Second chances.
This August in San Francisco, a new program brings together street panhandlers and homeless dogs, to address two city problems…and more.
Article from the Thursday, June 14, 2012 edition of The Los Angeles Times.
A new leash on life
BY MARIA L. LA GANGA
A plan to combat panhandling and animal shelter overcrowding…
…is called WOOF: Wonderful Opportunities for Occupants and Fidos.
…carefully selected dogs from the city shelter will be given to screened and trained formerly homeless people, who will foster the animals until permanent homes can be found.
The temporary guardians…will receive a weekly stipend of $50 to $75 and must agree to jettison their cardboard signs. The pilot project is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
“I can’t make panhandling go away,” said Bevan Dufty…”But I can make a better offer.”
Dufty is San Francisco’s director of HOPE - Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement…
His…plan addresses two serious problems in a dog-loving city that prides itself on creativity and heart.
In a…survey released last year, 25% of visitors polled said their biggest complaint about the city was encountering the homeless people and panhandlers - eclipsing responses about the weather and traffic.
And since the nation’s economic recession began, said Rebecca Katz, director of Animal Care and Control, the city-run shelter has seen a significant jump in abandoned dogs…
…Katz, who created the plan with Dufty…[said that] three kinds of dogs…will be targeted for the effort: fearful ones that need more socialization time than the shelter staff and volunteers can give them; “rowdy” ones that need to learn basic manners; and puppies that cannot be adopted until they are old enough to spay and neuter.
No dogs with a history of fighting or aggression can take part.
As for the temporary guardians, no one with severe mental illness or a history of violence can participate, Katz said, and “no drug or alcohol addiction, unless they’re in treatment.” Anyone using the foster dog as a panhandling prop will be ejected from the program.
The final requirement is that the dog caretakers must have a place to live, which is where Community Housing Partnership comes in. The organization develops and operates permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless people…
Chief executive Gail Gilman said her housing organization will partner with Animal Care and Control…Residents who have completed a job readiness program will be eligible. Learning to care for animals, Gilman said, will give clients marketable skills - and more.
[…]
Matt Traywick and his dachshund-bichon mix have become the poster family for Katz and Dufty’s plan.
Traywick moved to San Francisco…for a job. But soon after his arrival, the company folded. He spent the next year and a half living on the streets before moving into a single-room-occupancy hotel…
“I thought it was a place where I could take a breath and start over,” [he] said, but he was not prepared for the loneliness. “When you’re homeless, you stand in line for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You’re constantly around people. When you move back inside…you find yourself totally alone.”
[His] psychiatrist prescribed a service dog, and in January 2011 he met Charlie…The dog was scraped up and fearful. At first, Traywick thought he was deaf.
But the dog saved Charlie’s life, and the fluffy white dog returned the favor…
…said Traywick…”we have a need here. There’s a problem with panhandling. And if one dog like Charlie spends on less scary night at a shelter, it’s worth it.”
Full story is here.
Article from the Thursday, June 14, 2012 edition of The Los Angeles Times.
A new leash on life
BY MARIA L. LA GANGA
A plan to combat panhandling and animal shelter overcrowding…
…is called WOOF: Wonderful Opportunities for Occupants and Fidos.
…carefully selected dogs from the city shelter will be given to screened and trained formerly homeless people, who will foster the animals until permanent homes can be found.
The temporary guardians…will receive a weekly stipend of $50 to $75 and must agree to jettison their cardboard signs. The pilot project is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
“I can’t make panhandling go away,” said Bevan Dufty…”But I can make a better offer.”
Dufty is San Francisco’s director of HOPE - Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement…
His…plan addresses two serious problems in a dog-loving city that prides itself on creativity and heart.
In a…survey released last year, 25% of visitors polled said their biggest complaint about the city was encountering the homeless people and panhandlers - eclipsing responses about the weather and traffic.
And since the nation’s economic recession began, said Rebecca Katz, director of Animal Care and Control, the city-run shelter has seen a significant jump in abandoned dogs…
…Katz, who created the plan with Dufty…[said that] three kinds of dogs…will be targeted for the effort: fearful ones that need more socialization time than the shelter staff and volunteers can give them; “rowdy” ones that need to learn basic manners; and puppies that cannot be adopted until they are old enough to spay and neuter.
No dogs with a history of fighting or aggression can take part.
As for the temporary guardians, no one with severe mental illness or a history of violence can participate, Katz said, and “no drug or alcohol addiction, unless they’re in treatment.” Anyone using the foster dog as a panhandling prop will be ejected from the program.
The final requirement is that the dog caretakers must have a place to live, which is where Community Housing Partnership comes in. The organization develops and operates permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless people…
Chief executive Gail Gilman said her housing organization will partner with Animal Care and Control…Residents who have completed a job readiness program will be eligible. Learning to care for animals, Gilman said, will give clients marketable skills - and more.
[…]
Matt Traywick and his dachshund-bichon mix have become the poster family for Katz and Dufty’s plan.
Traywick moved to San Francisco…for a job. But soon after his arrival, the company folded. He spent the next year and a half living on the streets before moving into a single-room-occupancy hotel…
“I thought it was a place where I could take a breath and start over,” [he] said, but he was not prepared for the loneliness. “When you’re homeless, you stand in line for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You’re constantly around people. When you move back inside…you find yourself totally alone.”
[His] psychiatrist prescribed a service dog, and in January 2011 he met Charlie…The dog was scraped up and fearful. At first, Traywick thought he was deaf.
But the dog saved Charlie’s life, and the fluffy white dog returned the favor…
…said Traywick…”we have a need here. There’s a problem with panhandling. And if one dog like Charlie spends on less scary night at a shelter, it’s worth it.”
Full story is here.