Homeless dispute worth Dolphin statue on the Promenade functions as a piggy bank for the needy.
Santa Monica shoppers can give their spare coins to a homeless panhandler, or they can donate them to a life-size dolphin statue.
Either way, they are helping the needy.
However, if they use the dolphins, the charitable can be sure their money won’t be used for drugs or alcohol because the coins are collected at the end of the month and redistributed to the many local charities pledged to help the homeless.
There are four dolphin banks located throughout Santa Monica: two on the Third Street Promenade, one on Main Street and another located on the Santa Monica Pier. Since the program began in 1993, the dolphins have helped raise about $85,000 — a little more than $14,000 a year. The city’s downtown business community helped create the program.
“Not bad for nickels, dimes and quarters,” said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of The Bayside District Corporation, which runs the program. “Though, sometimes we find wads of twenties in their too – from the dolphin fairy.”
Instead of installing a fifth dolphin on Montana Avenue, Bayside decided to spend the money advertising the program’s existence. Over the holiday season, for example, slides were placed in the city’s movie theaters and advertisements ran on City TV.
“Certainly when you put money in the dolphin banks, it’s going directly for services to get people off the streets,” said Rawson, who added that there are many local corporations that also give to the fund, but wish to remain anonymous.
“When you give money directly to panhandlers you have no idea of it’s helping the person,” she said. “If all you’re doing is feeding an addiction, you’re certainly not helping.”
Homeless panhandlers along Third Street on Monday argued that people should give directly to those in need instead of donating to charities, which they said use the money to pay for their overhead.
“Those services don’t help you,” said Rebecca Spooner, a self-described regular panhandler on the Promenade. “They lie and cheat and never help you out. Give your money directly to me and it will go straight to helping me out. But you give it to (charities) and you pay for their salaries and their rent. They have their hands in our pockets.”
Bayside representatives, who run the program along with the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce’s Homeless Taskforce, said there was very little overhead to running the program. All they pay for is security when the money is retrieved and the initial $10,000 cost of each statue.
Daniel, a beggar along Wilshire Boulevard, said he would rather be arrested than go to a shelter or take food from a charity.
“To be honest, all these places are supposed to help you out, but they give you food so bad it makes you sick,” he said. “I don’t see any of that money going to help the homeless. The only thing that helps me out is the change in this cup.”
Wooly Adams, from his perch on in front of The Discovery Store, said the business of begging for pocket change is the equivalent of a charity.
“The reason I’m here is because I’m out of funds at the moment and I could use a little money,” he said. “Really, I’m an extension of the Salvation Army if you think about it.”
Business owners along The Third Street Promenade disagree. They feel panhandlers give shoppers the jitters, and detract from the family atmosphere of the Promenade.
“They’re always in front of my store smoking pot and selling drugs,” said Marie Scott, manager of Art One. “And the girls are always offering sex acts. It’s absolutely terrible.”
In fact, though one teenage girl would not comment on the dolphin program, she did offer to provide a reporter with sexual favors in exchange for money.
Many businesses said, even though they would prefer if shoppers wouldn’t assist beggars with their spare change, it would take much more than that to rid the area of it’s homeless population.
“I don’t think it would get rid of them but it would be a start,” Scott said. “If people didn’t give them money they wouldn’t be able to get drugs at least.”
Perhaps surprisingly, in the program’s six year tenure, none of the statues have ever been vandalized. The worst problem was when sand jammed the lock on the dolphin located on the pier.
“These guys are very secure,” said Rawson. “You really can’t get into them without a key.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 29, 2002. Read the original PDF.