An annual campaign to encourage people not to give money to homeless people and to instead donate it to local charities has been launched by Liverpool City Council.
‘Your Kindness Could Kill’ points out that many of the homeless who beg for money could be using donations to feed possible addictions to drugs and alcohol.
People are instead being urged to donate their money to the campaign, which forwards the money to charities such as The Basement Advisory Centre, the Whitechapel Centre, the Young Person’s Advisory Service (YPAS) and Liverpool Homeless Football Club.
Simon Dykstra, a support worker at a hostel that provides accommodation for the homeless, told JMU Journalism: “The problem is that there is no way to monitor what the money that the homeless people receive is being spent on.
“The homeless are often provided with food vouchers that could be exchanged for food and supplies, if this is the case then realistically it is possible that the homeless are spending donations on drink and drugs.
“A lot of homeless people are drug and alcohol dependent for a number of reasons and the campaign helps to recognise this.”
The campaign has been successful in Bath and London and last year’s Your Kindness Could Kill raised £6,400 for charities across Merseyside.
Representatives of the cause have taken to the city centre streets to provide information about the campaign and raise awareness for the collections in the city. Official collectors will be in Liverpool every Thursday evening in the build up to Christmas.
There will be collection boxes at different locations around the city, including several city centre businesses.
Donations to the campaign can also be made by text by texting YKCK14 followed by the amount you want to donate to 70070 and they can also be made online with a credit or debit card.