So, raise your hand if you've seen somebody in your city standing on a corner, holding a sign like this. I think we all have. If you're being honest, at least one time, have you wondered if they mean it? If we offered them a job, would they really take it? And what would that job mean to them in their lives? Well, this is a story about what happened in my city when we decided to find out, when we decided to think differently about panhandling, and lift people up through the dignity of work.
若你曾經在你的城市中, 看過一個人站在街角拿著 這樣的標語,請舉手。 (標語:想要一個工作) 我想我們都看過。 老實說,你可曾 至少有一次好奇過, 他們是否是說真的? 如果我們提供他們工作, 他們真的會接受嗎? 在他們的生命中, 那工作對他們有何意義? 這個故事,是發生在 我的城市中的狀況, 背景是,我們決定去查明, 我們決定以不同的方式看待乞討, 並透過工作的尊嚴讓人們振作起來。
We call it, "There's a Better Way." We call it There's a Better Way because I believe there's a better way to get the money you need than panhandling on the corner. I believe there's a better way to help your brothers and sisters in need than handing a few dollars out the car window. We know there's dignity in work. We also know that people are much more likely to invest in themselves if they believe that their community is willing to invest in them first. And because we're all wired to be kind and compassionate, it always feels good to hand a couple of dollars to someone that is in need. But if you talk to panhandlers, many of them will tell you that your few dollars don't necessarily go towards feeding the body, they go towards feeding an addiction. There's a better way.
我們稱之為「有更好的方式」。 我們之所以取這個名字, 是因為我相信,比起在街角乞討, 還有更好的方式 可以得到你需要的錢。 我相信,比起從車窗遞出幾塊錢, 還有更好的方式 可以協助有需要的同胞們。 我們知道在工作中有尊嚴。 我們也知道,人們比較 有可能會投資他們自己, 如果他們相信他們的社區 願意先投資他們。 因為我們生來都很仁慈有同情心, 給有需要的人幾塊錢, 總是感覺很好。 但若你去和乞討者談, 他們當中許多人會告訴你 你的那幾塊錢不見得 會被用來買吃的, 而會被用來滿足其他的癮。 是有更好的方式的。
My name is Richard Berry, and I have one of the best jobs in the world. I get to be the mayor of a great American city, Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was at lunch on July 17, 2015, in my great American city, and on my way back to city hall, I saw this gentleman standing on a corner. As you can see, he's holding a sign, and his sign says he wants a job. But if you look closer at the picture, you'll see he's standing underneath a blue sign, and that sign says, if you need help, if you need food or shelter or you'd like to donate, please call 311, our community service number.
我叫理查貝瑞, 我有世界上最棒的工作之一, 我是美國一個很棒的城市的市長, 新墨西哥州的阿布奎基市。 2015 年 7 月 17 日,我在這 很棒的美國城市中吃午餐, 在我回市政大廳的路上, 我看到這個男子站在路口。 你們可以看見,他手上有個標語, 寫著他想要一份工作。 但如果你再近一點看這張圖, 會發現他站在一個藍色標誌下, 那個標誌說,如果你需要協助、 如果你需要食物或庇護所, 或你想要捐錢, 請播打 311,這是 我們的社區服務電話。
So why is this guy standing underneath my sign with his sign? Well, we wondered if anybody would call that 311 sign, and as it turns out, they did -- 11,000 times people called. I put those up in about 30 intersections. And we did connect them with food and shelter and services. But yet he's still standing under my sign with a sign that says he wants a job. It's simple: he wants a job. So I decided to do something rare in government. I decided to make the solution simpler rather than more complicated. I went back to my office, I gathered my staff around and I said, "We're going to take this man at his word, and others like him. The man says he wants a job, we're going to give him a job, and we're going to make our city an even better place in the meantime."
