More on Redding, CA (Fresno: neighborhood, live in, dangerous)

[NoToSTL]

I saw the most awful thing when my daughter and I went grocery shopping. This happened at WinCo. A young woman was in front of WinCo clearly hallucinating from either drugs or psychosis. Her pants were around her thighs and she was not wearing under garments. People were laughing at her. I do not find this funny. When you laugh at people like this your are laughing at mental illness, child abuse, drug abuse....

From my car I got her attention and asked her to pull up her pants. She pulled them up while she cursed at me. I'm not concerned about being cursed out, I'm concerned about the risk of violence she poses to others around her. This is what is allowed...allowed to roam the streets of Redding. This is by far the worst thing I have ever seen since I moved here over 2 years ago.

[JGC97]

Perhaps you could have called 9-1-1 and asked them to send medical assistance. Clearly, she needed help.

[look3467]

Definitely a problem.

Though our hearts go out to many of the homeless, mental illness poses the greatest danger not only to others but themselves as well.

Many don't have their prescribes meds and are here from out of state without any family or friends.

An increase is very evident and solutions are wanting.

I believe the state of the economy has a big impact and therefore, a dangerous state of affairs.

Blessings, AJ

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Perhaps you could have called 9-1-1 and asked them to send medical assistance. Clearly, she needed help.

My thoughts exactly. The problem is, she might have been booked for public indecency and wound up in jail, instead of getting help. Or worse--assaulting an officer, or something. There have been too many examples of emergency response people (often the police) encountering mentally ill homeless people, and the results turning out very bad. Our system doesn't deal with those situations well.

[notmeofficer]

Redding has attempted to address this and now has a specialized neighborhood policing unit

Reality..too many needs too few resources

Don't give money to the homeless... go to city council meetings and be heard..it's a pita and you will have to await until the end but it's worth it...

I wouldn't live in Redding..I'm sorry

I know many rpd officers who are disgusted at the politicians and whom cannot wait to retire and leave...when this is systemic it means the city is in trouble . Citizens are ultimately getting the government and society they want...or want to tolerate

We don't budget enough for mental healthcare and default it to the police..huge mistake...quality of the lives of everyone is affected.

Reality..sorry

[look3467]

Cutting off the source of enticement.... in leu of supposed compassion will tin out the supply of homeless.

Compassion is an individual practice, not a collective endeavor.

The Rescue mission is an honorable thought of helping, but instead breads more of the same kind. Homeless.

I may sound heartless, but when I see a homeless person, healthy and able to work asking for money, I have to make a judgement call.

Homelessness, along with drug use promotes mental disorders and therefore pose danger not only to themselves but to others as well.

What was it like before today?

Have we contributed to growth of the homeless?

Time to cut the source and eliminate the problem.

It will be painful at first, but in time will correct the problem.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by notmeofficer

We don't budget enough for mental healthcare and default it to the police..huge mistake...quality of the lives of everyone is affected.
Reality..sorry

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...mental+illness

[Another Place]

I live in N. Fresno one block from Highway 99. Fresno being Redding's sister city. There are shopping centers close by and I frequently encounter homeless people behaving like this. As a matter of fact, I encounter them in a WinCo parking lot where I go to mail letters at a USPS drop off center.

Now here's the thing - I've actually come up to these people and talked to them. Most are coherent enough to have a conversation with you, but there are a few that I can tell are on some type of drugs, talking to unseen people and waving their hands around. We have plenty of resources to help these people but it's administrating the funds and actual hands on help is where the problem lies. It sickens me to know there is some city employee making 300 hundred grand that sits around in an air conditioned office and does nothing to try and solve this problem.

Another thing...You can't just go up to a homeless person and forcibly drag them into a center and hold them against their will, even if you have all the best intentions and truly want to help them. The ACLU has seen to this.

[tikkasf]

Originally Posted by Another Place

I live in N. Fresno one block from Highway 99. Fresno being Redding's sister city. There are shopping centers close by and I frequently encounter homeless people behaving like this. As a matter of fact, I encounter them in a WinCo parking lot where I go to mail letters at a USPS drop off center.

Now here's the thing - I've actually come up to these people and talked to them. Most are coherent enough to have a conversation with you, but there are a few that I can tell are on some type of drugs, talking to unseen people and waving their hands around. We have plenty of resources to help these people but it's administrating the funds and actual hands on help is where the problem lies. It sickens me to know there is some city employee making 300 hundred grand that sits around in an air conditioned office and does nothing to try and solve this problem.

Another thing...You can't just go up to a homeless person and forcibly drag them into a center and hold them against their will, even if you have all the best intentions and truly want to help them. The ACLU has seen to this.

Someone behaving this way is not necessary on some sort of drugs. could very well be symptoms of a serious mental disorder, schizophrenia is one that comes to mind.
Schizophrenia Symptoms - Mayo Clinic

[NoToSTL]

Thank you for the concern about this issue. I did not call the police because I know there is nothing they could have done about the situation. I just made the young woman aware of her situation for the moment and at a safe distance. I wish I could have done more. It would be good for Redding to create a resource for the mentally ill...like a hospital that can deliver inpatient care to "all" ages coupled with effective ongoing outpatient care. I don't know if the police receive in-depth training on mental illness and how to approach the issue without the situation going south, but this is something for them to consider. Not only do the citizens have to deal with the criminal element that causes people to feel unsafe, there is also a threat from the mentally ill. These are two [different] elements of threat to safety and need to be treated as such. Not all who suffer mental illness are dangerous, untreated psychosis can be a very real threat to public safety and is a public health issue as well.