Aggregation
The Consultant Leading the White House Push Against Homelessness

Published
4 years agoon
By
News
City Lab
Panhandling is a gateway to vice: That’s the claim on which Robert Marbut Jr. has staked his entire career.
According to Marbut, a consultant who’s spent the last decade advising cities on how to manage services for people living in homelessness, those who panhandle on the streets spend 93 percent of the money they receive on drugs, alcohol, or sex. He’s repeated that figure in dozens of appearances before city councils and media outlets, including an interview with NPR’s Rachel Martin in 2014. When the Weekend Edition host pressed for details, Marbut replied, “We’ve done a lot of research.”
That 93 percent figure has always bothered Jeremy Alderson, a journalist and activist who bristled when local agencies in Sarasota, Florida, hired Marbut in 2013 to help them come up with a strategy. How, exactly, would a researcher find out how much a person living on the street paid to a drug dealer? Or to a sex worker?
Read More →
According to Marbut, a consultant who’s spent the last decade advising cities on how to manage services for people living in homelessness, those who panhandle on the streets spend 93 percent of the money they receive on drugs, alcohol, or sex. He’s repeated that figure in dozens of appearances before city councils and media outlets, including an interview with NPR’s Rachel Martin in 2014. When the Weekend Edition host pressed for details, Marbut replied, “We’ve done a lot of research.”
That 93 percent figure has always bothered Jeremy Alderson, a journalist and activist who bristled when local agencies in Sarasota, Florida, hired Marbut in 2013 to help them come up with a strategy. How, exactly, would a researcher find out how much a person living on the street paid to a drug dealer? Or to a sex worker?
Read More →
By Kriston Capps | 12 Dec 2019

Politics20 hours ago
McCarthy’s Speakership Threatened by Fellow Republican After Vote Averting Government Shutdown

Politics 10122 hours ago
At California GOP Event, Scott and DeSantis Make Their Presidential Case in Trump’s Shadow

Opinion23 hours ago
Technology and Labor Trade-Offs Create Dilemma for California’s Economy

Local2 days ago
It’s Only ‘Yokuts Valley’ on Maps? The Confusing Fight Over a Fresno County Town Isn’t Over

Healthcare2 days ago
Need a COVID-19 Vaccine or at-Home Test? What You Need to Know in Fresno County

Local Elections2 days ago
Judge Gives Bredefeld, Chavez Win in County Campaign Fund Lawsuit

Local Education2 days ago
Clovis Unified Superintendent Discusses Expansion at State of the District

Around Town2 days ago
What a Deal: Downtown Fresno Hosts Thrift and Vintage Expo

Food2 days ago
The Huge Battle Against Food Deserts in Fresno

Elections2 days ago
Trump to CA Republicans: ‘I Would Win California if Election Wasn’t Rigged’

Business3 days ago
My Pillow Crippled After AmEx Slashes Credit Line, Says Mike Lindell

Local3 days ago
First UFW Meeting Site Placed on Fresno Historic Register

Opinion3 days ago
Dianne Feinstein Always Did Things Her Way in Long Political Career

Opinion23 hours ago
Technology and Labor Trade-Offs Create Dilemma for California’s Economy

Opinion1 week ago
California’s Politicians Point Fingers as Public Tolerance of Homelessness Wears Thin

Opinion5 days ago
Has California’s Much-Dreaded ‘Job Killer’ List Lost Some of Its Bite?

Opinion6 days ago
Newsom Decision on Big Gun and Ammo Tax Hike May Rest With ‘Canoe Theory’

Opinion2 weeks ago
Newsom Burnishes His National Image by Waging New Attack on Oil Industry

Opinion7 days ago
California Legislators Whiff on ‘Spiraling Crisis’ in Home Insurance Market

Opinion2 weeks ago
California Unions Scored Big in Legislature This Year, Though They Represent Few

Opinion2 weeks ago
Compromise Settles Dispute Over Status of Franchises in Fast Food Industry

Opinion2 weeks ago
Water Rights Reformers Scored Only a Minor Victory in the Legislature

Opinion3 weeks ago
California Keeps Its Title as Having the Nation’s Highest Poverty Rate

Opinion3 weeks ago
Newsom May Come to Regret His Pledges to Black Californians

Local Education2 days ago
Clovis Unified Superintendent Discusses Expansion at State of the District

Food2 days ago
The Huge Battle Against Food Deserts in Fresno

Local3 days ago
GV Wire’s Nancy Price Answers Kim Stephens’ Questions About Controversial PBS Story

Crime3 days ago
LA Purse Snatcher Drags Woman, 75, Across Asphalt Before Fleeing

Elections3 days ago
DeSantis Stops in Fresno for Private Presidential Fundraiser

Local Education3 days ago
Teamwork, Hard Work is Key to Clovis Unified’s Continued Success, Folmer Says at Annual Fundraiser

Local3 days ago
New Police, Fire Tax? Council Wants One More Week to Decide How to Pay for Fresno Growth

Politics4 days ago
These Four Groups Control the California Legislature: Dan Walters

Politics6 days ago
Trump Leads Biden by 9 Points in Latest ABC/Washington Post Poll

Inspire7 days ago
This World Renowned Art Icon Crafts His Masterpieces in Fresno

Video1 week ago
News Minute: Regulators Delay Solar Ruling; Unleashing California’s Economy; Amazon’s Local Hiring Spree

Local1 week ago