Homeless problem in Ashland, Oregon (Portland, Eugene: city hall, sex offenders, hotels)
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What works in a big city doesn't necessarily work in a small town. So maybe a homeless camp works out okay in Seattle. Well, it's not going to cut it in Ashland.
Yes there are larger issues that need to be resolved with the homeless such as mental illness, drug abuse, etc., but that's not really something that can be resolved by the city of Ashland. Since many of the homeless are transient they'll go where it's easiest to get by. If you don't want them in your town, don't make it easy for them to get by. Then they'll just drift to Portland or Eureka and live the good life once again.
Grants Pass passed an ordinance relatively recently that prohibits motorists from giving cash or goods to pedestrians. I haven't spent much time there since it passed, but it seems to have done away with formerly PLENTIFUL homeless people begging on every major street corner on the parkway, parts of downtown, and uptown by the north freeway exit.
Grants Pass is also a conservative town, for the record... Homelessness is not just a "liberal problem." It's an issue that affects real human beings--both the homeless and those in the community. I think that's important to remember.
In my short 4 years living here, a homeless man burnt down 11 homes, a homeless man recently burnt several businesses downtown (they're still closed), a homeless man assaulted my wife and I when we were just walking past him to go to a Shakespeare play and recently, according to police, a homeless man sexually assaulted a teenage girl.
Last year, a young man was brutally attacked with a sword and nearly decapitated by what the police believe was a transient. The case is still unsolved.
The city proposed letting the homeless take showers in a city facility and proposed setting up donation boxes downtown for the homeless.
Anyone else as fed up as I am?
How many assaults, rapes and arsons are committed by people with homes? I bet you there are a lot more. Should we kick everyone with homes out of the city too just because some of them commit crimes?
How many assaults, rapes and arsons are committed by people with homes? I bet you there are a lot more. Should we kick everyone with homes out of the city too just because some of them commit crimes?
You are probably wrong when veiwed on a percentage basis of crime by homeowners vs crimes by homeless.
I will never understand why some folks welcome garbage into the neighborhood.
You are probably wrong when veiwed on a percentage basis of crime by homeowners vs crimes by homeless.
I will never understand why some folks welcome garbage into the neighborhood.
To consider someone who is too poor to be able to pay the astronomical rents that this country is charging JUST for a safe place to lay their head garbage is truly screwed up.. I consider people with attitudes like that LOWER then garbage personally! There are a LOT of homeless people, and very poor people alike who have far better hearts and soul then all the people with money and nice houses.. Not all are druggies, alcoholics, and have bad vices.. In fact, I've met more than a few would would gladly give you a shirt, had they one to spare! May god help the truly poor people, cause it doesn't sound like you would!
Instead the City should put them on work programs around the city at minimum wage. Tourist Info, janitors, park maintenance, etc.
I used to think this, too - "Why don't they put them to work?" The problem is that many (I want to say most, but I'll stick with "many" for now...) have unaddressed mental health issues. Or, they have been through the system and have in the past been on medication but once they were back on the streets they didn't keep up with their outpatient therapy and meds.
In order to work, they have to be stable. Without their meds, outpatient therapy, sober living environment, and someone overseeing that they are on task, making them work isn't going to work.
And of course, you have the ones who choose the lifestyle for whatever reason.
There is actually a homeless mafia. An organized gang of homeless people who loiter and beg and turn tricks for money.
I am fascinated by the homeless issue. I love watching documentaries and reading about the issue. There have been times in my life as a child and young adult where I was nearly among them. Perhaps that's why the issue draws me in as it does - I know how fast homelessness can happen to anyone. Anyone.
Anyway - I don't see a solution. Dumping them off outside the city limits like we do with wild animals or abandoned cars is not a solution, but creating jobs for them has its own set of problems, too. Meanwhile, the revolving door system - spewing criminals and mentally ill people out onto the streets creating unsafe communities - is a real threat to our society, not to mention a drain for already overburdened taxpayers.
