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Homelessness is an issue here and in most other places around the United States. I've seen the individuals standing on street corners with 'help me' and 'god bless' signs. I've seen the encampments tucked away off the interstates or in the back of public parks. But I've never had an experience quite as interesting as I did the other day.
I live in Everett. I know its not Seattle, but, I'll post here anyway.
I live in an apartment complex that is patrolled by private security and is regularly frequented by some interesting people. It also helps that the apartment complex is adjacent to a strip mall. The other night I stepped out into the corridor outside my apartment door and was greeted by a homeless man who had a jar full of urine, and several burned up sections of aluminum foil lying around.
I didn't confront him. I locked my door, stepped around him, told the main office about him and ran my errands. When I got home, the man and his 'belongings' were gone.
This is probably nothing new to some people who live in the area, but, it was a very interesting encounter to me. I wonder if I ever left my front door unlocked at night?
So here is the topic. Anybody else have any neat homeless people stories. They can range from funny to sad. I am curious as to how our local situation affects people who live here. Do you feel annoyed, or sorry? Is it disdain or empathy? Thank you for the replies!
I really dont have any funny stories. For the most part I just cant stand the homeless.
At first you kind of feel sorry for them until you realize that there are plenty of acquaintances and family that know these people are homeless and and just dont care. We are talking about people who have burned every bridge they have and for the most part I dont think want to be productive members of society even if they could be. They dont want a job, home or anything that requires any sort of effort......because, well that requires effort.
Just happy as clams to trash the area they live in, rob hard working folks and do their drugs. I have zero give a damn for these people.
Also I'm sure someone is going to respond with not all are drug addicts, some are mentally challenged, some are veterans etc. Yup, realize this but i believe those are the minority and not the majority.
I have daily, ongoing contact with homeless members of the community because I work in several public libraries on the Eastside. Whether we like it or not, public libraries have become the de facto day shelter for many homeless people in the community, here in Seattle and all across the country. There really isn't any other kind of public space that is free to all, warm, has clean toilets, provides access to the Internet, DVDs, and so on. Serving as the de facto day shelter for the homeless is not what public libraries were designed to do, but one by one other social institutions have closed down, until the public library has become one of the last places still providing services to the homeless.
Yes, we have certain bad apples that break the rules by doing drugs, drinking, fighting, and stealing in the library. But for the most part I'm often impressed by the grace and gratitude shown by people who I've learned to be homeless, after I've gotten to know them a bit and learned something about their lives. Some of them, you would not guess to be homeless, until you find out that they're living in a car or sleeping in a doorway. Many of them are clearly mentally ill. More than once a homeless patron has turned in his library card because he's afraid the government is spying on him through the public computers in the library. I see homeless patrons with PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, delusions...
Sometimes homeless patrons tell me that they won't go to a shelter because they've been robbed or attacked there during the night. Sometimes a homeless person has a companion animal who means everything to her, so she cannot stay overnight in a shelter because they won't take pets. Every little detail of their lives is such a struggle, and they're so overwhelmed by it all, it seems like they can't take steps or make plans to get into a better situation.
I wish we had social workers who could work with each homeless person and see they get medical care and prescriptions and a clean, safe place to stay. Communities like Salt Lake City that have taken the Housing First approach to providing permanent shelter have seen big savings in expensive social services such as ER visits, hospitalizations, and imprisonments.
I was startled to see a preview for a major motion picture coming out later this year about issues regarding the homeless in our public libraries. It's called "The Public."
I have daily, ongoing contact with homeless members of the community because I work in several public libraries on the Eastside. Whether we like it or not, public libraries have become the de facto day shelter for many homeless people in the community, here in Seattle and all across the country. There really isn't any other kind of public space that is free to all, warm, has clean toilets, provides access to the Internet, DVDs, and so on. Serving as the de facto day shelter for the homeless is not what public libraries were designed to do, but one by one other social institutions have closed down, until the public library has become one of the last places still providing services to the homeless.
Yes, we have certain bad apples that break the rules by doing drugs, drinking, fighting, and stealing in the library. But for the most part I'm often impressed by the grace and gratitude shown by people who I've learned to be homeless, after I've gotten to know them a bit and learned something about their lives. Some of them, you would not guess to be homeless, until you find out that they're living in a car or sleeping in a doorway. Many of them are clearly mentally ill. More than once a homeless patron has turned in his library card because he's afraid the government is spying on him through the public computers in the library. I see homeless patrons with PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, delusions...
