Homeless Voucher Program Proposed

Charity is getting cheaper in Long Beach.

Diners and retail customers in the city’s downtown area may soon have something new to offer panhandlers--without opening their wallets.

City homeless advocates are finalizing plans for so-called panhandling dollars, vouchers good for clothes or other services. The coupons would be available free to downtown customers.

Similar to an earlier experiment in downtown Los Angeles where coupons were handed out and exchanged for meals, the Long Beach initiative would refer potential donors and panhandlers to service agencies in the city.

“This would be an alternative to people who feel guilty about not giving, but at the same time [the project] gives a resource to these [homeless] people,” said Don Darnauer, who originally proposed the voucher concept last year as a member of the city’s Community Homeless Connection.

Another benefit of the so-called panhandling dollars, Darnauer said, is that they would not pay for alcohol or drugs.

As early as next month, the vouchers could hit downtown Long Beach, where restaurateurs have long complained that panhandlers harass their customers. The recent campaign to discourage handouts was criticized by homeless advocates who said the publicity wrongly blamed the problem on the city’s homeless population. . . .