為什麼這個人要拿著他的標誌, 站在我的標誌下? 我們想知道是否有人會 看到標誌而打 311, 結果是,的確會── 一共有 11,000 人次播打。 我在約 30 個路口放了那標誌。 我們也的確提供食物、 庇護所、及服務給他們。 但他仍然站在我的標誌下, 拿著一個說他想要工作的標誌。 答案很簡單:他想要工作。 所以我決定做一件 在政府中很罕見的事, 我決定把解決方案 變簡單而不是變複雜。 我回到我的辦公室, 我把我的幕僚找來, 我說:「我們要相信這個人說的話, 以及其他像他的人。 這個人說他想要一份工作, 我們就給他一份工作, 過程中我們還要讓我們的城市 變成一個更好的地方。」
You see, Albuquerque is a beautiful place. We're a mile high, the Sandia Mountains on the east, the Rio Grande runs through the center of the city; we're the home of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. On a day like today, you could literally ski this morning and golf this afternoon. But there's always something to do -- always weeds to pull, litter to pick up. If you're going to have an initiative like this in your city, you have to ask yourself two questions. First one is: Is there anything left to do in your city? And if the answer is no, would you please give me your mayor's phone number, because I need some advice.
阿布奎基是個很美的地方。 高度大約是一英哩, 東邊是桑迪亞山, 格蘭河穿過城市中央; 我們的城市是阿布奎基 國際熱氣球節的家。 在像今天的日子裡, 你真的可以在早上滑雪、 下午打高爾夫球。 但總是有事要做── 總是有雜草要拔、有垃圾要撿。 如果你要在你的城市中 提出這樣的方案, 你得問自己兩個問題。 第一:你的城市中 有無其他需要做的事? 如果答案是否定的, 請給我你的市長的電話, 因為我需要點建議。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But the second question you have to ask is this: Are your solutions to panhandling working? If you're like Albuquerque, and you're taking the punitive approach like we used to, handing out tickets to panhandlers or those who give them money, I'm going to suggest that your solutions aren't working, and I know you're not getting to the root of your problem in your city. So if you have something to do and you need people that need something to do, there's a better way. And the good news is, it's not that complicated.
你得要問的第二個問題是: 你對於乞討的解決方案有用嗎? 如果你和阿布奎基一樣, 且跟我們以前一樣用懲罰的方法, 開罰單給乞討者或給他們錢的人, 我得說,你的解決方案是沒用的, 我知道你並沒有找到 你的城市問題的根源。 所以,如果你有事要做, 且你需要人們需要有事做, 有更好的方式。 好消息是,它並不複雜。
This a 2006 Dodge van. It was in my motor pool not doing anything. We put some new tires on it, wrapped it with a logo. This van now goes out to street corners where our panhandlers are -- we go to them. We stop the van, we get out, we ask them if they would like a day's work rather than panhandling for the day. And if you wondered if they really mean it -- it takes us about an hour to fill this van up in the morning, because almost everybody we ask takes a job for the day.
這是台 2006 年的道奇箱型車。 它本來停在我的 車輛調配場,沒用途。 我們給它換了新胎, 並用標語來包裝它。 現在這台車會前往 乞討者所在的街角── 我們去接觸他們。 我們停下車,我們下車, 我們問他們 是否想做一天的工作, 而不是一天都在乞討。 如果你想知道, 他們是否真的想要工作── 早上我們花了一小時 就把箱型車塞滿了, 因為幾乎我們問的每個人 都接受了一天的工作。
But you need more than just a van. You need a super-fantastic human being to drive that van. And my super-fantastic human being, his name is Will. This is him in the yellow vest. Will works at our local nonprofit partner. He works with the homeless every day. The panhandlers trust him, he believes in them, he hustles. I like to say, "Where there's a Will, there's a way." So if you're going to do the Better Way campaign in your city, you need to find yourself a Will, because he's really one of the keys to making this successful in the city of Albuquerque.
