Will Work for Pizza Is this BIZ Experiences's ad campaign helping homeless people&#151or exploiting them?
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
If you live in Portland, Oregon, you've probably seen them:homeless people with signs that read, "Pizza Schmizza paid meto hold this sign instead of asking for money." BIZ ExperiencesAndre Jehan, 41, pays those homeless people in slices and soda andsometimes a couple of bucks. Homeless advocates are aghast. DonaldWhitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for theHomeless, says Jehan is "exploiting" the homeless, and"any person who works a job in America should get at leastminimum wage . . . or better, a living wage. The signs aredegrading." Not surprisingly, Jehan sees it differently.
How did this start?
Andre Jehan: I was sittingon the freeway, watching some homeless people, and I thought, theremust be something they could do to earn money- the firstthing that jumped out was they could hold a sign. The arrangementis good for me and for them. Everybody wins. And I make sure theydon't feel embarrassed and exploited. They look forward to itand say it's been a positive experience.
But some people think you're takingadvantage of the homeless and doing this for thepublicity.
Jehan: This is what I'mdoing to fix a problem on my block. When people criticize, I askthem, "What are you doing to fix the problem?" I'mnot saying this is the answer to our homeless problem. This is acreative Band-Aid. They're just holding the sign for 10 minutesto an hour. This isn't a job, the way it's portrayed in themedia. As for the publicity, it is improving my brand. I love theexposure, and I'd like to be doing more of this, usingmarketing to help the community with the drug problem and to helpschools. We have advertisements on public buses; I'd like to bethe first person to advertise on a school bus. I get confused whenI talk to the city about that. They don't want the [students]exposed to advertisements, yet there are Coke machines in thehallways.
Why not hire a few homeless people towork in your restaurants?
Jehan: I've tried that,and I have yet to have a great experience hiring a homeless person.With one recent employee, everything started off great, and then hecame in with a black eye and a bloody lip. The next day, he washigh. Then he stopped showing up. That's typical. There [arereasons why] a lot of people are homeless, and of course, I get introuble every time I say that.
Geoff Williams is a writer in Loveland, Ohio. He can becontacted at gwilliams1@cinci.rr.com.
