I've been homeless, sleeping hungry on park benches, shivering with newspapers for a blanket. I can tell you that having to panhandle is humiliating. It makes you feel terrible, so bad that for many, the only succour is drink and drugs. You get $5.00, and it gets spent on the cheapest booze, just to mask the shame of it's getting. If someone had offered me a job, even if for just a day, I would have jumped at it without a second's hesitation. There is more though... Money you earned through legitimate work is much less likely to be squandered on drugs and alcohol. You don't feel self loathing for having gotten it that way, you feel the opposite. You feel like you might actually be worth something after all. For that reason, being dropped off at a help center after doing such work, is FAR more likely to result in accepting other help, like beating addiction, etc..
I'm the guy that has a dollar bill for the panhandler. And i'm not naive about what he does with it and I'm not trying to corrupt him any further but really if he thinks he needs a buck than he does. Most of these people don't need a job. What a man needs is to realize the great hope that his freedom represents. And that can only happen in America. What i'm talking about doesn't just solve the problem of poverty, but it is the answer to every single problem that plagues mankind. It is sacrifice. The dignity of work has nothing to do with the 'American dream'. It is a class of people who work with dignity. And those people belong to America and humility will awaken the culture that is peculiar to them alone. And they will be sustained in it. What is necessary for a sustainable world is a sustainable workforce. For enlightened people to change the world, they must awaken faithfully to the enlightened plan. Wake up American. The dream is over.
Hands up to this guy, its tough for anyone to care, and this guy not only turned a profit for the community, but more importantly helped these peoples moral and financial judgement
thermotronica by getting them to pick up garbage? Fixed their morals and judgements? Think about who they were before. Honest working people. Then the economy turns sour. There are lay offs. Soon they can't make rent or mortgage repayments. They're forced onto the streets. Then they find they can't "go get a job" because there are literally no jobs going in their town. Maybe not even if they move away, away from their support network. The outlook is pretty bleak at this stage. They are cold and hungry. Each little amount of money they make pan handling only buys enough food to get to the next meal. There is no hope for the future. Buying a bottle of spirits seems appealing - for the warmth, and to numb their mind from the constant worry about what the future holds. Get people off the streets by real job creation, not just this scheme. He said the scheme had offered the equivalent of 1000 working days. That's about three years for one person. I think the programmed claims to have aided 1000 people in that time. Did the each get one day of work? The real hero in this story is the guy building rapport with the individuals to try to get them into programs. But even then, what's the point of getting off drugs if the problem that got you on them in the first place has yet to be resolved? Capitalism is the problem here. People are only employed where there is money to be made. A socialist approach would be that people would be employed where there is work to be done. As the mayor stated, there is a backlog of work to be done. He just doesn't have the funds. There's your fundamental problem.
This is very similar to what we saw in Mexico. Each city we visited during a 5 year stay had a program like this. The city hall had an area that people wold go to each morning if they needed work/food. They were given a job for the day. Some were even given just a palm frown to sweep streets! At the end of the day, they got mostly food. If they were single, they got simple food items for the day. IF they were the head of a family, they got food the number of people in their family!!! Yes, we saw beggars, but almost only in the places tourists go! We ALWAYS thought this should be adapted in the U.S.
I really admire the initiative and leadership of Mayor Berry and others like him. Imagine what a difference such a program can make in cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, etc. Imagine thousands of homeless people receiving hot meals, counseling, shelter, income, comfort...HOPE... These kinds of programs would certainly strengthen communities because after all, we are-as a city-our weakest citizen. Proposing a budget for this cause can only enhance the levels of infrastructure and standards of beauty in cities, while delivering accomplishment to the lives around us.
Most problems are the same problems which been on repeat for decades, some generations. After seeing The Price We Pay and The Price of Fairness, I'm jumping on board with Friedman's negative income tax and Free To Choose policies over these same Pay To Play failures, like US Foreign Aid.
I've been saying LA needs to do this asap. As dirty as the area is and as many homeless as there are here. You could clean up every damn street and help people gets some money to get off the streets
I saw a story about Will a while ago. He should be officially declared a National Treasure. Albuquerque is so lucky to have him as a resident. I'll pass this talk on to the mayors in my metro area. Thanks for sharing!
Because there's to much money to be made by to meny people! Homelessness is a buissness. Also this kind of approach makes to much sense.(especially to crooked politicians and government unions)
I would love to do this I’ve been researching for several years and how to actually help the homeless and came up with not too many good ideas but now I’m gonna have to look into this further thank you so much for posting this
I’ve always felt a pull to this particular problem as well. I’m always afraid that I’m doing more harm then good if I give money. I truly want to help them achieve independence
I have pounded away for years that all a person needs to overcome homelessness is a job like they used to have and the income to pay rent. Regardless of whatever their behavior or habit, paying rent will solve the problem of homelessness. This I based on years of social work counseling and social science observation. Just look at my Twitter timeline, especially to the End Homelessness account. To no avail. Now I'm listening to a Mayor that solves the problem by getting guys a job. I listened to the entire talk and his accomplishments and wonder why the entire country couldn't come to this conclusion a long time ao. Including your organization TED.