Sometimes homeless patrons tell me that they won't go to a shelter because they've been robbed or attacked there during the night. Sometimes a homeless person has a companion animal who means everything to her, so she cannot stay overnight in a shelter because they won't take pets. Every little detail of their lives is such a struggle, and they're so overwhelmed by it all, it seems like they can't take steps or make plans to get into a better situation.
I wish we had social workers who could work with each homeless person and see they get medical care and prescriptions and a clean, safe place to stay. Communities like Salt Lake City that have taken the Housing First approach to providing permanent shelter have seen big savings in expensive social services such as ER visits, hospitalizations, and imprisonments.
I was startled to see a preview for a major motion picture coming out later this year about issues regarding the homeless in our public libraries. It's called "The Public."
wow. this is definitely timely. I used to work in a rehab facility (medical rehab, like when you get released from the hospital but you still need wound care or IVs or something) which a high percentage of homeless clients- it was a real eye opener- a lot of folks fall through the cracks, especially in a urban setting....
I have a very strong "whatever" attitude about the homeless and I completely ignore them. I don't mind them being around, but I certainly wish they'd keep their areas tidy and I don't understand why homelessness must always be accompanied by total disregard for immediate surroundings. Explain it to me: You take the little pieces of trash and you put those inside the bigger pieces of trash. You take those and you put them in garbage cans, or if cans are already full, just drop it next the trash cans and help public works out a little bit. Nooooooo.. instead they have throw every. single. piece. of plastic crap all over the place. For me this is a fundamental and basic obligation of the social contract. I don't expect everyone to have jobs.. I don't expect everyone to have homes. I do expect everyone to know where trash goes and where it doesn't. A universal skill taught in every single preschool curriculum ever.
wow. this is definitely timely. I used to work in a rehab facility (medical rehab, like when you get released from the hospital but you still need wound care or IVs or something) which a high percentage of homeless clients- it was a real eye opener- a lot of folks fall through the cracks, especially in a urban setting....
In the library, we have had to deal with patrons who have gangrene, MRSA infections, full-blown psychotic episodes, open wounds, drug overdoses...unfortunately, as library staff we have neither the training nor the resources to provide most of what our homeless patrons really need, although we can look look up resources and try to point them in the right direction. We feel inadequate, when all we can really do is provide information about resources and a sympathetic ear.
You're right, a lot of folks fall through the cracks. Many of the homeless youth come from abusive homes and/or have aged out of the foster care system. They've been preyed upon by authority figures and by criminals on the street. They need much more help than we can provide at the library.
Thanks for the responses everybody. the most annoying thing about my encounter was the mess. A bottle full of urine? There is a walmart with clean toilets literally right next door to my apartment complex. Then there was the scattered burnt foil laying around. This guy was in an indoor carpeted corridor. what if he set the building on fire? I'm on the third floor, and I have two infant daughters. It can be frightening.
My opinion on homeless is reflected similarly to alot of the other views. I don't hate homeless, but they consistently **** me off. I too also believe that a majority or homelessness is self inflicted. Which A) makes people hate the laziness and messiness, and B) overshadows the few who are actually in need of help.
Thank you all again for responses. Anybody interested in adding to this discussion is welcome!
I have sympathy for the homeless but dealing daily with the disruptions they can cause gets old. Really old. It's not their fault they have mental illness (and I'll even include drug addiction in that - it is easy for someone to fall into that trap). It's the noise, needles everywhere, trash strewn around. It's the human poop on 3rd Avenue downtown (I've actually seen in happening in broad daylight). It's not being able to use bus shelters because someone is cooking heroin. The crazy lady that screams at you on the bus for no reason. The guy that smells like he lives in a toilet. Day after day, seeing and experiencing these kind of things wears on me. It is depressing. Maybe the city is making progress. It doesn't seem like it to me.
I have daily, ongoing contact with homeless members of the community because I work in several public libraries on the Eastside. Whether we like it or not, public libraries have become the de facto day shelter for many homeless people in the community, here in Seattle and all across the country. There really isn't any other kind of public space that is free to all, warm, has clean toilets, provides access to the Internet, DVDs, and so on. Serving as the de facto day shelter for the homeless is not what public libraries were designed to do, but one by one other social institutions have closed down, until the public library has become one of the last places still providing services to the homeless.
