Can parking meters help put a dent in homelessness is St. Petersburg?



According to officials, a little more than 7,000 people were reported homeless in Pinellas County last year.



St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said new ideas that will be presented today may help curb the problem in St. Petersburg.



The program is called "The Power of Change" and will repurpose parking meters in downtown St. Petersburg. People will be able to put their spare change in the meters - with the funds going directly to local organizations that aid the homeless.

Modeled after successful programs in Denver and Phoenix, using the meters may help discourage panhandling.



Officials at St. Vincent DePaul, which assists the homeless in St. Petersburg, said programs like this, along with their efforts, can make a difference.



"We assisted well over 1,000 individuals in our place and we know our process works," said St. Vincent DePaul South Pinellas CEO Michael Raposa. "Because over the course of those nine months they were in and out over 30,000 times, which is a really good thing."



Raposa also said the city's efforts are coming along as the homeless numbers are improving in St. Petersburg. Also, the city is providing enough funding to operate the St. Vincent DePaul's south Pinellas shelter 24 hours a day.



"Through that process, we’re hoping to increase our trust level with these folks," Raposa said. "And hopefully they’ll eventually allow us to help them walk out of homelessness and get into their own places."



Another part of the city's plan will be at Williams Park.



Kriseman said his goal is to make the park, which encompasses the entire block between 4th and 3rd Streets North and between 2nd and 1st Avenues North, more inviting for residents and not the homeless.



"In Williams Park, we are going to have some food truck rallies," Kriseman said of changes coming. "We’ve been talking with St. Pete College, (which) is interested in their students having more access and use of that park and so our hope is that it won’t be as inviting as a place for the homeless community."