Encampment has started in our downtown SS neighborhood

[Anonymous]

I feel awful complaining, but now this is a health and safety issue for my family.
In July, an elderly couple was evicted from 555 Thayer Ave apartment building. Actually two different apartments were evicted at that time, but only this couple and pretty much all of their belongings stayed. They acquired a tent and set up an encampment in the small wooded area between the apartment building and the condominium. Because they are elderly and the weather was so severe, my family and other neighbors have been looking out for them and suggested shelters, but they do not want to leave their belonging. We just give them food and water, sometimes toiletries. I think that was a mistake.
In mid August, an unhoused older man and older woman began joining them for hours each day, sometimes overnight. Now all four are drinking beer on either side of the sidewalk and they are very loud, sometimes cursing or arguing late into the night. Dog walkers are crossing the street. Parents with young children can’t walk on that side anymore. Pretty much everyone has reduced the handouts we were in the habit of giving the couple after the male “guest” demanded some as well. The hope was the coming cold weather would stop this.
School started last week and both of my teens walk past this encampment in the early hours of the morning. On Friday, they saw that “guests” were passed out next to the tent and the man’s khaki shorts were stained with diarrhea. I found these same shorts thrown under one of our vehicles when I left home yesterday. Besides the grossness, I have a compromised immune system.
Yesterday, another tenant in the building who is on disability for mental illness, panhandles in the Safeway, and often gets into arguments with neighbors hung out at the encampment to drink beer and smoke. Then, he let the male “guest” into the building. My daughter encountered the guest in the laundry room pulling up his pants. She ran to tell DH. By the time DH got down there, the guy was gone.
Our building has a new manager who is from VA. She isn’t taking any action on this issue.
What can we do? Should we call the non-emergency number?

[Anonymous]

How many times have you called the police?

Honestly I was with you until the compromised immune system thing.

[Anonymous]

Evolution is coming for you.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to daily life in LA. It's not going to get better OP, and yes you made a mistake by providing things to them.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what you're concerned about. You should be taking these people into your home. And I think you know that. That is the only equitable solution here. They don't have a home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what you're concerned about. You should be taking these people into your home. And I think you know that. That is the only equitable solution here. They don't have a home.

Agreed. If you’re concerned about their hygiene, have you opened your shower to them?

[Anonymous]

This case is a perfect example of how well-meaning people think they are being "compassionate" and "helpful" but end up enabling and encouraging situations that are bad for all involved.
It would arguably have been better for police to be called at the first emergence of the illegal [?] encampment and for the initial couple to have been referred to social services.

[Anonymous]

Wait you mean you don’t like living next to the homeless? They should be living elsewhere right? Like next to some poor people and not nice rich people like you …

[Anonymous]

ask kristin mink

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ask kristin mink

Ha! Love this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait you mean you don’t like living next to the homeless? They should be living elsewhere right? Like next to some poor people and not nice rich people like you …

I’m not rich. I live in one of the old, lower income apartment buildings. We’re a four person family in a two bedroom unit. I don’t want to get hepatitis from diarrhea stained clothing flung under my car or have my daughter sexually assaulted while doing laundry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This case is a perfect example of how well-meaning people think they are being "compassionate" and "helpful" but end up enabling and encouraging situations that are bad for all involved.
It would arguably have been better for police to be called at the first emergence of the illegal [?] encampment and for the initial couple to have been referred to social services.

You’re right. I thought we were helping. I didn’t consider it could turn out this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Evolution is coming for you.

I don’t even know what that is supposed to mean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait you mean you don’t like living next to the homeless? They should be living elsewhere right? Like next to some poor people and not nice rich people like you …

I’m not rich. I live in one of the old, lower income apartment buildings. We’re a four person family in a two bedroom unit. I don’t want to get hepatitis from diarrhea stained clothing flung under my car or have my daughter sexually assaulted while doing laundry.

I'm sorry you're going through this. We live near dtss.

I'm even sorrier the usual meanspirited trolls here are mocking you and blaming you. You have right to be frustrated. I don't have any easy answers for you, only the experience of having a mentally ill elderly relative who went off their meds and ended up in a situation like this. There was nothing we could do, and nothing the city they lived in did do, until one day they ended up hospitalized for a psych evaluation and then mysteriously took a Greyhound bus to another state.

Thankfully, the small town where they ended up offered better social services and they're much better now. But it's agonizing that we don't have better supports in place for this.

[Anonymous]

You call police, of course. So that these people can get access to more services.