Homeless people down town (motels, dangerous, housing)

[citizenkane2]

I already talked to a hostess at Sweetsmoke BBQ near the Conrad. Homeless guys brave in and disrupt patrons frequently

[hapaleeretired]

For anybody following this thread I encourage you to watch an NBC "Dateline: City of Angels". LA has a MUCH bigger problem than Indy because of the year around good weather but it is very interesting, sad and enlightening.
Here is an address I gleaned from the episode:
https://invisiblepeople.tv/

[citizenkane2]

Originally Posted by hapaleeretired

For anybody following this thread I encourage you to watch an NBC "Dateline: City of Angels". LA has a MUCH bigger problem than Indy because of the year around good weather but it is very interesting, sad and enlightening.
Here is an address I gleaned from the episode:
https://invisiblepeople.tv/

San Francisco is in bad shape too.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by citizenkane2

San Francisco is in bad shape too.

San Francisco, or more importantly, certain parts of San Francisco, have always had issues with "street people". Of course, many of these parts like the Tenderloin district are places that the average person doesn't go to, either.

I can attest to this from direct experience, as I used to live there.

RM

[ImmerLernen]

Originally Posted by MortonR

San Francisco, or more importantly, certain parts of San Francisco, have always had issues with "street people".

I applaud your use of the term "street people".

While discussing the "homeless problem" with my kids while out driving recently, it occurred to me that "homeless" isn't necessarily the best/most accurate description of some of the people we encounter on a daily basis (suburbs of Los Angeles & Orange County, CA). Some people, even after having been given countless opportunities to get off the streets, still choose to live outdoors. These are truly "street people". The true "homeless" are those who, for example, have fallen on hard times and can no longer afford to pay what's necessary to keep their homes or find a replacement place to live.

I think it would help everyone -- all the politicians, all the church groups, all the government agencies, all those voting for tax increases to fund more programs, all those giving handouts at freeway off-ramps and in grocery store parking lots -- to make that distinction. The truly homeless can (and probably should) be helped; the street people should be *helped* to move somewhere they don't infringe on the safety/quality of life and property values of those who do choose to live within reasonable societal norms, pay taxes, abide by laws, etc.

And some of those we see on the street are absolute con artists. On a local Next Door post, there were 25+ posts from people who had given money to a destitute-appearing woman in a grocery store parking lot. Turns out she's been running her scam for years all over town. It was only after people compared notes, including someone who followed her home to a not too shabby neighborhood, that she was outed. But, alas, she'll keep working her gig because only a small percentage of people will have seen those posts and (I guess) it's not illegal to panhandle.

[MortonR]

In the area I currently reside (Tampa, FL) there has been a concerted effort by various municipalities to eliminate panhandling on the streets and major intersections.

During these efforts there was a news report where they outed a person who had been panhandling at a major intersection of an interstate exit ramp and local surface street. They shadowed this person surreptitiously and later confronted them at their very nice home in an upper middle class neighborhood. A good gig if you can get it, no doubt.

While this was certainly an outlier, it does give one pause when considering giving handouts of cash to these folks.

I’ve mentioned previously when confronted by these sorts of situations, like the mother with the carload of children at the gas stations asking for gas money, to offer assistance in some form other than cash. In the situation just described, I’ve offered to put gas in their car rather than give them cash. Amazingly, and I say this with some sarcasm, out of maybe 4-5 times this has happened to me I have only had a person take me up on my offer once. In the other instances they just walked off.

I don’t give cash. If a person really seems to be in need, I offer advice/services or maybe food if readily available.

RM

[rrah]

Interesting proposal by Indy City Council and relevant to the discussion: https://www.theindianalawyer.com/art...alks?v=preview

The article states there has been a decline in the counted homeless population. Take that for whatever you want. I know there are many issues with the type of count that was done.

Personally I find the proposal ridiculous.

[ImmerLernen]

And adding to my above post...

Yesterday, my husband and I were out running errands. As we were pulling away from a store, we saw a guy we've seen for years (like 10+) panhandling at a freeway off-ramp we frequent. It's a good 1.5 miles away from where we were, and I said to my husband, "Oh, look. There's that homeless guy from the freeway off-ramp. What's he doing way over here?" Realizing what I'd just said, I corrected myself, "I mean, 'street person'. No... Actually, he may not be homeless at all. He could be on his way home to house that's bigger and nicer than ours. I guess all we know is that he's a *panhandler*."

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by MortonR

I
I don’t give cash. If a person really seems to be in need, I offer advice/services or maybe food if readily available.

RM

I don't give money to anyone anymore. It just feeds the problem. You give people money at an intersection and they'll keep coming back, just like if you feed a stray animal it keeps coming back, because it knows there is food. There are services available. There is no need to give them money. If you really feel like you want to do something for them, get them in touch with city services.

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by rrah

Personally I find the proposal ridiculous.

Why? At least they are suggesting something rather than letting the homeless (street people) take over. If you don't do something, anything, you end up being overrun. That's what's happened in so many parts of California. I live in San Diego and emailed my council person to ask what they were doing about it. I got the typical, BS Public Relations response. At least it sounds like the city council there is trying to have some kind of guidelines to avoid the inevitable mess that you see all over California.