The internet ushered in new ways of raising money, particularly with the rise of crowdfunding. But making appeals for cash on social media represents an entirely different phenomenon.
Last week seven people were arrested for being alleged members of a begging ‘syndicate’. Stories like this entrench public perceptions of the homeless as criminal.
The courts are saying that down-and-out Americans have a right to seek curbside alms despite efforts to ban the practice. Two scholars have come up with an alternative to anti-panhandling ordinances.
Bans are ineffective when used against populations that have nowhere else to go. Importantly, research shows that punitive approaches to the homeless cost more than supported housing strategies.
Travelling almost always involves confronting experiences with abject poverty. As you step out of the pampered cocoons of hotels, restaurants and airline cabins and see destitute people sleeping on streets…
Even before reports of police seizing the takings of Melbourne’s beggars as proceeds of crime, their plight has been a disturbing one in this, the world’s “most liveable city” - and in other major Australian…