Weingart Center Says Stop Donating to Homeless & Start Investing in People

The Weingart Center for the Homeless based here has launched a new outreach campaign that calls for investment in people living in poverty to help make them become productive members of society, creating a better Los Angeles for everyone. The campaign tagline is “Don’t make a donation. Make an investment.” It rolls out today with an online film in which a group of real-life investors gather for a meeting, expecting to discuss a business investment and are stunned when they are introduced to a homeless man and told: “This is your investment opportunity.”

The film points out that taxpayers spend $35,000 a year to leave the homeless on the streets and promotes the job-training programs offered at Weingart that put people back to work. The results are a reduction in costs for law enforcement, emergency room visits, welfare and food stamps. The film calls for viewers to click on it to invest $10 to the Weingart Center.

“Rather than appeal to one’s charitable side, we are appealing to their understanding of return on investment,” said Senator Kevin Murray (ret.), President & CEO of the Weingart Center for the Homeless. “It is better for you and the homeless person to invest in the homeless. You will save money in the long run and get a nicer cleaner community.”

Pitch created the campaign pro-bono. It includes a redesign of the Weingart website http://weingart.org and a Twitter blitz with the hashtag #investinLA, tweeting influential Angelinos such as the LAPD Chief, the mayor, the governor, celebrities and top athletes asking them to help make LA a better city by sharing the film. There also will be a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) at 2-4pm PST today with a former Atlanta Braves baseball player who became homeless and recovered at the Weingart Center and is currently working to help homeless veterans find permanent housing in LA.

“The men and women who work at the Weingart Center are miracle workers. They help people truly in need re-enter society with hope and a plan,” said Rachel Spiegelman, President of Pitch. “When you donate you give your money away, when you invest you get a return. That’s the core idea behind our campaign and behind the Weingart program. We’re honored to be working with them on this incredible cause.”

It is a timely initiative. In 2013, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated that over 57,000 people in Los Angeles County were homeless at any point in time, with about 5,000 - 15,000 living on Skid Row year-round. Also, one in three homeless adults have mental and/or physical disabilities; and approximately one in 9 is a veteran.