Homeless Encampment Built Next to Quiet Neighborhood

Encampments here in Sacramento have doubled in size and numbers this past year. The "homes" are still tents and tarps. The piles of trash and garbage has increased 10X at least. Aside from giving a few of the encampments free trash pick-up service, Sacramento is doing nothing. And they've been half-arsed with the garbage pick-up - they didn't give the homeless any garbage bins, so they steal them from around the neighborhoods.
 
win231 said:
Neighbors have a right to be upset. Besides the drug use, crime & filth, there have been 2 random murders in the past month by homeless people - one a mile away from the location.
And there are other more-suitable locations far away from families.
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/202...tiny-home-community-being-built-for-homeless/
Click to expand...
Beyond me to understand why a TV broadcaster cannot take her mask off for the brief broadcast. Turns me right off so I never watch those young gals.
 
Keesha said:
It’s very sad and must disturbing to say the least. :(
Click to expand...
A couple years ago Sacramento voters gave the go-ahead for the city to spend $6-million to renovate old apartments for the homeless. They renovated one complex that had only 52 units. That comes out to a little under $600-thousand in renovations per unit. And those 52 apartments are basic 2-br/1-ba units. Oh yeah, there was landscaping; some grass, several trees, and a basic little playground in the common area.

$6 million tax dollars solved absolutely nothing.
 
Murrmurr said:
I think they only do that so the station doesn't get a bunch of complaints from mask extremists.
Click to expand...
That term works both ways. There are those who go beserk at the sight or the thought of wearing a mask.

Maybe the reporter herself wants to mask up, for her safety and for others.
 
A re-zoning meeting should have been held before that any new subdivision, no matter the type, was started.

Here (BC) tent cities are in most parks. The media refers to them as ‘campers.’ I don’t walk in our closest local park anymore.

We have some permanent housing and other temporary places for the winter. They’re not permitted to use drugs while there so many stay on the street. One city, because of the crime around it, wanted to close the temporary winter housing in the spring. The provincial government wouldn’t let them.

Does anyone live in an urban area that deals that has found a reasonable and balanced solution? I don’t know what the answer is. We don’t want people starving or freezing to death nor do we want squalor and crime.
 
Jules said:
A re-zoning meeting should have been held before that any new subdivision, no matter the type, was started.

Here (BC) tent cities are in most parks. The media refers to them as ‘campers.’ I don’t walk in our closest local park anymore.

We have some permanent housing and other temporary places for the winter. They’re not permitted to use drugs while there so many stay on the street. One city, because of the crime around it, wanted to close the temporary winter housing in the spring. The provincial government wouldn’t let them.

Does anyone live in an urban area that deals that has found a reasonable and balanced solution? I don’t know what the answer is. We don’t want people starving or freezing to death nor do we want squalor and crime.
Click to expand...
Sacramento has dozens of missions where the homeless are encouraged to sleep on cots and get a hot meal. The problem is, few of them go there. The common complaints are that your stuff gets taken at the door and you usually don't get it back, you gotta sleep with your shoes and coat on or someone will steal them, the staff is disrespectful, fights break out, and there's no privacy whatsoever.

It seems like Sacramento gets programs going just to use as a bank. Now tax payers/voters are extremely wary of any programs for homeless that the city proposes because nothing ever comes of them. Billions of dollars have gone seemingly nowhere and the homeless population just keeps multiplying.

It's sad and ugly and shameful. Hard to believe this is California's Capitol City. Looks more like a huge city dump.
 
Murrmurr said:
Sacramento has dozens of missions where the homeless are encouraged to sleep on cots and get a hot meal. The problem is, few of them go there. The common complaints are that your stuff gets taken at the door and you usually don't get it back, you gotta sleep with your shoes and coat on or someone will steal them, the staff is disrespectful, fights break out, and there's no privacy whatsoever.

It seems like Sacramento gets programs going just to use as a bank. Now tax payers/voters are extremely wary of any programs for homeless that the city proposes because nothing ever comes of them. Billions of dollars have gone seemingly nowhere and the homeless population just keeps multiplying.

It's sad and ugly and shameful. Hard to believe this is California's Capitol City. Looks more like a huge city dump.
Click to expand...
Yes that’s sad, ugly and shameful. :(
 
A very hard and sometimes sad lesson is anything that you subsidize you get more of. Because most of us are compassionate and truly want to help those less fortunate than ourselves, we resist learning this lesson to the bitter end.
 