但你需要的不只是台箱型車。 你需要個超強人類來開那台箱型車。 我的超強人類叫做威爾。 穿黃色背心的就是他。 威爾為一個地方性的 非營利合作伙伴工作。 他每天都在接觸無家可歸的人。 乞討者相信他。 他相信他們。 他做的是兜售。 我想說:「有志者事竟成。」 (註:「志」和「威爾」的英文相同) 如果你想在你的城市 實施「更好的方式」, 你得幫自己找個威爾, 因為他確實是讓這方案 能在阿布奎基市成功的關鍵之一。
You also need a great nonprofit partner. Ours is St. Martin's Hospitality Center. They've been in our community for over 30 years. They provide counseling, food, shelter, and if they don't provide it, they know somebody in our city that does. But they do something much more for me as the mayor. They provide agility. You see, it takes me two weeks, maybe two months sometimes, to onboard an employee with the city of Albuquerque. So you could imagine -- my old Dodge van, my super-fantastic human being, Will, a great local nonprofit partner -- they drive to the corner, there's a panhandler, they say, "Would you like to work for the day?" The panhandler says, "Yes," and Will says, "Great! I'll be back in six weeks to pick you up."
你也需要一個很好的 非營利合作伙伴。 我們的是聖馬丁接待中心。 他們在我們的社區中 有三十年以上了。 他們提供諮詢、食物、庇護所, 如果他們無法提供, 他們也知道在城市裡有誰能提供。 但他們為我這個市長 所做的事遠超過這些。 他們提供靈活性。 我花了兩個星期, 有時甚至要兩個月, 才能讓阿布奎基市的 一個員工上軌道。 所以你們可以想像── 我的老道奇箱型車, 我的超強人類威爾, 一個很棒的地方非營利合作伙伴── 他們開車到街角, 有個乞討者在那兒, 他們說:「你想要 做一天的工作嗎?」 乞討者說:「想。」 威爾說:「好極了, 我六個禮拜後再來接你。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
It wouldn't work. It's really important that we have that agility in our program. And they do the paperwork, they do the insurance, they do all of the other forms that I can't do quickly.
這樣行不通的。 我們的專案必須要 有靈活性,這很重要。 他們要做文書工作, 他們要做保險, 他們要填其他表格, 都是我無法很快完成的。
We pay our panhandlers nine dollars an hour. We feed them once at the jobsite. At the end of the day, our old Dodge van takes them right back to St. Martin's, and they get connected with counseling services.
我們支付乞討者的時薪是 $9。 在工作地點提供一餐。 一天結束時, 我們的道奇箱型車 會把他們帶回聖馬丁, 他們就能與諮詢服務連結。
So far, with the pilot program and a couple days a week, and a fantastic human being and a Dodge van, we've cleaned up 400 city blocks in the city of Albuquerque. We've picked up over 117,000 pounds of trash, weeds and litter. I don't know if you've ever weighed a tumbleweed, but they don't weigh much, so you can imagine the volume of material that we've picked up.
目前, 有了這試驗性專案,一週做幾天, 有個超強的人類和一台道奇箱型車, 我們已經清理了 阿布奎基市的 400 個街區。 我們撿了超過 117,000 磅的 垃圾、雜草、廢棄物。 我不知道你們是否有 秤過風滾草多重, 它們一點也不重, 你們可以想像 我們撿了多少量的東西。
My city has 6,000 employees, and none better than my solid waste department. We send our trucks out at the end of the day, they help the panhandlers put into the truck the material they've picked up during the day, and we take it to the landfill. I'm lucky that I have city employees that are willing to work side by side with our panhandlers. They're lifting up our city while lifting up their lives. And like anything else -- listen, it takes resources. But the good news is it doesn't take much. We started with an old van, a super-fantastic human being, a great local nonprofit and $50,000.
我的城市有 6,000 個員工, 而我的垃圾管理部門最棒。 一天結束時,我們派出卡車, 他們協助乞討者把他們一天中 撿拾的東西通通裝上卡車, 載到掩埋場去。 我很幸運,有市府員工 願意與我們的乞討者並肩工作。 他們在振興我們的城市時, 也振興了自己的生活。 凡事都一樣──需要資源。 但好消息是,不用很多。 我們開始時只有一台老箱型車、 一個超強人類、 一個很棒的地方非營利機構、 以及 $50,000。
But we also had to have community trust. And fortunately, we had built that up in years prior to Better Way. We have a program called "Albuquerque Heading Home," a Housing First model where we house the chronically homeless, and when I told my community we wanted to do that differently, I said there's a smart way to do the right thing. We have now housed 650 chronically homeless, medically vulnerable -- frankly, most likely to die on the streets in our city. We commissioned our university, they studied it. We could tell the taxpayers, we can save you 31.6 percent over the cost of leaving someone to struggle for survival on the streets. We've now saved over five million dollars while housing 650 people.
