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To: Peter S. Maroulis who wrote (9046)	3/25/1999 10:51:00 AM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 62549

Panhandlers May Accept Credit Cards Wednesday March 24 8:26 AM ET dailynews.yahoo.com SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Long on generosity but short on cash? Not to worry. San Francisco panhandlers may soon accept credit cards. Under a proposal now before San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, homeless beggars could be equipped with credit card-type machines that could ''swipe'' donations from VISA, American Express, or bank ATM cards. ''It's more than a Band-Aid solution,'' Karen Gatter, who dreamed up the notion, told Tuesday's San Francisco Examiner. ''What we're looking at is creating a means for homeless people to sustain themselves.'' Gatter's idea, dubbed the ''Benevolending Box Program,'' envisions a public-private partnership to raise money for homeless shelters as well as individual panhandlers. Eighty percent of each contribution made through the credit card ''swipe'' system would go to community homeless programs, with the rest going to the beggar who snagged the donation. Brown, who has battled rising public anger over homelessness and aggressive panhandling on San Francisco streets, said in a statement he was ''excited about this innovative plan, which empowers homeless persons to take responsible action for their lives.'' But the city's top official on homelessness was less enthusiastic, noting that basic issues such as how to guarantee the security of credit card numbers would have to be addressed before any plan could be implemented. ''We're supportive with conditions,'' Terry Hill, San Francisco's coordinator for homeless issues, told the Examiner. ''We don't want to endorse any program that pushes panhandling ... creating portable ATMs for homeless people to solicit money needs some thinking through.'' Paul Boden of the Coalition on Homelessness was outright dismissive of the idea. ''I think there's a couple of levels where it's just bizarre,'' he said.