Yes, we have certain bad apples that break the rules by doing drugs, drinking, fighting, and stealing in the library. But for the most part I'm often impressed by the grace and gratitude shown by people who I've learned to be homeless, after I've gotten to know them a bit and learned something about their lives. Some of them, you would not guess to be homeless, until you find out that they're living in a car or sleeping in a doorway. Many of them are clearly mentally ill. More than once a homeless patron has turned in his library card because he's afraid the government is spying on him through the public computers in the library. I see homeless patrons with PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, delusions...
Sometimes homeless patrons tell me that they won't go to a shelter because they've been robbed or attacked there during the night. Sometimes a homeless person has a companion animal who means everything to her, so she cannot stay overnight in a shelter because they won't take pets. Every little detail of their lives is such a struggle, and they're so overwhelmed by it all, it seems like they can't take steps or make plans to get into a better situation.
I wish we had social workers who could work with each homeless person and see they get medical care and prescriptions and a clean, safe place to stay. Communities like Salt Lake City that have taken the Housing First approach to providing permanent shelter have seen big savings in expensive social services such as ER visits, hospitalizations, and imprisonments.
You draw an important distinction between the kind of people who are homeless yet harmless and the troublemakers. I don't think anybody really objects to the kind of people who end up in that unfortunate situation who are respectful of the society's rules and don't destroy public amenities with their messes. On the other hand, the kind of exclusion that results in somebody falling down so far and so hard might be indicative that the person managed relationships badly or in bad faith and therefore burned those bridges to be left in that kind of isolation. Nevertheless, there is really no need to stigmatize merely being homeless.
The destructive asocial behavior on the other hand deserves much more stigmatization that it gets. I've gotten into arguments with bleedy heart Seattleites trying to understand why it's necessary to tolerate the huge messes and piles of biohazard filth they leave behind without consequence. If any ordinary citizen left a fraction of their chaos, there would probably be serious consequences and fines. But for the "poor homeless" not only can they dump their trash with impunity, they can consume drugs in public without complaint, they can park wherever without fear of fines and towing, etc etc. It's "homeless privilege."
In order to highlight the distinction of the terrible destructive asocial behavior from the mere social condition of being homeless, I wish we had different terms. Ever since I've been in Seattle, when there's been a problem or messes of chaos left behind by what most call "homeless" I call it what it is. They are asocial jerks that deserve our scorn for their refusal to adhere to basic civil norms and behaviors. It's a peculiar compact we've got. In the booming homeless social services industry complex we provide extravagant care for them without demanding any concessions in exchange, that they stop despoiling public resources. I've seen statistics that reveal that the average expenditure for indigent healthcare services at Harborview for each "homeless citizen" exceeds what I earn each year. Let's also not forget the costs in law enforcement and court costs that they impose.
Perhaps we need another name for the troublemaking behaved ones so that the innocently homeless aren't stigmatized by being captured in the same designation? Because I don't want to offend the innocent and harmless among the homeless, I've taken to calling this troublemaking share of this asocial population "Junkie Zombies."
Sure it's harsh. It stigmatizes.
But stigmatize it should. Otherwise we just invite more of the same behavior that explains in so many ways "why we can't have nice things."
But it's not without hope for redemption.
If we don't demand more, then we're hardly honoring those who do manage to rise up and redeem themselves.
I am one of the bleedy hearts mentioned but I have to say that things have changed alot. Just in the last several years things are different . I used to volunteer alot but after I got robbed by a homeless person by force in the doorway of a convenience store on a friday night with a million people around it I noticed I have stopped completely . That and a friends mentally delayed cousin was murdered by 3 homeless. It is getting too scary out there .
I may give the odd dollar to someone you can tell didn't get picked up that morning at the day labor place and needs a buck as I pass but thats getting less and less. They are camping near me now in U.P. and these sorts you don't go around . Ever .
On the other hand is my 53 yr old schizophrenic sister that occasionally - still after 30 years - the voices will over power her medicine and she will just walk out the door of her house and it's taken her husband and I up to 5 months to find her out in the streets of the Bay Area - SO many people and streets and some of the places we've found her are extremely dangerous .
Strange to say it may be worse in Sea/Tac as a region that where she is in the Bay Area .
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