Helping Out Laguna's Homeless, One Quarter at a Time

Art is everywhere you look in Laguna Beach—even in something as innocuous as the parking meters.

Not the meters you slide a card or quarter into to park your car, though. Instead, these are the brightly-painted meters peppered around town which take your spare change, but repurpose it to help the homeless.

Inspired by a similar project in Denver three years ago, Laguna Relief and Resource Center Chair Faye Chapman wanted to take the idea and involve the city's artists. Several were given $200 to paint and showcase their interpretive pieces on five parking meters, which were placed around downtown.

Since then, the number of meters has grown—two were recently added. The city is expecting about $3,000 in proceeds to come from meter donations this year, which help fund the Alternative Sleeping Location, the city’s homeless shelter in Laguna Canyon.

One of the main purposes of the street meters is to reduce panhandling.

"Homeless do not panhandle as much, and I think the big part of it is the awareness of the meters," says Jason Farris, the Laguna Beach Police Department's Community Outreach Officer. "When money is given directly to a homeless person, very often it does not go into what the person often thinks it goes to. [Some] panhandle for extra money [or] they panhandle for alcohol because food stamps do not buy alcohol.”

One of the parking meter artists, Patrick Moran, also voiced support of the program.

“I would much prefer that the money went through social programs than directly to some of the people. I am not denying them, but I am not facilitating some of [their] problems.”

But not all believe the meters are helping.

"The city got to a point where there was people all over the beach, which is not something I want to see," says Frankie Anthony, a Laguna Beach native who has been living on the streets for eight years. "But [the meters are] not really making any change. There’s got to be some rehabilitation, whether it’s job training or medical [assistance].”

“I don’t know anybody it doesn’t help," Farris concurs. "It helps the tourists who want to donate directly to a location that is going to assist the homeless. It helps the homeless, because the money goes to the shelter that helps the homeless. And it helps the city, because it dissuades tourists from giving money to the homeless, which reduces panhandling and in turn helps tourism.”

For more info on the city's meter program, click up changeforhomeless.com right here.