但我們也得要有社區的信任。 幸運的是,在「更好的方式」 推出之前數年我們就已建立好了。 我們有個專案叫做 「阿布奎基回家去」。 這是「庇家居先」組織的模型, 讓長期無家可歸者有住所, 我告訴我的社區, 我們想用不同的方式來做, 我說,有個聰明的方法來做對的事。 我們現在提供住所給 650 個 長期無家可歸且醫療弱勢的人── 坦白說,他們本來很可能會 死在我們城市的街上。 我們委託我們的大學, 他們來做研究。 我們可以告訴納稅者, 我們能幫你省下 31.6% 把人丟在街上為生存掙扎的費用。 我們提供住所給 650 人, 但省下了超過五百萬元。
So we had that community trust, but we had to have a little bit more of an honest conversation also as a community, because we had to get people to understand that when they hand those five dollars out the window, they might actually be minimizing their opportunity to help the person in need, and here's why: that five dollars might go to buying some fast food today -- a lot of times it goes to buying drugs and alcohol. That same five dollars, if you gave it to one of our shelters, could feed seven people today. And if you gave it to one of our local food banks or food pantries, we could actually feed 20 people with that money.
所以我們有社區的信任, 但我們也得對社區來進行 誠實的對話, 因為我們得要讓人們了解, 當他們從車窗遞出 $5, 可能反而會把能夠協助那個求助者的 機會降至最低,原因如下: 那 $5 可能今天會被用來買速食── 但很多時候它會被用來買毒品和酒。 同樣的 $5, 如果你把它給予我們的庇護所, 一天就能讓七個人溫飽。 如果給予我們當地的 食物銀行或是救濟食品發放中心, 我們可以用那筆錢讓二十個人溫飽。
People ask,"Well, Albuquerque is 600,000 people -- million, metro -- this wouldn't work in our city, we're too big, we're too small." I disagree; if you have one panhandler on one city block, you can do this. If you live in a city of eight-and-half million people, you can do this. It doesn't matter what you do. It's not the work that you do, it's the dignity of the work. You could do anything. So I think any city could do this. And people say to me, "Mayor, that's just a little too simple. It can't work that way."
人們會問:「阿布奎基有六十萬人口 ──百萬人都會區── 這在我們的城市不可行, 我們太大,我們太小。」 我不同意;只要有 一個城市街區有一名乞討者, 你就可以做得到。 如果你住在有 850 萬人口的城市, 你可以做得到。 重要的不是你做什麼。 並不是做什麼工作, 重點是工作的尊嚴。 做什麼都可以。 所以我認為每個城市都能做到。 人們會對我說: 「市長,這有點太簡單了。 不可能那樣運作的。」
But I tell you what, friends: when you go to a street corner and you engage with a panhandler with dignity and respect, maybe for the first time in years, maybe in their life, and you tell them that you believe in them and that this is their city as much as it's your city, and that you actually need their help to make our place better, and you understand that this isn't the answer to all their problems, but at least it's a start, an amazing thing happens. When they get out on the jobsite and they start working together, you start seeing amazing things happen. They see teamwork; they see the fact that they can make a difference. And at the end of the day, when they get back to St. Martin's in that old Dodge van, they're much more likely to sign up for whatever services they need -- substance abuse, mental health counseling, you name it.
但,朋友們,讓我告訴你們: 當你到一個街角, 你以尊嚴尊重對待乞討者, 也許這是他們一年來或一生中 頭一次有尊嚴, 你告訴他們,說你相信他們, 這是你的城市, 同樣也是他們的城市, 你其實需要他們的協助, 來讓我們的地方更好, 你知道這並不能解決 他們所有的問題, 但至少是個開始, 神奇的事就會發生。 當他們到了工作地點, 他們開始一起工作, 你會開始看到神奇的事發生。 他們會看到團隊合作; 他們會看到他們也能造成不同。 那一天結束後, 當他們坐那台舊道奇回到聖馬丁, 他們更有可能會參加 他們所需要的服務── 藥物濫用、心理健康諮詢等等。
So far with our pilot program, we've offered about 1,700 days of day work. We've connected 216 people to permanent employment opportunities. Twenty people actually qualified for our Housing First model, Heading Home, and they've been housed. And over 150 people have been connected to mental health substance abuse services through There's a Better Way.
