Panhandlers Give Meal Tokens a Cool Reception

The cardboard “coins” being dropped into downtown panhandlers’ outstretched palms this week might just as well have been made out of lead.

Imprinted with the words “good for one meal--and more,” the silver-dollar-size cutouts advised the bearer to go to the Los Angeles Mission for a free meal.

“Personally, I’d rather have a 50-cent piece. No joke,” said Holmon Robertson, 57, who was looking for noontime handouts along 7th Street in the high-rise district.

A few blocks away on Spring Street near the Civic Center, Jamillah Kariem fingered the make-believe coin suspiciously. “I’ll tell you the truth: Real money is better,” said the 47-year-old woman.

Operators of the Los Angeles Mission disagree.

They say the Spare Change program launched this month from their shelter at 5th and Wall streets can make panhandling more palatable for the homeless who live on downtown streets--and for pedestrians who walk along them.

Meals have always been free at the mission, where about 2,000 a day are served. But the cardboard coins explain where to get them and to sign up for other relief programs.

The coins are being distributed to merchant groups, downtown businesses and city officials. They also can be ordered by calling (213) HOMELESS, said James Lewis, an administrator at the shelter. About 20,000 coins have been printed.

The idea of giving the homeless prepaid vouchers for food and lodging is not new. In past years, poor people in Los Angeles and other cities have received them.

In this case, mission officials were motivated by complaints from donors about panhandlers and by a survey showing that 94% of Los Angeles County residents have been approached by someone for a handout.

The survey, conducted for the mission by the Gallup organization, showed that nearly half of those approached handed over money, even though many worried that the cash would be used for drugs or alcohol rather than for food.

Lewis spent the lunch hour Tuesday distributing the coins to those who approached him at street corners and from doorways asking if he had any spare change.

The panhandlers may have been disappointed to get a cardboard cutout instead of nickels, dimes and quarters. But they were polite about it.

“It will prevent people from being hostile,” said James Cobb, 44, who has solicited donations along Grand Street for two years. “There’s a lot of aggressive, rude people on the streets these days.”

When Lewis was out of earshot, Cobb added: “If I had a choice between this and money to buy food, I’d take the money. The mission’s too far from here.”

At 6th and Olive streets, Gary Walker, 38, was hoping to raise enough cash to buy a rice-and-beef takeout plate from a restaurant down the street.

“I was about to ask for help with a meal and he’s handing me a button,” Walker said with a laugh. “Money’s for when you’re hungry right now. A button is for doing it later.”

Back at 7th and Flower streets, Robertson revealed that he exchanged a cardboard coin given him recently for a meal at the mission. The food was good--spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, a vegetable side dish and juice. But the wait was long.

“I thought this was a special pass. I thought I wouldn’t have to stand in line,” Robertson said. “The line was about 45 minutes long. And the sermon was extra--it lasted about an hour.”

The mission’s Lewis said that’s what it means when the coins offer “one meal--and more.”

In the long run, he said, the chapel service could give panhandlers the kind of change their lives need most.