"...some cities have reported big reductions in panhandlers and an overall public awareness about the benefits of giving to proven charities..."

It's misleading, not to mention somewhat of an insult to the intelligence and effort of those who have worked diligently to increase public awareness about people experiencing homelessness and the issue of panhandling to state, as does Denver's Jamie Van Leeuwen, that "there's been an 92 percent reduction in downtown panhandlers since the meters went up." It would have been much more accurate to state that Denver has thrown some $65 million dollars at its homeless problem, has a squad of police officers who act as outreach personnel, and have attacked the issue from every angle possible. And while Denver has been successful by "government" standards in reducing homelessness, if you spend more tha a few minutes talking to some of the folks who've been run out of town by what some are calling their "gestapo-like" approach, you'll begin to see a little different picture of what's really going on there. This is not to say that Denver's not doing a good job of ending homelessness in some areas, they are. But it borders on disgraceful to mislead readers by even remotely suggesting that those idiotic meters have somehow been even partly responsible for such a drastic reduction in homelessness in Denver. Shame on you, Jamie - you ought to be much clearer about this matter, especially where those meters are concerned. And as I mentioned in a previous post on this, using meters is an old idea that has repeatedly bombed, no matter how many times we're told by some that their use is "catching on." There's nothing innovative or successful about it at all. It also tends to dehumanize by masking the fact that we're talking about human beings here, rather than something as distasteful as parking meters. Nashville used them long ago and they were sent to the graveyard of stupid ideas after just a short time.

How homeless meters fare elsewhere

Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Homeless meters have caught on around the country, with local governments, nonprofits and business groups starting programs in such cities as Portland, Ore., Denver, Baltimore, Tempe, Ariz., Chattanooga, Tenn., and Marysville, north of Sacramento.

They're also popping up in Canada, where Montreal installed 34 meters last year and Ottawa recently put up six "Kindness Meters."

They don't seem to collect much money for homeless programs - at least not compared with the millions of dollars that many cities spend on services for the homeless. But some cities have reported big reductions in panhandlers and an overall public awareness about the benefits of giving to proven charities rather than panhandlers.

"If your goal is to help, it's much better to give to a charity where you know the money will be put to a beneficial use than to give directly to an individual on the street," said Mike Evitts, spokesman for the nonprofit Downtown Partnership that runs Baltimore's meter program.

In Baltimore, the city's nine meters - with readings that switch from "Despair" to "Hope" after a coin is dropped in - have raised less than $5,000 since they were installed a year ago. Likewise, Portland's meter program has only raised $10,000 since its inception a few years ago.

Megan Doern, spokeswoman for the Portland Business Alliance, which runs that city's "Real Change, Not Spare Change" meter program, said the blue and green meters aren't enticing enough. The alliance is recruiting artists to make them splashier and more eye-catching in the hopes of raising more money.

Denver's program, established in the spring of 2007, now has 86 meters placed in strategic downtown locations and at the airport. To date, donors have dropped $15,000 in change in the meters. That's in addition to the nearly $100,000 the city has brought in by allowing private donors and businesses to "adopt a meter."

Jamie Van Leeuwen, with Denver's Department of Human Services, said there's been an 92 percent reduction in downtown panhandlers since the meters went up. He said a lot of that is due to educating the community about not giving to panhandlers.

It certainly hasn't been as smooth in all cities. In December, thieves stole two homeless meters days after they were installed in Chattanooga, and the rest of the meters had to be reinforced to prevent future thefts. And in Seattle, "giving meters" flopped after homeless advocates said they were really intended to drive out the homeless.

E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchronicle.com.