tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22367563.post7802393332191136010..comments2009-06-26T08:00:51.812-07:00Hope Mission (Stephen Berg)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02748545008126537575noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22367563.post-55421827005944667502009-06-26T08:00:51.812-07:002009-06-26T08:00:51.812-07:00I think Hope Mission should strongly encourage the "have a heart, give smart" campaign. Panhandling directs money away from social agencies that use funds to directly address issues of drug use and homelessness, not to proliferate them. There is no way of ensuring that the revenue generated by panhandling does not bolster the criminal economy. Giving a twoonie to someone on the street is more a quick assuaging of guilt than it is a long –term solution. This policy should not however, rule out the practice of buying someone a cup of coffee or a sandwich- this isn’t charity so much as an act of necessary love completely separate from the monetary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com