City of Toronto are paying people $100 to find out stuff they already know about the homeless
Monday March 23, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff
Three years after the city released the results of its first Street Needs Assessment on Toronto's homeless, they're at it again - and they need your help.
There's a controversial plan in the works to pay participants who will pretend to be homeless for one evening.
The volunteers will receive a Visa card loaded with a $100 honorarium for their work.
They don't have to dress up, but they do have to attend a training session and answer all survey questions. They'll act as a control group for those conducting the assessment, scheduled for April 15.
The researchers are true volunteers and will not be compensated for their time.
The Street Needs Assessment has come under fire from community organizations, who argue the money spent on the study should go to other endeavours like housing.
"There's no methodology that's been used anywhere in the world that gives us reliable numbers," countered Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute.
"So in the end what they're doing is spending a few hundred thousand dollars - or more - to find out stuff that we already know."
In 2006, the city says it counted 5,052 homeless people on April 19th. Officials noted, though, that the number doesn't reflect the number of "hidden homeless" who may be staying with friends or family temporarily.
Councillor Janet Davis defended the plan.
"It's a quality control measure, it's been used in New York City and it's a methodology that will insure the statistical significance of the results."
"I just got this from my sister in toronto"
From the dude
From what you wrote, that's pretty lame sounding plan. Why don't they give real homeless people $100 to answer some questions? They could sign up at soup kitchens and drop-ins. Really, $100, and to play homeless for just one night? That would hardly give a person an adequate perspective. Studies like this sound lame and couldn't possibly generate accurate results. Like those kids in Winnipeg who played homeless at U of M said: their situation really was nothing near as bad as the real thing (they had tonnes of donations) and wouldn't it be neat if people donated all that food that they got to real homeless people. I can't remember my first real night out, (probably to shit scared and blocked it or something) but after about a month of poor sleep and inadequate nutrition I was losing my mind for sure. Survey me then.
actually they gave the $100 dollars to marginalized people and people below the poverty line..and the last street needs assesment funneled 20 million dollars in to aboriginal services..sooooo...knowledge is power man.
Hey Buckkstar, you don't have to be a dick about it, I only wrote what my sister sent me at the time!
1z0-050 JN0-343 MB2-633 HP0-P14 117-202 642-504 1z0-517 642-481 ASC-099 70-682
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