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My first Bright Idea post is one that's been on my mind for some time. Living in Los Angeles, I am keenly aware of the homeless problem plaguing the city. We are the nation's capital when it comes to homelessness, with some 80,000 on our streets at night.
One of the main problems with homelessness is that there are few opportunities for these persons to get back on their feet. So I sat around one time thinking how could we change this? The answers are difficult to find. But I believe I have found one that can make a small impact and perhaps help a few.
Every day I collect my recyclables and leave them behind my apartment building in the alley. Usually within 1 or 2 hours, they are collected by local homeless who recycle them for change. Unfortunately, many homeless resort to digging through dumpsters and peoples' rubbage in order to find these recyclables. No one likes that and it shouldn't be encouraged, if only for the health and well-being of the person dumpster diving.
My solution for this involves a program, whereby we supply bins, similar to those of the city recycling program to residents in order to leave the recycles handy for the homeless to take. Through a local shelter or organization, we could then find homeless victims who are willing to work, who could spend the days collecting these items for recycling. The proceeds from these recyclables can then go to the shelter, to provide more services.
It is a small step, but this is an example of what I am looking for.
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