Hearth Shares, a program initiated by Hearth, Inc., an organization focused on eliminating elder homelessness in the Greater Boston area, is partnering with restaurants throughout the city to allow diners to donate to the effort by adding $1 or more to their bill.
The program, in its first run this year, spans the months of November and December, as a holiday-giving program. Annie Garmey, director of institutional advancement at Hearth, said Hearth Shares is focused on raising funds and awareness to benefit the homelessness prevention effort.
“Our goals are to raise funds to benefit Hearth and Friends of Boston’s Homeless,” she said. “We are going to see how much is raised and make sure we can make a meaningful donation to at least one and maybe a couple other effective nonprofits in Boston working on this issue.”
Those at Hearth Shares are expecting the program to become an annual event and a staple of the holiday season in Boston, with more restaurants participating and more people donating every year, Garmey said. The Hearth Shares program expanded from the original 26 participating restaurants to 31 since the launching date of Nov. 1.
The 2013-14 Annual Homeless Census, conducted by the Boston Public Health Commission, determined there was a 3.8 percent increase in the overall number of men, women and children considered homeless from the previous year. The number of homeless families in the Boston area increased 5.8 percent, in addition to the 10.5 percent increase of adults in emergency shelters from the previous year.
Although the homeless population is increasing, Boston continues to see some of the lowest number of adults living on the streets compared to other major cities, according to the census.
Hearth placed more than 500 chronically homeless individuals into permanent housing over the past four years, with 90 percent able to retain their housing, said Jamie O’Loughlin, development and event planner for Friends of Boston’s Homeless.
“This is significant. This could ultimately end homelessness in the city of Boston,” she said. “It was such a brilliant partnership with Hearth because Hearth and Friends of Boston’s Homeless, we are both looking to end street homelessness in the city of Boston. The way to solve that problem is through housing first. And our housing-first initiatives have been really successful.”
Kevin McCall, founder of Hearth Shares, based the Boston movement on a London program, Street Smart, which has raised over £6.9 million to combat homelessness since its origin in 1998, according to the Street Smart website.
McCall decided to bring the project to Boston and created a committee within Hearth to jumpstart the process. The two-year development of Hearth Shares emphasizes ease in participation of both restaurants and their guests.
Hearth is using social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to spread the message. Marlo Marketing is providing media connections, while the Citizens Charitable Foundation is covering the overhead for the project, so 100 percent of the proceeds can go toward helping the homeless, Garmey said.
The program relies on the efforts of restaurants to raise the money. A yellow card will accompany a customer’s check explaining Hearth Shares coupled with a Post-It note with a reminder when the bill is returned, and the customer can then indicate the amount they would like to donate.
Restaurants throughout the Greater Boston area, including Tavolo, a pizza-pasta ristorante in Dorchester, are participating in the Hearth Shares program.
“We are a smaller restaurant, but with our volume, we’ve seen pretty good success,” said Colleen Harrison, manager of Tavolo. “My staff has been really great about getting excited about it, and guests have responded wonderfully. Sometimes we get $20. Sometimes we get $50. We have a lot of politicians, a lot of police and firefighters. Our regulars are in two or three times a week, and some are giving $1 to $5 every time they come in.”
Glenn Sundin, director of marketing and public relations for Boston’s Ming Tsai restaurants Blue Dragon and Blue Ginger, said Hearth provides all of the necessary materials to the restaurants, and will continue to distribute the information until the program ends in December.
“I would have to say it’s been ramping up since its launch in the beginning of November. We are looking forward to seeing what the entire holiday season brings,” Sundin said. “It takes a handful of restaurants to get it started, but because it is so easy to execute, we expect there will be more signing on. It really will be a city-wide effort in the next few years.”
All seven restaurants of The Aquitaine Group are participating in Hearth Shares, said Jeffrey Gates, a partner at The Aquitaine Group restaurants.
“I thought it was a wonderful way to engage our guests that come and visit our neighborhood or live in our neighborhood,” he said. “This is something people are really interested in because a lot of the problems that we deal with seem to be these boomerang issues where we do the best we can and they come back a few days later.”
Jennifer Hartwell, associate director of volunteers and communications at Hearth, said members of Hearth Shares are focusing on long-term solutions, such as housing and outreach programs, to get homeless people off the streets and into homes.
“We are trying to eventually end homelessness in the Boston area,” Hartwell said. “That is our ultimate goal. What a lot of people don’t realize is there are a lot of working people who are living in shelters, living with friends or out of their cars because even with an income, they just can’t afford the rent, or at least the up-front cost, to get housing and then hold on to it.”
Some residents said this endeavor would ultimately be more successful if diners are reminded throughout their meals about the program.
“It’s a good idea,” said Katie Berg, 22, of Brookline. “People are already spending $20 or $30 at a restaurant. What is one more dollar going to do? If I knew about it and knew what it was going toward, and if the waiter explained it to me, then I would.”
Ashley Jennings, 29, of the North End, said she sees merit in participating in small acts of generosity.
“It seems like it would be a worthwhile thing to do,” she said. “Good causes are good causes, and you have to pay it forward and do nice things like this to have your karma line up. You have to eat, so you may as well go to places that are going to work towards something other than their own profit.”
Leah Offsevit, 27, of Jamaica Plain, said a customer’s ability to choose the amount they want to donate is the best way to offer the opportunity to give back.
“Anything that helps people give money to good organizations at a price point that makes sense to them is a good thing,” she said. “Anything you can do to make it easy for people but also explain it to them is a good thing.”
http://bphc.org/healthdata/other-reports/Documents/2013_2014_Key_Findings_ESC.pdf