Homeless Encampment Built Next to Quiet Neighborhood​

I've worked with homeless living situations

I learned there are no good answers, long term
The bigger, more organized the community, the more problems

I found it best to hand out food/clothing

As far as encampments near a neighborhood......that cannot be
There's enough vacant lots/buildings in industrial/business sections
 
Gary O' said:

Homeless Encampment Built Next to Quiet Neighborhood​

I've worked with homeless living situations

I learned there are no good answers, long term
The bigger, more organized the community, the more problems

I found it best to hand out food/clothing

As far as encampments near a neighborhood......that cannot be
There's enough vacant lots/buildings in industrial/business sections
Click to expand...
Yep, 100%

They also like to get soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and water. I get gallon jugs of water because a lot of them will reuse the jugs. Also, I un-package everything so there's less trash for them, and I can get twice as much stuff in the bags that I carry it in.

Socks are always welcome, too.
 
Problem with this type of government sponsored housing is the actual residents tend not to be the issue it's what they attract. It always winds up being friends & family. It's the people that will be visiting that encampment that will bring the trouble. I've seen it too many times in neighborhoods, apartments etc it's the visitors that are trouble.

And just as noted in the report once word gets out don't be surprised if people do try to set up tents and camps near that encampment.

How are they taking care of the plumbing and electric. Is the area zoned or even capable of providing those utilities? Oh goody digging up the streets or placing additional poles and cables.
 
Vanowen & Vanalden @ Reseda.jpg

I was in the area today, so I went a few blocks out of my way to drive past this tiny house installation. Just driving by, I couldn't see whether there were any people inside the fence.

- - The intersection in question is Vanowen Street and Vanalden Avenue. There exists no street anywhere in Los Angeles called Van Walden, as listed in the article. Map coordinates are 34.19370057066129, -118.54914491898221 (per Google Maps).

- - The offices of City Councelman Bob Blumenfield, who is featured speaking to the public in the video, are located in the building at the corner of Vanowen and Vanalden. The meeting with the public took place in the parking lot of that building. (Green "circle" on map)

- - The tiny house village is one block south of Vanowen Street at the corner of Vanalden Avenue and Archwood Street, immediately south of that parking lot. (Red "rectangle" on map.)

- - The West Valley Police Station is located on that same block of Vanowen Street, perhaps 500 feet from the tiny houses. If they were ever needed, the police could be there in one minute. (Green "circle" on map) The green rectangle east of the police station is a park.

- - The nearest neighbors, across the street to the south and west, have lost their view of a parking lot, which does not seem much of a sacrifice. The facility itself, not considering any drug or mental health issues some of the homeless may have, imposes nothing else on local residences, except perhaps that some additional cars may be parked on the streets.

All in all, I think the local people seen in the video are in a panic over nothing. We really really really need to get the homeless off the streets and into some sort of decent temporary housing. And regardless of where such facilities are located, they are likely to be in or adjacent to residential areas. Here in Los Angeles we would need about a thousand 50-bed facilities to get all the homeless off the streets.
 
raybar said:
View attachment 160306

I was in the area today, so I went a few blocks out of my way to drive past this tiny house installation. Just driving by, I couldn't see whether there were any people inside the fence.

- - The intersection in question is Vanowen Street and Vanalden Avenue. There exists no street anywhere in Los Angeles called Van Walden, as listed in the article. Map coordinates are 34.19370057066129, -118.54914491898221 (per Google Maps).

- - The offices of City Councelman Bob Blumenfield, who is featured speaking to the public in the video, are located in the building at the corner of Vanowen and Vanalden. The meeting with the public took place in the parking lot of that building. (Green "circle" on map)

- - The tiny house village is one block south of Vanowen Street at the corner of Vanalden Avenue and Archwood Street, immediately south of that parking lot. (Red "rectangle" on map.)

- - The West Valley Police Station is located on that same block of Vanowen Street, perhaps 500 feet from the tiny houses. If they were ever needed, the police could be there in one minute. (Green "circle" on map) The green rectangle east of the police station is a park.

- - The nearest neighbors, across the street to the south and west, have lost their view of a parking lot, which does not seem much of a sacrifice. The facility itself, not considering any drug or mental health issues some of the homeless may have, imposes nothing else on local residences, except perhaps that some additional cars may be parked on the streets.

All in all, I think the local people seen in the video are in a panic over nothing. We really really really need to get the homeless off the streets and into some sort of decent temporary housing. And regardless of where such facilities are located, they are likely to be in or adjacent to residential areas. Here in Los Angeles we would need about a thousand 50-bed facilities to get all the homeless off the streets.
Click to expand...
I agree that we need to get the homeless off the streets, but there are safer & more suitable places to put them where they are not next door to families in a quiet neighborhood. As I said, there have been two random murders of residents by homeless people. One less than 1/2 mile from me.
https://www.latimes.com/california/...ing-homicide-in-encino-man-taken-into-custody
 
We've had this in my town which is hardly a city. It has been on the news numerous times. Homeless using outdoor electrical outlets of homes, outdoor faucets. Close to homes. Even a wildlife area taken over. They make them leave. Remove the tons of trash. They go someplace else. So far they have not returned to the gulch behind my work place in any large number. No tents to be seen.
 


Back
Top