This council tried to end begging with donation boxes. They brought in $4 a day
The port city installed donation boxes in January 2016 to discourage begging in the city, intending to replace panhandling with 'spare change collection points'.
Over the nine years of operation, the City of Fremantle said the boxes had raised about $14,327.
The donations have been matched by the city, bringing the total amount the program has raised to $28,654, and all money goes to local organisation St Patrick's Community Support Centre.
Fremantle local Camelo Amalfi told Radio 6PR he was unsure the measures put in place by the council had made an impact on the city's homeless population.
'It's obviously symptomatic of lots of issues – the housing crisis, the cost of living, and the reduction of services to people who are having to do it tough,' he said.
'It's just [hit me] and I'm thinking, 'Well, hang on a minute'.
'Fremantle has set up collection boxes for people to put coin in, and we have a handful of services out there doing a great job every day – and I just wondered, well, if that's the case, why is this now happening?'
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