Delivering an Important Message : Sherman Oaks Firm Offers an Admirable Example of How to Help the Homeless

The American Flyer Messenger Service of Sherman Oaks is providing a reasonable and admirable example of what to do on behalf of the area’s homeless population. Its efforts come at a time of dwindling government dollars and a period of rising public intolerance at the burgeoning spectacle of people begging for money at all manner of locations. You’ll find them near banks, outside restaurants and stores, even in the paths of cars at intersections and freeway on-ramps.

It has been estimated that there are between 38,000 and 68,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County. The number in the San Fernando Valley is far fewer but still sizable, according to homeless advocates. By one estimate, for example, there are some 1,500 to 2,000 homeless people in the Valley alone. According to a University of Southern California study, more than half of the municipalities in Los Angeles County spend no money on the homeless. You might encounter signs outside of restaurants that ask patrons to say no to panhandlers. All of it leads to a question: What should be done? There is a fairly simple answer: Be reasonably generous in a way that is not likely to be abused. The American Flyer Messenger Service of Sherman Oaks is doing just that, and hoping to expand on its current efforts.

For the modest cost of $80 per week, messenger service workers have been handing out 100 free lunches, once a week, to the hungry and homeless people they encounter on their daily rounds. Employees pitch in with donations and time in preparing sandwiches and packing juice, crackers, fruit and dessert. Darren Ross, a spokesman for the messenger service, says that he hopes his company can distribute 1,000 lunches a week by the end of the year. Ross is hoping that American Flyer customers will pitch in with donations toward that cause. So should any business, group or individual in the Valley with the means to do so.