The terrible devolution of my favorite homeless encampment

What has happened to our society that we have so many 'drop-outs'? It's strange that here in Britain, the government can find accommodation for illegal immigrants, yet many of our own people are living on the streets. The old workhouses were intended to house those who were destitute. Perhaps we need to consider returning to that system, without the brutality which was common practise.
If someone is unfortunate enough to find themselves without a home, they should not be reduced to living on the streets and relying on the charity of others.
 

As of late the historical plight of NYC's homeless citizens, psychiatric citizens with zero medical coverage and homeless citizens with psychiatric issues has reached the limelight and this new fix by Mayor Adams is a dismal failure. I wrote an in-depth thread on this some time back, I'll resurrect it later.
 
@Murrmurr It was very kind of you to try. As I have mentioned we have homeless on the side of my workplace (they put up a higher fence) and in the gulch behind it. We get some homeless walking through the property from time to time. There is a real mess across the gulch. I hate how the trash is left. I emailed the mayor's office regarding the trash and got no reply. No surprise.

Of coarse I have no idea who these people are, where they came from, what their lives have been. With all my mistakes, homelessness is one of my biggest fears.

I do know the problem in my town is getting worse and worse. From a few people here and there that were noted, to camps. I believe they must be very dangerous places.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I wouldn't let Irma's personal observations put me off.

Especially while Irma is sitting there munching on a hamburger that I paid for.

It has been my experience that the hardcore homeless rarely ask for assistance.

Sometimes it's best to donate to a local outreach program or soup kitchen and not make judgment calls about the person who actually receives the assistance.

In the end, I suppose that all any of us can do is trust our gut and do what feels right at any given moment.
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(And @CarolfromTX )

I've known Irma for 2 years. She's 50-something, became homeless shortly after her son died from a heart attack 5 years ago. He had Down's Syndrome. I guess it really messed her up. But she's nice. I trust her.

Our outreach program doesn't get stuff to the people in the camps in my area. They have to go across town to get it, and Sacramento is huge. The ones who walk that far to get stuff rarely come back; they just stay in one of the camps in midtown. Outreach used to have a van that came here in winter to pass out coats, blankets, hats and gloves, and cups of coffee, but they stopped in 2020 due to covid. City trash pick-up stopped serving them the same year, and police stopped patrolling, too. Irma said that's when things started going downhill.

I knew that at least 50%-60% of "my" camp populations were on drugs and/or alcohol, and there were some burglars among them, but this whole area's had a problem with burglars since all the old homeowners died off. And there's a huge drug problem here, but Irma's camp and the 2 others I was going to managed to keep the hard-core addicts out. Those people used to camp along the river and under the bridges, but when they spread into the recreational areas last summer, the city cleared them out and they infiltrated the camps here by the hundreds. Now they've taken over, apparently.

Irma said if I want to keep taking donations, put everything in bags and just pull over and hang the bags on a fence post and drive away. (There's a section of chain link fence on the street side.) But I'm gonna leave it alone.

Sacramento's cleanest homeless camps are uptown near the college, and a lot of them are college students. They don't seem to need donations. Two of them have their own parking area!
 
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FastTrax said:
As of late the historical plight of NYC's homeless citizens, psychiatric citizens with zero medical coverage and homeless citizens with psychiatric issues has reached the limelight and this new fix by Mayor Adams is a dismal failure. I wrote an in-depth thread on this some time back, I'll resurrect it later.
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A guy running for state governor this year seems to have a really good plan for the homeless. I'm going to vote for him.
 
oldpeculier said:
The homeless are somewhat hidden in my area. They make a home in wooded areas usually with others in a similar situation near the interstate and restaurants.

Couple weeks ago I stopped at the grocery store and noticed a guy sleeping on the grass next to the curb near where I parked. Understand, that's not the norm here, as said, the homeless here are mostly out of sight and not in a suburb type area.

Anyway, I bought a few bananas and a couple of apples and put them in a bag at checkout. He was still there on the curb with his cart of belongings.

I just put the bag of fruit in his cart and left in my truck. I hope he ate the fruit and didn't trade it for drugs.
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He ate it, I have no doubt.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I wouldn't let Irma's personal observations put me off.

Especially while Irma is sitting there munching on a hamburger that I paid for.

It has been my experience that the hardcore homeless rarely ask for assistance.

Sometimes it's best to donate to a local outreach program or soup kitchen and not make judgment calls about the person who actually receives the assistance.

In the end, I suppose that all any of us can do is trust our gut and do what feels right at any given moment.
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I agree with you @AuntBea. I've started donating to the local food bank. I still feel sorry for those who are out there asking, though .
 
dseag2 said:
Frank, you are such a kind soul. I can only dream of being as caring as you are. I'm sorry you had to learn this. I had no idea.

I frequently watch the Youtube channel, Soft White Underbellly. It is gritty and tragic, but it really helps me have a better understanding of why people make some of the decisions that drastically influence their lives. As they say, "there but for the grace of God go I".
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Years ago, I was a scrappy dude, didn't take crap from anybody. One wrong word or "dare you" look, and I'd be all over you, fists and feet. I won some, I lost some, but I never turned one down. Not until I bashed a guy's face against a city bus. He was an a-hole, said something I didn't like, and the face-into-the-bus was my first and only move. The guy went down, bloodied, and a lady screamed...his sister.

