Help the Homeless Instead of Issuing Challenges

Our pal Greg Diamond has issued a challenge to me, Matt Cunningham, Gustavo Arellano, Norberto Santana and others to replicate a test by pretending to be homeless for three days, and if we all do it, so will he but he has some issues that would make it tough (he’s vegan, he’s diabetic, he has child care responsibilities) . It’s yet another example of Mr. Diamond daring us to do something he won’t.

From his blog:

So this is a challenge to Matt Cunningham, Dan Chmielewski, Norberto Santana (or Nick Gerda as his designee), Gustavo Arellano, Art Pedroza. and whatever male reporter (just to keep the comparisons better, although I’d love to see female bloggers or reporters try this as well) the OC Register would like to assign.

I’ll replicate the “McAdams test” if all of you agree to do so as well.  We can work out the details, but I suggest that some trustworthy third party randomly assign each of us to contact 25 of the above locations (those catering to adult men) with supposedly available housing on the first morning of the experiment, arrange housing for the night, try to find food, do the same for the second day and night, and then make an arrangement for a third night without using it (it can be cancelled.)  Ideally, one night would be spent outside of a formal shelter (the first night if need be, otherwise the second) and one within a formal shelter.  (Come on, there’s supposedly plenty of room!)   Then we’d write up the results in our individual publications and compare notes.

The McAdams “test” is for a Utah elected who dressed as a homeless person to see first hand how easy or hard it is for the homeless to get services in his county and what sort of quality of service the homeless actually receive.  But Diamond’s challenge is simply to make us jump when he says jump.  I’m not his monkey.

I recommend Mr. Diamond write some checks to a variety of charities that provide services to the homeless in OC.  Or better still, actually show up and volunteer.  My family and I volunteer to feed the homeless at the Santa Ana bus depot several times a year where one of our friends provides a meal through her church every Wednesday.  Why don’t you do and help?  Get out from your keyboard and help Greg.  That’s the liberal thing to do.  That’s the right thing to do.  And to my knowledge, something you have — never — done.