The Daily Tar Heel

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Investigative Team

Julie Leon and Ron Moore are friends.

They stood Tuesday on Franklin Street talking about Moore's family and his latest Web site project.

But they also talked about Moore's housing application and the new people he's seen living on the streets.

Moore is homeless and earns money as a street musician.

Leon works for Housing for New Hope, and her job is to connect with Chapel Hill's homeless, linking them to services.

Her work is getting a boost as the Real Change from Spare Change program aims for more visibility and ideally, more funds.

Real Change from Spare Change, launched Nov. 8, is designed to cut down on panhandling by having residents give their spare nickels and dimes to the fund instead.

Leon and staff at the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership have lofty goals for the Real Change program: $70,000 annually to fund a full-time worker to help Leon and to get the town's homeless under roofs.

But after almost four months, about 20 different donors and some spare coins from downtown collection cans, the Real Change bank account contains $2,250 - just a drop in the bucket if the group wants to meet its ultimate goal.

But leaders of the program have a plan: find larger drops.

Meg McGurk, assistant director for the partnership, has started making pitches to foundations and corporate sponsors, aiming to grow the money at a faster rate.

"We know we're never going to get $70,000 from these cans," she said. "We're going after other sources."

From coins to change

Chris Moran, executive director of the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, was inspired to bring a street outreach team to Chapel Hill after a 2006 visit to Madison, Wis. There he talked with street outreach workers at the Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference.

"They knew everybody on the street," Moran said. "I came back, and I was pretty determined to see this get started."

Leon and Michael Kelly, a peer specialist for Housing for New Hope, are making Moran's vision a reality.

Every Wednesday Kelly leads Chapel Hill's homeless by example. Two years ago, Kelly was homeless, and he can recall panhandling in front of McDonald's.

Now he works with Chapel Hill's homeless for 10 hours each week.

His position working in Orange County is funded by a $15,000 grant from Strowd Roses Inc., a local charity foundation.

Terry Allebaugh, executive director of Housing for New Hope, said he thinks Chapel Hill's homeless population could benefit from a full-time peer specialist - funded by the Real Change program.

But with only $2,250 in the bag so far, that would take a lot of saving.

Downtown partnership staff and the rest of the downtown outreach task force, which will decide how the Real Change funds are to be distributed, face a conundrum - spend on programmatic needs now, or save up to pay more outreach workers.

"They need underwear. They need umbrellas when it rains. They need immediate things like that," McGurk said.

For now, Leon drafts from the account monthly for needs while still saving to fund more workers.

Housing for New Hope in Chapel Hill works within $45,000 provided by Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health Area Program, with the additional gift from Strowd Roses. The $45,000 goes to Leon's salary and insurance.

But Allebaugh would like a budget of at least $90,000, with the additional money coming from Real Change. Real Change's goal would more than meet his request.

The group wants to use the surplus money to inform residents about the downsides of panhandling.

McGurk and Homeless Outreach Poverty Eradication, a Campus Y committee, are helping to organize a campus homelessness forum on March 26.

"Students are confronted by panhandlers so often, and we need to know how best to react," said Maggie West, a co-chairwoman of the HOPE committee.

Ten percent to 60 percent of people give money to panhandlers but 50 percent to 60 percent of college students give to panhandlers, according to a project performed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a report released by UNC student government's homeless task force in early February, 70 percent of 356 students surveyed said they rarely give money to panhandlers.

Looking for lift-off

The Real Change program set up 14 tin cans at downtown businesses. Many are slowly filling with coins.

Wentworth & Sloan displays one of the tin cans at its business.

"We're tired of homeless people on Franklin Street - not tired of them being here, but tired of them aggressively panhandling," said manager Craig Jackson. "It's affected our business."

Only two cans have collected enough money to warrant pick up. The rest have yet to reach the rim.

Betty Schumacher, manager at The Bookshop, said she's given out more informational cards about the program than the number of donations she's received.

"It hasn't really taken off yet," she said. "It needs more publicity."

To reach the annual goal, the program has started to seek larger chunks of change.

Mayor Kevin Foy gave the first donation to Real Change with $200. Since the program's start, the largest donation has been $500 - but that number soon will change.

McGurk has made presentations to several businesses, including The Daily Tar Heel, asking for larger donations to reach its annual goal.

The DTH's Board of Directors, which oversees business operations, plans to donate $10,000 Thursday.

With extra funding, Leon's work can reach more people like Moore, who said the program will help him - once he commits himself fully.

"I have a tendency to drag my feet," he said.



Contact the Investigative Editor at iteam@unc.edu.

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