Massive homeless tunnel town uncovered in San Antonio (Austin, Hollywood Park: camping, closing)

[elnina]

Hollywood Park police discover homeless settlement in tunnel littered with rotting food and feces.
(I wonder how many people living there are CV infected.)
Police Chief Shad Prichard said, even as a combat veteran, he’s never seen anything like the conditions he saw in the tunnels discovered.

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020...n-san-antonio/

Hope that after they clean it up, they will close every single entry to it.
Homeless people are real problem in our city. And those who hide are unaccounted for.
I am always a bit uneasy when I go biking the park trails. I could see the trash and the tents everywhere; stray, hungry dogs, scary looking people - very scary.
Especially the area of Oakwell TrailHeadPark and John James Park Trail.
The Purple Sage Trailer Park is another homeless and druggies hot spot. Police don't do anything because the Trailer Park owner is allowing that.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by elnina

Hollywood Park police discover homeless settlement in tunnel littered with rotting food and feces.
(I wonder how many people living there are CV infected.)
Police Chief Shad Prichard said, even as a combat veteran, he’s never seen anything like the conditions he saw in the tunnels discovered.

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020...n-san-antonio/

Hope that after they clean it up, they will close every single entry to it.
Homeless people are real problem in our city. And those who hide are unaccounted for.
I am always a bit uneasy when I go biking the park trails. I could see the trash and the tents everywhere; stray, hungry dogs, scary looking people - very scary.
Especially the area of Oakwell TrailHeadPark and John James Park Trail.
The Purple Sage Trailer Park is another homeless and druggies hot spot. Police don't do anything because the Trailer Park owner is allowing that.

This is a drainage tunnel. Water goes through it. Do you want the water to go on the streets and cause street flooding and more flash flooding? Does that make sense? It's about education and letting the people who live there know that it's unsafe and they could die if they're under there in the rain. Yes, it's gross and nasty, but it's also about their safety as humans. A few similar things happened up here in Austin. One tunnel near a highway caught fire and shut down the highway for almost two days as they cleaned it up. Another one on a very popular long stretch of road was constantly patrolled by APD to get people out of the large drainage area that is well known to flood. I'm not sure what that looks like now given the situation.

[elnina]

I know they are drainage tunnels...
It doesn't have to be a solid closure, but what about iron bars?
You can't really "educate" everyone, some don't want to be educated. If the tunnels are unsafe, thats one more reason why they should be inaccessible for trespassers.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by elnina

I know they are drainage tunnels...
It doesn't have to be a solid closure, but what about iron bars?
You can't really "educate" everyone, some don't want to be educated. If the tunnels are unsafe, thats one more reason why they should be inaccessible for trespassers.

How about that larger debris that gets caught up in those bars? People will do what they want. Add consequences, visit with them, provide another safe option for them, etc. closing the ditch is not the option. Working with homelessness is hard. But just closing a ditch is. It going to solve the problem.

[elnina]

So, let's see how they will solve the problem.
The problem with the homeless is decades old. Many just don't want to change their lifestyle, because change means some rules, and most don't want any rules. I work with them in a mental hospital.

[Azure110]

I can't imagine what the next major flood will bring out of those tunnels assuming they are there for flood control.

It probably stays very cool down there in the summer time making it more attractive for homeless camping.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by elnina

So, let's see how they will solve the problem.
The problem with the homeless is decades old. Many just don't want to change their lifestyle, because change means some rules, and most don't want any rules. I work with them in a mental hospital.

So we’re preaching to the choir. I’m a social worker at a psych hospital in Austin now. We get jaded and I feel your pain.

[supfromthesite]

"Take Back the Streets: Get Rid of the Bums. Again: unleash the cops to clear the streets of bums and vagrants. Where will they go? Who cares? Hopefully, they will disappear, that is, move from the ranks of the petted and cosseted bum class to the ranks of the productive members of society."

[chud]

The discovery of this tunnel explains a lot. I have noticed for a while now that there are a LOT of homeless panhandling at 281 & 1604, and at 1604 & Blanco.



I was donating some stuff at Goodwill the other day and the guy working there said that there are a lot of homeless in this area and they steal anything that is left outside.

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by chud

I was donating some stuff at Goodwill the other day and the guy working there said that there are a lot of homeless in this area and they steal anything that is left outside.

Unrelatedly, I'm glad they do. I am wholly against donating to Goodwill and Salvation Army (no offense) because the necessary items don't go directly to people who would benefit. I just moved from San Jose, Calif. where we have what some people would consider to be an extreme homelessness problem. Anything I didn't want or could no longer use went in boxes and I dropped them off directly to people in camps. If anyone wishes to do the same, know that you can keep your distance and feel comfortable doing it. Prior to loading up my car for Tucson, I would occasionally see my old sweatshirts and blankets in use and that sort of confirmed for me that it's the best way. Had I taken them to Goodwill, they'd be sifted through by workers, organized for days and potentially weeks before either being thrown out or placed on the shelves for $ale. Sure, it's nice to get your tax write-off slip, but it's not the best way to help our fellow men and women.