What do you think I saw? (crime, transfer, safe area)

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I did read the original post and the replies. I still think it's very sad. We judge "what kind of people" we see just because they have nowhere to sleep. "There but for the grace of God..."

That part of Fort Myers is the ghetto and people living in the woods and sleeping on the ground is common place.

Sad? Sure it is, but you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. Some people make bad choices and are now living the consequences of those bad choices.

[Billythepokerkid]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

That part of Fort Myers is the ghetto and people living in the woods and sleeping on the ground is common place.

Sad? Sure it is, but you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. Some people make bad choices and are now living the consequences of those bad choices.

Agreed!

[Hemidancer]

Originally Posted by Billythepokerkid

Agreed!

Yup, me too. At least they're living in a climate where they can actually survive outside. Try being homeless up in Boston, MA. There are places to go and opportunities for homeless people to better their situations, but they have to want to do it and be willing to work hard to get their lives back on the right track. The truly sad part is that many of them don't want to make the effort. "God helps those who help themselves......."

[hiker45]

I'm still surprised the area just behind the football stadium is considered the ghetto.

It's only a few hundred yards from the homes along the river, which I always thought was an upscale area.

In our town of Springfield VA, the upper middle-class areas are usually at least a couple miles from the ghetto.

[Billythepokerkid]

Originally Posted by hiker45

I'm still surprised the area just behind the football stadium is considered the ghetto.

It's only a few hundred yards from the homes along the river, which I always thought was an upscale area.

In our town of Springfield VA, the upper middle-class areas are usually at least a couple miles from the ghetto.

A few hundred yards? It's more like a quarter mile to the river and McGregor kind of segregates them from other areas. Take a ride through that neighbor at night. Let us know what you see.

[justNancy]

Yes, there are a lot of bums who create their own misery. Maybe they used drugs, maybe they gambled or maybe they just didn't use any common sense and moved to Florida without a job and figured they'd get by because it's warm and sunny here.

There are also many people who, through not fault of their own, became homeless. It's so easy to judge others when you have a roof over your head and a hot meal.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Yes, there are a lot of bums who create their own misery. Maybe they used drugs, maybe they gambled or maybe they just didn't use any common sense and moved to Florida without a job and figured they'd get by because it's warm and sunny here.

There are also many people who, through not fault of their own, became homeless. It's so easy to judge others when you have a roof over your head and a hot meal.

There is a percent of those with mental illness that are homeless and unless they are a danger to themselves or others, nothing can be done. In those cases I always wonder, where is the family?


But those who lived beyond means, (bought too much house with not enough income, gambled it away, snorted it away, drank it away, lusted it away..etc...) Yup...the burden is their's and their's alone to bear. Can't say I feel too sorry for people like that.

[hiknapster]

Unfortunately, Fort Myers is very spotty. You can be in a very, very lovely neighborhood and literally have a bad neighborhood one street away. And this is like this throughout the area.

Regarding the homeless, I've been there before. It can happen to anyone. Most of the people in this country are one paycheck away from a disaster and not having family is not a crime. There are thousands upon thousands of people that have no support system through absolutely no fault of their own. Not all of us come from large families. Some of us are only children from abusive families. Good golly.

Regarding the mentally ill, those seem to be the people that stay on the streets the longest. The rest of us almost always manage to make their way, usually by getting a break from the angels among us. Trust me, we are legion. But the mentally ill wandering all of the streets in this country is a travesty.

However, none of that has anything to do with the original poster's remarks regarding his incredulity regarding Fort Myers. The area has changed a LOT since he lived there and not for the better in many, many ways. I strongly advise him to stop wandering around like that. He could get seriously hurt or worse. The murder rate in Fort Myers is up.

[Izmack]

I'm with you, Hik. Thanks for injecting some rational thinking and real life experiences into this thread. I have never been homeless, but when my mom died when I was 18 and my dad just 5 years later, things looked bleak for a time. I could've been in those woods or under a bridge in a blink of an eye.

Some folks have absolutely no empathy. It's not always black and white, and that isn't a pun.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Unfortunately, Fort Myers is very spotty. You can be in a very, very lovely neighborhood and literally have a bad neighborhood one street away. And this is like this throughout the area.

Regarding the homeless, I've been there before. It can happen to anyone. Most of the people in this country are one paycheck away from a disaster and not having family is not a crime. There are thousands upon thousands of people that have no support system through absolutely no fault of their own. Not all of us come from large families. Some of us are only children from abusive families. Good golly.

Regarding the mentally ill, those seem to be the people that stay on the streets the longest. The rest of us almost always manage to make their way, usually by getting a break from the angels among us. Trust me, we are legion. But the mentally ill wandering all of the streets in this country is a travesty.

However, none of that has anything to do with the original poster's remarks regarding his incredulity regarding Fort Myers. The area has changed a LOT since he lived there and not for the better in many, many ways. I strongly advise him to stop wandering around like that. He could get seriously hurt or worse. The murder rate in Fort Myers is up.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by Izmack

I'm with you, Hik. Thanks for injecting some rational thinking and real life experiences into this thread. I have never been homeless, but when my mom died when I was 18 and my dad just 5 years later, things looked bleak for a time. I could've been in those woods or under a bridge in a blink of an eye.

Some folks have absolutely no empathy. It's not always black and white, and that isn't a pun.

Your situation is a different than most others...you had no control over what happened in your life at such a young age.....obviously that's not what we were talking about here.