someone believed in them today.”

The program fills up every day with people begging to be given a spot next time. The non-profit has spun off another program that hooks these people up with employers in the area. A lot of times, the homeless do not have the proper ID required to get formal jobs - the program also matches these people up with agencies that can help.

I found it a bit odd The Washington Post had to mention that Mayor Berry was a Republican so many times. We have good ideas that work. Some of us even have milk and cookies. We are not the evil puppy-blenders that our "progressive" counterparts say we are.