Nando N you must have helped very little people in you life, if you think this fucking guy does anything else than marketing for himself. Wich he achieved, clearly
Nope. I'm an Albuquerque resident, and I can tell you in no uncertain terms that his program is a joke, and so is he. Come to Albuquerque and see for yourself, if you don't believe me.
And 5 YEARS LATER, still under 200k views. Great example of the PRIORITIES of this country. Good ole California doesn’t have time for “this crap”. It takes empathy and actual love to make this change and have this kind of initiative. This is a stand up man, not a politician. He’s an actual LEADER.
I was actually thinking of this exact thing to get started in our community, our soup kitchen here has a lot of people that need work. I was thinking that soup kitchen could also get associated with the city and maybe start a program to clean up our streets.
It's nice to see someone who deserves to be in charge of something. (Though as a graphic designer I have to point out that their logo is pretty bad and someone should make a new one :D ...but who reads this anyway)
Wow! Thank you so much for what you have accomplished. I am sharing your video with our governemt agencies. I too believe that homelessness in the richest country in the world is not insurmountable and thank you for proving this. Be well.
I knew this guy up my street, now hes old. But way back when he was a full addict on all drugs by using a needle, he was sitting chillin, drinking a beer one day, and one guy just gave him a look, knew what he was looking at, but still ask my mate if he wanted a job. He agreed, and held this plumbers job for 15 years while still partying. Trust me, us crazy people are the best labor works out.
A positive approach is inspiring, I cannot argue against that, although, every city, and every state has unique dynamics. I helped the local homeless and poor as I looked for small handyman jobs. I can go door-to-door and I have no personal addictions to deal with. Feeling good is what hypocrites just love to feel. Giving a few dollars or some food makes the citizens feel so good about their apathy, rejection, and double standards. These are the traits in myself that I overcame by actually helping people at risk. My city, and my community have never inquired about my experience or knowledge on this subject, so I am more aware of the true intentions regarding the problem. We need jobs, America.
This would be great all over the world. I was just crying because I might not be able to have children but I think not being able to help the masses is just as bad.Thanks so much for this #peace ^_^
The thing is, there's no down side to helping them do this. Giving people jobs helps build a strong economy, and a strong economy means you don't have to worry about a market crash/depression like event. It's a win win win for the jobless, government and working class.
The point is that he was only able to keep the job because he had a safe and stable place to sleep...there's a reason that shelter is at the base level of Maslow's pyramid.
Sadly, as much as I'd love to give some credit to my mayor, the program has unfortunately been ineffective as a whole and it's disingenuous for the Richard Berry not to include that into his TED Talk. Ask anyone living in Albuquerque and they will tell you this program had little effect on curbing the homelessness problem. One of the main problems with the program is it wasn't convenient for the homeless who did not have transportation to get to the facility which closed at 3pm. Not to mention, when you're homeless you're not exactly up to speed on gaining access where to meet up with the vans that pick them them up nor what time they picked them up. Then there is the issue of lack of pay: panhandlers make more money holding up a sign at an intersection than the $9/hour the city will pay them, so for most of them it was more practical to keep peddling on the street corner than it was to pick up weeds for 6 hours. And finally, the so-called shelters were more dangerous than sleeping on the streets. It was common to hear reports from individuals getting mugged in the middle of the night or having their stuff constantly stolen, so it became a safety issue that never was addressed by the mayor. If the mayor really wanted to tackle the problem he would of implemented the same system Utah did by providing every homeless individual a home they could call their own. Study after study shows that not only did it save the tax payers money, but it greatly increased the chances of homeless individuals successfully re-integrating into society. But sadly, New Mexico is consistently on the top 3 of poorest states in the country. We're dead last in economic recovery. Dead last in education. So every program and initiative is crippled by the states lack of funding and tax revenue. The problem is going to get worse as the country recedes deeper into another recession as now 78% of Americans are now living from paycheck to paycheck and the income disparity from the poor to the wealthy is only increasing. But hey, at least the mayor gets his 12 minutes of limelight...
Have you ever heard of the term, "juking the stats"? Well in this scenario, the mayor decided to focus primarily only on the positive statistics, which were minuscule and marginal at best. And secondly, those stats he provided were in the short term from over a year ago, which is cearly not enough to come into any reasonable conclusion. It's like getting a straw poll from 10 individuals in understanding how the country feels about sushi, or giving fifteen individuals twenty dollars to evaluate if they'd spend it on food or entertainment. It did not decrease panhandling or curb recidivism of those individuals who were picking up the trash in the long term. Most, if not all of those individuals gave up or never returned back for the reasons I already stated above. The fluff piece, which you just saw in this video is exactly that, it's a scripted narrative that avoids the harsh truth that it failed in it's overall objective. This isn't to say it was a stupid idea, I wish it would work, but it was doomed to failure due to socio-economic circumstances and his political beliefs that contributed to it. But the point is, it was hubris for the mayor to tout it as game breaking successful program, and for him to exploit this opportunity on a platform like TED, only reinforces my belief he's ambitiously seeking higher office in the long term. You don't have to take my word for it, read the litany of stories between 2015 and 2016 from the local news stations, KOAT, KOBTV, KRQE, and read their overall analysis, then you tell me if it was pretty significant. But if you don't want to and are willing to take my word for it, then you're not going to like the answer...