目前,我們的實驗性專案, 我們已經提供了 1,700 天的一日工作。 我們將 216 人與 正職工作機會做了連結。 有 20 個人其實符合 我們的庇家居先模型的資格, 「阿布奎基回家去」, 他們已被安排住所。 透過「更好的方式,」 有超過 150 人與心理健康及 藥物濫用服務連結,
This is me just two weeks ago, at St. Martin's, doing our point-in-time survey that we do every two years. I'm interviewing a gentleman who's homeless, like we do, getting his information, figuring out where he's from, how he got there, what we can do to help him. And you notice he's holding the same sign that the guy was holding in 2015, same sign I walked out with here today.
這是我,時間是兩週前, 地點在聖馬丁, 做我們的庇護人口調查, 我們每兩年會做一次。 我在訪問一名無家可歸的男子, 取得他的資訊,了解他從何地來、 如何走到這一步、 我們能如何協助他。 你會注意到,他拿的標語和 2015 年的那個人拿的一樣, 也就是我今天進場時拿的那標語。
So you have to ask yourself: Is it really making a difference? Absolutely it's making a difference. Albuquerque is now one of the national leaders in combating some of the most stubborn and persistent social issues that we have. Combined with Albuquerque Heading Home, the Better Way program, Albuquerque has reduced unsheltered homelessness in our city by 80 percent last year. Since I took over as mayor, we've been able to reduce the chronic homeless population in our city by 40 percent. And by HUD's definition, we've gotten to functional zero, which means we've literally ended veteran homelessness in the city of Albuquerque, by being intentional.
你得要自問:這真有造成不同嗎? 絕對有造成不同。 在對抗最頑強持久的社會議題上, 阿布奎基現在在全國排行 是前幾名。 與「阿布奎基回家去」及 「更好的方式」結合, 阿布奎基在去年 就把城市中無家可歸者 減少了 80%。 從我當市長之後, 我們開始減少城市中 長期無家可歸的人口數, 已減少了 40%。 根據美國住房和城市發展部的定義, 我們達到了「功能零點」, 意思是,我們已經刻意地 把阿布奎基市的 退伍軍人無家可歸問題 完全終結了。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
So I'm happy to report that other cities are hearing about this, other mayors are calling us -- Chicago, Seattle, Denver, Dallas -- and are now starting to implement programs where they bring the dignity of work to the equation. And I can't wait to learn from them. I can't wait to see what their experiment looks like, what their pilot project looks like, so we can start taking a collective approach nationally through the dignity of work. And I want to commend them -- the mayors, their communities, their nonprofits -- for the work that they're doing.
我很高興能說, 其他城市也聽到了這件事, 有其他市長打電話給我們── 芝加哥、西雅圖、丹佛、達拉斯── 且他們現在開始實施專案, 把工作尊嚴納入方程式中。 我等不及要向他們學習了。 我等不及看他們的實驗會如何, 他們的試驗性專案會如何, 我們就能透過工作尊嚴, 在全國一同合作推行。 而我想稱讚他們── 市長們、他們的社區、 他們的非營利機構── 稱讚他們所做的努力。
So who's next? Are you and your city ready to step up? Are you ready to think differently about these persistent social issues? Are you ready to lift people up in your community through the dignity of work, and make your city profoundly better in many ways? Well, if you are, my friends, I promise you there is a better way.
所以,下一個是誰呢? 你和你的城市準備站出來了嗎? 你準備好用不同的方式來思考 這些長久的社會議題了嗎? 你準備好透過工作尊嚴來協助 你社區的人振作起來、 並讓你的城市在多方面都更好嗎? 如果你準備好了,我的朋友們, 我保證有更好的方式。
Thank you.
謝謝大家。
(Applause)
(掌聲)