Resistive Homeless Response Plan – Real Change Movement

Further development of the directed giving campaign efforts will help the homeless improve their lives and reform our streets and parks. (Image used for Illustration Only). – Courtesy photo

Directed giving campaign program being developed

As you may recall, the city has developed a revised approach to addressing the expanding and evolving criminal element that has developed during the past few years in Monrovia’s resistive homeless population. While our initial response to the issues has been complicated given changes in State law – and given our desires to help the homeless – our revised approach takes into account the delineation and distinction between those who are truly homeless and in need of help, and those who are resistive homeless uninterested in any assistance but instead engage in a lifestyle of crime and vagrancy.

To that end, our revised plan to take back our streets and parks involves five practical elements, which include:

1. Help those that are truly homeless.
2. Finalize plans for infrastructure changes at Library Park.
3. Emphasize/market our Directed Giving Campaign.
4. Implement special coordinated law enforcement activities.
5. Coordinate a community-wide advocacy effort directed at our State representatives to implement legislative changes, which would give us the tools needed to address quality-of-life crimes.

Staff has during the past few weeks been further developing each element of this overall revised approach, and we wanted to share some details related to our plan for emphasizing our directed giving campaign, which is a focused public awareness campaign that is geared toward highlighting the negative impacts associated with panhandling and providing an alternative through donation station meters.

To further expand our directed giving campaign efforts, staff has worked with our terrific partners at the Foothill Unity Center, and we have coordinated with the Real Change Movement to implement a robust program that provides an opportunity for the general public to donate and help the homeless in a positive way, while ensuring that the donations received are used productively for homeless services rather than enabling behaviors that are destructive to both the individual and community.

Given this direction, we have been working to have Real Change Movement meters installed in Old Town, along with public signage and information related to the program. Donations received through the meters will be given to the Foothill Unity Center to support homeless programs that will truly help those in need of assistance. We should have additional details regarding the program ready for review in the next month or two, and in the interim, we wanted to provide some pictures and background information related to the initiative.

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