6 ms·

Giving $50 pre-paid cards to the homeless and tracking purchases

23 points by chrisacky 13y ago

Zenst 13y ago
What a lovely idea, just goes to show that homelessness is not all down to drink and drugs as people believe. I know as had some wonderful conversations with homless people myself and very easy thru no fault of your own to get into such a situation.
- yoster 13y ago
  Last time I checked, drug dealers only accept cash or valuable goods. Drug dealer would definitely get a good life though.
- val_c 13y ago
  Agree that it's a really nice idea. It's amazing to see how each person reacted. It's so sad to see that not everyone is on the streets cos of drink and drugs.
- dmckeon 13y ago
  300.00 initial total 50.00 card unreturned, unused 66.26 returned unspent 55.28 food 74.61 food, phone minutes ($15) and cigarettes 53.85 LCBO: Liquor Control Board of Ontario Finding out what that unexplained acronym meant made a big difference to my understanding of the story.
- greenyoda 13y ago
  Two out of the five cards did have a substantial percentage of the balance spent on alcohol. LCBO stands for "Liquor Control Board of Ontario". According to Wikipedia, "LCBO stores are generally the only stores allowed to sell distilled spirits in Ontario." [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor_Control_Board_of_Ontario https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor_Control_Board_of_Ontari...
darkxanthos 13y ago
This is a great way to test the assumptions many people make about the homeless. I can imagine this being the start of an awesome non-profit. Donate to the homeless with transparency with what they do with your money. The service could also report on the population as a whole and segment by interesting factors to look for ways to maximize the impact of the money given.
- phamilton 13y ago
  Since money is fungible, I see it fairly easy to game the system. (Spend actual cash on drugs, buy necessities to trade for cash or drugs, etc )
  - greenyoda 13y ago
    There was recently an article on HN [1] that explained how Tide laundry detergent had become a form of money in some U.S. cities. It can be bought with welfare checks and exchanged for drugs. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5023204 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5023204
omervk 13y ago
(2010)
diffsir 13y ago
This was just on the front page of Reddit. Oh and I already read this article years ago. HN == Reddit
stevewillows 13y ago
In Vancouver a restaurant has a token program that seems to be working well. http://saveonmeats.ca/sandwich-token-program/ http://saveonmeats.ca/sandwich-token-program/

23 points by chrisacky 13y ago

Zenst 13y ago

What a lovely idea, just goes to show that homelessness is not all down to drink and drugs as people believe. I know as had some wonderful conversations with homless people myself and very easy thru no fault of your own to get into such a situation.

yoster 13y ago
Last time I checked, drug dealers only accept cash or valuable goods. Drug dealer would definitely get a good life though.
val_c 13y ago
Agree that it's a really nice idea. It's amazing to see how each person reacted. It's so sad to see that not everyone is on the streets cos of drink and drugs.
dmckeon 13y ago
300.00 initial total 50.00 card unreturned, unused 66.26 returned unspent 55.28 food 74.61 food, phone minutes ($15) and cigarettes 53.85 LCBO: Liquor Control Board of Ontario Finding out what that unexplained acronym meant made a big difference to my understanding of the story.
greenyoda 13y ago
Two out of the five cards did have a substantial percentage of the balance spent on alcohol. LCBO stands for "Liquor Control Board of Ontario". According to Wikipedia, "LCBO stores are generally the only stores allowed to sell distilled spirits in Ontario." [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor_Control_Board_of_Ontario https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor_Control_Board_of_Ontari...

darkxanthos 13y ago

This is a great way to test the assumptions many people make about the homeless. I can imagine this being the start of an awesome non-profit. Donate to the homeless with transparency with what they do with your money. The service could also report on the population as a whole and segment by interesting factors to look for ways to maximize the impact of the money given.

phamilton 13y ago
Since money is fungible, I see it fairly easy to game the system. (Spend actual cash on drugs, buy necessities to trade for cash or drugs, etc )
- greenyoda 13y ago
  There was recently an article on HN [1] that explained how Tide laundry detergent had become a form of money in some U.S. cities. It can be bought with welfare checks and exchanged for drugs. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5023204 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5023204

omervk 13y ago

(2010)

diffsir 13y ago

This was just on the front page of Reddit. Oh and I already read this article years ago. HN == Reddit

stevewillows 13y ago

In Vancouver a restaurant has a token program that seems to be working well. http://saveonmeats.ca/sandwich-token-program/ http://saveonmeats.ca/sandwich-token-program/