Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

A5
U.S. NEWS Monday 15 May 2017
Plan to curb panhandling takes

people from begging to work

PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) —
Cleaning trash and land-
scaping public parks might
not be glamorous work, but
Derek Cote says it beats
begging for change in a
traffic median at rush hour,
and he’s looking forward
to his hometown giving him
a chance to do it.
“As soon as I get an ID,
I’ll be doing it,” Cote, 33,
a panhandler in Maine’s
largest city, said while
holding a sign that read:
“Homeless, spare a buck.”
Cote’s home of Portland,
Maine, is the latest city in
the U.S. to try to cut down
panhandling by taking
people from curbside beg-
ging to municipal jobs such In this Wednesday, May 10,
as cleaning walking trails 2017 photo Derek Cote, a
homeless man, panhandles in
and picking up litter. the median strip on a street in
The city launched the Portland, Maine.
“Portland Opportunity Associated Press
Crew” this month, and the
program is employing pan-
handlers to do landscap- city $42,000 this year. So-
ing and clean up public ar- cial service workers have
eas at the minimum wage been reaching out to pan-
of $10.68 per hour. Cities in- handlers to let them know
cluding Albuquerque, New about the program, and
Mexico, and San Jose, Cal- will set up signs at intersec-
ifornia, and Chicago have tions to let them know that
tried similar programs with it’s underway. Workers will
varying degrees of suc- be paid via a debit card,
cess. Portland is a city of so they will not need to
about 67,000 people with cash paychecks, though
a homeless population of the program hopes to link
a few hundred, making it people with banks, Gron-
much smaller than other din said. Despite the high
cities that have tried simi- hopes, some in Portland’s
lar programs. But panhan- homeless community have
dlers are a common sight been resistant about the
on downtown streets and program. Officials are
traffic medians around hopeful the program will
the city. The program get a good reputation in
launched May 4 and im- the community if they are
mediately signed up four able to link hundreds of
people, said Jessica Gron- people with jobs, as Albu-
din, a spokeswoman for querque did last year.
the city. The effort is a pilot But for William Conley, a
program that is expected 57-year-old veteran who
to last until November, she panhandles near the wa-
said. terfront, not wanting to
“First and foremost, it’s to participate is a matter of
get people job training pride. “I’m not cleaning
and employment support trash up,” Conley said. “I’d
services so they can have rather suffer and go with-
good futures and long- out.” Portland’s history with
term employment,” she its homeless community
said. “If the result of that is includes a failed attempt
less panhandling, that’s all to ban loitering and pan-
for the better.” handling on street medians
The program will cost the four years ago. q