The guy sat up just as she ran over to him. He was pretty much ok, but he lost a tooth, his lips swelled up and he had a cut on his nose. Anyway, it turns out the guy was developmentally delayed. His sister yelled that at me. I drove them both to the hospital emergency room.

Long story short, my thinking changed after that. We're all just people, right? Sure, some among us are evil and some are just plain mean, but they get that way somehow. They were abused, have serious mental illness, a brain malfunction or defect. But they all started out the same as me, right? Little babies in a blanket. I just try to keep that in mind.
 
Murrmurr said:
Irma told me people who get "nice stuff" are beaten until they give it up to someone else who wants it, and this mostly happens to the women.

I'm just gonna give up on it, though I might go visit Irma's new place.
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Your experience may not be that unusual. I've told the story before about my son-in-law, a San Francisco cop, who could not give away free housing voutures to the homeless, presumably because they did not like the rules. Then there were the San Francisco half way houses that were abandoned by the homeless for similar reasons, and the top floor of a parking garage near where I used to live that has been taken over by the homeless and is full of tents. God help the tourist who parks a car in the city and leaves a package in view on the back seat.

"The poll of 500 San Franciscans, commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, showed that just over 40% of residents plan to move out of the city in the next few years. Additionally, 8 out of 10 people polled said crime has increased in the city, and almost 90% of those polled said they believe that the homeless crisis has gotten worse. Roughly three-quarters of residents in San Francisco said their quality of life has declined over the past year." https://news.yahoo.com/40-san-francisco-residents-plan-200200119.html
 
ElCastor said:
Your experience may not be that unusual. I've told the story before about my son-in-law, a San Francisco cop, who could not give away free housing voutures to the homeless, presumably because they did not like the rules. Then there were the San Francisco half way houses that were abandoned by the homeless for similar reasons, and the top floor of a parking garage near where I used to live that has been taken over by the homeless and is full of tents. God help the tourist who parks a car in the city and leaves a package in view on the back seat.

"The poll of 500 San Franciscans, commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, showed that just over 40% of residents plan to move out of the city in the next few years. Additionally, 8 out of 10 people polled said crime has increased in the city, and almost 90% of those polled said they believe that the homeless crisis has gotten worse. Roughly three-quarters of residents in San Francisco said their quality of life has declined over the past year." https://news.yahoo.com/40-san-francisco-residents-plan-200200119.html
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Calif let this problem go on for too long.
 
ElCastor said:
Your experience may not be that unusual. I've told the story before about my son-in-law, a San Francisco cop, who could not give away free housing voutures to the homeless, presumably because they did not like the rules. Then there were the San Francisco half way houses that were abandoned by the homeless for similar reasons, and the top floor of a parking garage near where I used to live that has been taken over by the homeless and is full of tents. God help the tourist who parks a car in the city and leaves a package in view on the back seat.

"The poll of 500 San Franciscans, commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, showed that just over 40% of residents plan to move out of the city in the next few years. Additionally, 8 out of 10 people polled said crime has increased in the city, and almost 90% of those polled said they believe that the homeless crisis has gotten worse. Roughly three-quarters of residents in San Francisco said their quality of life has declined over the past year." https://news.yahoo.com/40-san-francisco-residents-plan-200200119.html
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That poll could have been done in the small city I live in or one of many anywhere in the province. It’s that way everywhere now. The number of people leaving may not be as high, or maybe it would because many come and go.

The police kicked people out of the entrance to the city. They moved nearby a green belt and now it’s no longer safe for us to walk there.

PS. this is in Canada. Crime and homelessness are everywhere.
 
Murrmurr said:
Years ago, I was a scrappy dude, didn't take crap from anybody. One wrong word or "dare you" look, and I'd be all over you, fists and feet. I won some, I lost some, but I never turned one down. Not until I bashed a guy's face against a city bus. He was an a-hole, said something I didn't like, and the face-into-the-bus was my first and only move. The guy went down, bloodied, and a lady screamed...his sister.

The guy sat up just as she ran over to him. He was pretty much ok, but he lost a tooth, his lips swelled up and he had a cut on his nose. Anyway, it turns out the guy was developmentally delayed. His sister yelled that at me. I drove them both to the hospital emergency room.

Long story short, my thinking changed after that. We're all just people, right? Sure, some among us are evil and some are just plain mean, but they get that way somehow. They were abused, have serious mental illness, a brain malfunction or defect. But they all started out the same as me, right? Little babies in a blanket. I just try to keep that in mind.
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Sounds somewhat like Chris Rock's experience when he was a kid, which could be a good reason he just chose to let Will Smith smack him and be done with it. Still so glad he chose to take the high road. (y)

https://www.insider.com/chris-rock-said-let-people-walk-over-him-since-childhood-2022-3
 
Jules said:
That poll could have been done in the small city I live in or one of many anywhere in the province. It’s that way everywhere now. The number of people leaving may not be as high, or maybe it would because many come and go.

The police kicked people out of the entrance to the city. They moved nearby a green belt and now it’s no longer safe for us to walk there.

PS. this is in Canada. Crime and homelessness are everywhere.
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I am very sorry to hear that. My visits to Canada have been few, and not for many years, but I was always impressed by the country and the people. I found Canadian drivers to be far more courteous than most Americans, particularly Californians. Had an effect on me and I believe it improved my driving.
 
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