Re: Should feeding the poor without permits be a crime?
HOBOMATT@aol.com
Thu, 27 May 1999 17:36:32 EDT
Like any activity involving things that "attract" numbers of people (homeless
or otherwise), ALL aspects of feeding operations need to be considered.
A local example; the Salvation Army runs a mobile canteen truck to the
edge of the local welfare office parking lot - right across the street from a
residential area. They started doing this, without serious impact. Then they
got the idea of dropping a picnic table there to "make things nicer". Well it
might have been nicer for the 45 minutes of dining time; the rest of the time
that table served as a open-air cocktail lounge for the 40 oz and Mad Dog
set. Neighbors started getting pissed off. The table was removed and the
propblem resolved. People who feed homeless people need to be mindful of all
ways their good intentions impact the immediate neighbors and the community
at large. This is a bigger "quality of life" issue than the possibility of
poorly prepared food. Matt Parkhouse, RN, Colorado Springs, CO