Anyway - I don't see a solution. Dumping them off outside the city limits like we do with wild animals or abandoned cars is not a solution, but creating jobs for them has its own set of problems, too. Meanwhile, the revolving door system - spewing criminals and mentally ill people out onto the streets creating unsafe communities - is a real threat to our society, not to mention a drain for already overburdened taxpayers.
I understand both sides of the line here too. I've worked with a lot of the street kids here in Portland. A lot of them aren't there because they were poor, many were there due to bad or absent parenting.
While there are plenty of charities to help the homeless, there is never enough resources ($$$) to help them. Yet as you point out, the root of the homeless problem(s) is never addressed, just the results. But to really fix the problem(s), the Government has to spend money one way or the other, but certain parts of society find that distasteful.
I would really like to see a study that addresses the real costs of just letting the problem happen, and dealing with the consequences vs. spending the money to get someone the help they really need.
To consider someone who is too poor to be able to pay the astronomical rents that this country is charging JUST for a safe place to lay their head garbage is truly screwed up.. I consider people with attitudes like that LOWER then garbage personally! There are a LOT of homeless people, and very poor people alike who have far better hearts and soul then all the people with money and nice houses.. Not all are druggies, alcoholics, and have bad vices.. In fact, I've met more than a few would would gladly give you a shirt, had they one to spare! May god help the truly poor people, cause it doesn't sound like you would!
No matter how poor you are, you can afford section 8 housing. The Rose Apartments in Roseburg advertises that tenants never have to pay more than 1/3 their income in rent. Add in food stamps and you are set.
The problem is that so many homeless are truly screwed up. They binge, they spend their money on crazy stuff, and they can't manage basic sanitation. If they are saints, they should go live in a cave somewhere away from normal people. Jesus may love them, but the rest of us don't want to stand downwind, much less be in the same room.
The vast majority of people manage their own lives, even if their circumstances are very humble. Don't blame them for those who don't.
Got some news for you, not EVERYONE who is poor can get on section 8! Many are denied for various reasons, usually having to do with address or red tape issues.. Also, it is FAR easier for women to receive help then men.. Speaking from experience, section 8 is FAR harder to get into then you realize.. Personally, I've been below the poverty line my entire life, but only was able to get food stamps maybe 3 times! Never able to get help with housing or financial assistance in any way! Unless you've actually been in those circumstances, you can assume all day that its easy to get into these programs and get help, but ITS NOT! They disqualify a great majority of poor people who truly need help, and therefore you end up with a lot of homeless people who can't even get food stamps! Unless you've walked a mile in a mans shoes, don't make assumptions about their status!
There is a long waiting list for section 8, I have spoken with people who have been on the waiting list for as many as 10 years. Also, if you have a criminal record you are often denied or sometimes dropped or placed at the bottom of the list. (You'd be surprised at how many criminals are merely mentally ill people who are not getting the treatment they need... criminal records and mental illness often go hand-in-hand, coupled with homelessness if they do not have good families or friends or churches to help them.) Women with children are top priority (of which there are many) for section 8 and housing assistance and single women are next in line. Veterans I believe are next. Males have a very hard time getting in.
Also, if you have history of alcohol or drug abuse (of which many homeless do, as it is often the reason they have become transient in the first place) they can legally deny or drop you from the program.
Reading this thread has been interesting. I've never been to Ashland but my experience in west coast cities is that there are more homeless persons and panhandling there than on the east coast. I suppose this is often attributed to weather.
I once lived in a very small town with a political bent similar (so it seems) to Ashland. There were a few homeless persons who were sort of tolerated; one was clearly mentally ill and medicated with booze, but once spent a full hour helping me replace an alternator in my car and refused any payment or a ride in return. Another helped me carry some heavy stuff a few times.
In Baltimore, a friend had a seizure while walking in the street; and was saved by homeless men.
In the U.S. wish we addressed the issues that caused homelessness instead fo the effects. However it is far easier to ignore the problem for most of the population.
I too would like to see the study of the costs of homelessness prevention (including state residential mental health facilities, most of which were closed years ago due to cost) versus the actual costs of homelessness (increased crime, loss of property values near homeless areas, etc etc).
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