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Hi all,
I currently live in San Diego where our homeless population keeps growing. There are tents and people sleeping on the streets in pretty busy areas. I’ll put it this way, you get used to stepping over people in sleeping bags in certain neighborhoods. All of this is to ask - how is the homeless situation in DC? Are there many areas where you would feel like you were passing through someone’s living room on your way to work or to the store?
Hi all,
I currently live in San Diego where our homeless population keeps growing. There are tents and people sleeping on the streets in pretty busy areas. I’ll put it this way, you get used to stepping over people in sleeping bags in certain neighborhoods. All of this is to ask - how is the homeless situation in DC? Are there many areas where you would feel like you were passing through someone’s living room on your way to work or to the store?
I can only speak for the Union Station area. Overall they are not as pronounced, but if you walk down first street towards NoMa (Northern Massachusetts Ave) there's a "micro" tent-city under a bridge. In front of Union Station right in the covered arched walkway, you see a few homeless every day sleeping in the corner etc under the covered area. They seem to come and later seem to disappear.
On first and Mass (I call it the poor corner), there's several poor people just hanging out there on the corner talking and loitering, it seems like this every day. The police don't do much and even when they get out of hand the police come and leave.
If you walk down Mass towards GPO (Gov printing office), you'd get to this little community center where they take in feed and care for poor people, so you'd see them hanging around there all the time.
That's it....
In terms of the National Mall area, you never see them, I've never seen them around the touristy areas. I never see them around the monuments, never see them around the capitol grounds, capital hill etc.. Not around the Dirksen, Russell, Hart, etc...
In addition you have the full functional crazy people.
There's this Korean guy that sings bible verses with a white sign talking about Jesus and we are all going straight to hell every day. He stands in the center of Columbus Circle every day doing this.
Then you have a fat black dude that gives public prayers to people. He spends much of his time yelling about how homesexuality is a sin before christ and lesbians will go straight to hell.
On first and Mass (I call it the poor corner), there's several poor people just hanging out there on the corner talking and loitering, it seems like this every day. The police don't do much and even when they get out of hand the police come and leave.
.
What do you want the police to do? It isn't illegal to loiter on a street corner. Should the police be responsible for shooing these people away so you don't have to see poor people as you walk by?
I'm from East County.
Its nowhere near as bad as Horton Plaza tho there are definitely parts here and there. The Hepatitis, TB and other literal crap that you find in a lot of SD is not here yet tho, like LA/SF we are starting to see sht and sickness on the subway cars rarely.
In addition you have the full functional crazy people.
There's this Korean guy that sings bible verses with a white sign talking about Jesus and we are all going straight to hell every day. He stands in the center of Columbus Circle every day doing this.
Then you have a fat black dude that gives public prayers to people. He spends much of his time yelling about how homesexuality is a sin before christ and lesbians will go straight to hell.
ah yes - every city has a sprinkle of people that have these 'jobs'.
I'm from East County.
Its nowhere near as bad as Horton Plaza tho there are definitely parts here and there. The Hepatitis, TB and other literal crap that you find in a lot of SD is not here yet tho, like LA/SF we are starting to see sht and sickness on the subway cars rarely.
Good to know it's not there - hopefully it stays that way for awhile.
What do you want the police to do? It isn't illegal to loiter on a street corner. Should the police be responsible for shooing these people away so you don't have to see poor people as you walk by?
The police allows them to get away with more than you and I would get away with. Simply because they are poor and can't really be legally forced to do anything. They lack income.
The police allows them to get away with more than you and I would get away with. Simply because they are poor and can't really be legally forced to do anything. They lack income.
What are they "getting away with"? Anyone is allowed to stand on a street corner and talk for hours.
What are they "getting away with"? Anyone is allowed to stand on a street corner and talk for hours.
They crowd the sidewalk, impeding traffic, they loiter, they smell like **** as I walk by. They block up the sidewalk as they lounge against the post office building wall. They occasionally get out of hand and police are called, in which case they shout and verbally abuse the police.
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