Branding the homeless?
This piece from the Rocky Mountain News gives the details of an effort by the city of Denver to change the image of the homeless. The hiring of a marketing / political consultant to handle this task seems at first glance to be odd. However, the point presumably isn't to polish image in the usual political sense. It's supposed to increase awareness of the real face of homelessness. Emphasizing the growing numbers of women, children and families among the homeless is meant to ultimately create more support for needed services in the city. Hope they're right.
We'll keep an eye on this story as it unfolds, and post followup reports on how the $60,000 plan is working. Kinda reminds me of that Michael Savage thing about "Bums Not Bums, Say Bums." But we'll see.