Considering Seaton, but concerned about the homeless encampment

[Anonymous]

What’s the situation now? Any update?

[Anonymous]

Teach your children compassion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those concerned, use twitter to let the mayor and others who have allowed this to go on know how you feel about the armed and drug-infested encampments at Seaton - @MayorBowser @councilofdc @charlesallen @DMEforDC @DCSBOE. Please use #DCKidsCount

This is not a anti-homeless, affordable housing, or us vs. them issue. This is a child and citizen safety issue - the core purpose of all government.

Also, Seaton is not the only school dealing with some version of this. Reach out to Thomson and Brent parents. Complaint without action is meaningless - ACT NOW!

Homeless people are citizens too..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those concerned, use twitter to let the mayor and others who have allowed this to go on know how you feel about the armed and drug-infested encampments at Seaton - @MayorBowser @councilofdc @charlesallen @DMEforDC @DCSBOE. Please use #DCKidsCount

This is not a anti-homeless, affordable housing, or us vs. them issue. This is a child and citizen safety issue - the core purpose of all government.

Also, Seaton is not the only school dealing with some version of this. Reach out to Thomson and Brent parents. Complaint without action is meaningless - ACT NOW!

Homeless people are citizens too..

We’ll, no one is debating that but registered sex offenders are citizens as well, yet no one wants to buy a house in their neighborhood. It’s not people, it’s the actions. You don’t want someone with mental health and guns to go crazy and open fire in your neighborhood or spread drugs because they need to pay for their own drug addictions. Compassion doesn’t mean stupidity to put your children at risk.

[Anonymous]

Didn’t they put fence and move folks somewhere away from this encampment? What’s the issue now?

[Anonymous]

There shouldn't be "encampments" anywhere in the city. We need to stop shuffling deck chairs in the Titanic and voluntarily house people or involuntarily house/hospitalize them. The housing and housed should be heavily monitored, as the district is creating nuisance buildings with their current housing effort. Tired of seeing human faeces at bus stops and so much ill behavior being applauded and supported by the hug a homeless crowd .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There shouldn't be "encampments" anywhere in the city. We need to stop shuffling deck chairs in the Titanic and voluntarily house people or involuntarily house/hospitalize them. The housing and housed should be heavily monitored, as the district is creating nuisance buildings with their current housing effort. Tired of seeing human faeces at bus stops and so much ill behavior being applauded and supported by the hug a homeless crowd .

These so called activists don’t have or want solution, just want to look righteous and compassionate. They aren’t helping anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There shouldn't be "encampments" anywhere in the city. We need to stop shuffling deck chairs in the Titanic and voluntarily house people or involuntarily house/hospitalize them. The housing and housed should be heavily monitored, as the district is creating nuisance buildings with their current housing effort. Tired of seeing human faeces at bus stops and so much ill behavior being applauded and supported by the hug a homeless crowd .

These so called activists don’t have or want solution, just want to look righteous and compassionate. They aren’t helping anyone.

I think most of the activists are naive about a few things about encampments.

1. They don’te realize that many/most tent encampments are actually part of organized crime - drug dealing, prostitution, stolen goods. They may admit that the residents use drugs, but they don’t realize or admit that the tents are used to conduct organized crime.

2. They don’t realize that DC residents of all colors are very much in support of getting rid of encampments and open-air drug markets. When these activists take a stand for encampments, they believe they are on the side of an imagined black majority. But talk to any black resident near an encampment and you’ll hear a very different take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There shouldn't be "encampments" anywhere in the city. We need to stop shuffling deck chairs in the Titanic and voluntarily house people or involuntarily house/hospitalize them. The housing and housed should be heavily monitored, as the district is creating nuisance buildings with their current housing effort. Tired of seeing human faeces at bus stops and so much ill behavior being applauded and supported by the hug a homeless crowd .

As harsh as it sounds, I think literally banning tents in public spaces would be part of the answer. While people may have a consitutional right to sleep rough, they do not have a right to erect a tent in the middle of a densely populated place. Eliminating tents would mean that the encampments can’t be used for organized crime. If someone wants to go to the periphery of the city and set up a tent (like in junk trees on a riverbank) that’s totally different - that is for the purposes of shelter; not to create a more convenient stash house in plain sight.

[Anonymous]

To answer the question, the encampment was moved and a fence was erected to prevent future encampments. The residents of the encampment were provided support services and assistance throughout the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There shouldn't be "encampments" anywhere in the city. We need to stop shuffling deck chairs in the Titanic and voluntarily house people or involuntarily house/hospitalize them. The housing and housed should be heavily monitored, as the district is creating nuisance buildings with their current housing effort. Tired of seeing human faeces at bus stops and so much ill behavior being applauded and supported by the hug a homeless crowd .

These so called activists don’t have or want solution, just want to look righteous and compassionate. They aren’t helping anyone.

I think most of the activists are naive about a few things about encampments.

1. They don’te realize that many/most tent encampments are actually part of organized crime - drug dealing, prostitution, stolen goods. They may admit that the residents use drugs, but they don’t realize or admit that the tents are used to conduct organized crime.

2. They don’t realize that DC residents of all colors are very much in support of getting rid of encampments and open-air drug markets. When these activists take a stand for encampments, they believe they are on the side of an imagined black majority. But talk to any black resident near an encampment and you’ll hear a very different take.

+1

I also think most activists don’t have these encampments near their homes. If you work from home in upper NW, you very easily avoid any interaction or contact with encampments. But if you live in other neighborhoods or work out of the home in the city, you realize what a problem these are. And as someone who drives and walks by them for work each day and have seen violent behavior from several who live in these tents I don’t want my six year old anywhere near thrm.

[Anonymous]

Seaton parent here. The Seaton encampment situation should not and should never have been treated as a "delicate issue."

The city allowed these encampments to fester while the school was all-virtual and was very slow to handle it properly when the school (slowly) started reopening classrooms.

Neighbors living across from these tents reported open air propane cooking, finding used Narcan sprays, evidence of drug use, etc. The tents were literally along the playground boundary.

One of the residents was arrested for an assault that occurred a few blocks away and it was determined he had been keeping a gun in his tent. Only after this happened did the city finally take action.

This fiasco was in clear violation of (reasonable) expectations for a drug and gun free school zone.

So, for everyone commenting about compassion for the homeless...kindly step out of this one.

***I will add that my student's 2021-2022 school year experience has been excellent***

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seaton parent here. The Seaton encampment situation should not and should never have been treated as a "delicate issue."

The city allowed these encampments to fester while the school was all-virtual and was very slow to handle it properly when the school (slowly) started reopening classrooms.

Neighbors living across from these tents reported open air propane cooking, finding used Narcan sprays, evidence of drug use, etc. The tents were literally along the playground boundary.

One of the residents was arrested for an assault that occurred a few blocks away and it was determined he had been keeping a gun in his tent. Only after this happened did the city finally take action.

This fiasco was in clear violation of (reasonable) expectations for a drug and gun free school zone.

So, for everyone commenting about compassion for the homeless...kindly step out of this one.

***I will add that my student's 2021-2022 school year experience has been excellent***

I think most people are agreeing with you, and that they shouldn't be allowed anywhere. Certainly not hugging a school, but really, not anywhere. None of the issues you describe are compatible with the ebb and flow of civic life.

[Anonymous]

It’s lazy ass activism to demand to leave them in tents in random areas and be exposed to and expose whole neighborhoods to all sort of serious issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s lazy ass activism to demand to leave them in tents in random areas and be exposed to and expose whole neighborhoods to all sort of serious issues.

Especially when these ‘activists’ go back to their leafy neighborhoods of large houses and no encampments.