Two outcomes of the country’s economic downturn are a proliferation of bank-owned foreclosed houses sitting empty and an increase in people lacking adequate shelter.

Joel John Roberts, chief executive of PATH Partners, a social-service charity in Los Angeles, wonders if something positive can come out of this situation.

“Why not match these people who are home-less, with homes that are people-less?” he writes on his LA’s Homeless Blog “The banks need someone to protect their homes, since vacant properties attract criminal elements. And people need temporary places to stay.”

An antipoverty activist group in Miami, he notes, has started to explore this possibility with some success.

“It’s a creative alternative to putting people into shelters,” Mr. Roberts writes. “Granted, it’s not a permanent solution. But it gives people the taste of home life, and keeps them off the streets.”

What do you think? Is this an avenue charities should explore?