I mean I can see footage of allegedly homeless people working, so even if that's all the mayor did, I still say it was worth it. Nobody ever gets it right first time, but if your city can get the ball rolling, I think in the future things will improve.
It's great that you are providing jobs for the homeless, however the jobs are not paying enough to where the people can rent a room or a home. Yes, we need to approach this issue one day at a time, but while we try to find the solution people are starving and cold sleeping on the streets. People need a place to call home and a shower. You mean well and what you do matters, but we cannot think that a days work is the solution to this growing problem. God bless you and all the people who want to make a change, may he continue to provide us with the wisdom to help the people that want the help.
Well yeah, the current mayoral administration of Albuquerque, Tim Keller, has done the opposite, I think. He's providing shelters, but I'm not sure how far he is doing to provide jobs.
people like to make it a more complicated issue than it is. this is an excellent solution with a simple premise: if someone is homeless and jobless, find them cheap housing and a job.
I´ve already sent the link of this TED speech to my city hall representative on facebook... let´s see what is going to be the excuse of not trying to implement this way of helping panhandlers.
There are also many people on the street who DON'T have these wild chronic self-esteem/psychological problems he keeps referring to. Since the financial crisis there has been a tidal wave of former lower-middle class people who have had to hit the street since the crash.
Part of it is weather. You don't get cold enough so people can live outside there all year round. And I expect a lot will have died or vanished during the current events. However, you will notice homeless is a condition with many more men than women. Often they are people who have been abandoned by the system or for whom there was insufficient aid. Many, especially the men, have suffered injuries - severe concussions from war, domestic violence, muggings, etc. which rendered them unimportant to a nation which only values men for their performance and disposes of them or disregards them as soon as they are no longer able to perform or can't protect themselves against crimes of force or fraud.
NO, i literally mean "we". Just me by myself will not do the trick. Get your facts straight, beliefless dogmasless. The stupidest name ive ever heard of...toxic too...
"religious"? What are you talking about? You sound dumber and dumber with each post. Just shut up. And i never said the whole world was inside me. I said we as in "we as a people". You need help.
Sorry kenneth for not seeing your message. It was drowned out by a toxic troll that has nothing better to do in their life. Oh yes, i absolutely realize that men have it harder in life in almost every aspect than women do. Men are expected to do more physical work in pretty much every avenue of life but we are told to receive the same reward because of modern day "gender equality". On top of which masculinity is attacked in the media and at big social gatherings all the time- if we are dominant people complain, if we are submissive people complain. Men are confused and depressed at epic levels never before seen in the country's history and its all for stupid reasons dealing with politics and social pressure.
Here in London this idea would not work. Government is handing out money to people who did not work for generations! They cannot be bothered to do anything to contribute to society.
I think charity's are great to work for hope everyone is blessed and people will be kind if your nice counciling is good idea for homeless sad things happen in there lives people die who used to care for them
If I would have the resources; I would purchase a 100 acres land, and build a central building on it with beds, showers, a large workshop, lecture room, a large recreation room and a a big kitchen. Then, I would divide the land to be worked by every homeless who want to cultivate their own food and make some money and deposit it in a bank account of their own to become self sufficient. I would promote the project among colleges and university to search for volunteers who want to help and go for an internship willing to teach self-help. The program would go along side with a program on how to start things from scratch and responds to the needs of the community to make a living. The group would have to produce their own food, their own electricity and manage their own water.
You are right not all people who are experiencing homelessness are able to work. But for those who can and want to work, which are a lot of people in the US from my experience, this could be part of the solution.
This shelter/shed kit can be assembled in a few hours ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kwtxW-phgSU.html Cheap wooden houses with shower room and toilet ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eOSfpu3Bcr8.html Affordable Architecture designed by Hansagarten24 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B4o3sAhpgFY.html The assembly of a BBQ pavilion "Seattle" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--ZlEhCZAGP4.html
High tech, low tech, no tech, what is tech; what do you really need when homelessness shows you the clothes on your back and maybe your wallet are all that connects us to the world around us... other things of sentiment and use could be shared or not held onto at all... have and give a heart; the pricelessness fills the deepest and emptiest wallets and touches the heart more than money and time alone ever have done... nearly 5 years homeless and this is my truth.
I have never seen someone standing on the corner holding a sign "Want a job". Thank goodness I live in a country with a proper welfare system. (And no, it did not make us lazy - our employment rate is among the highest in the world)
