Someone has started sleeping on the sidewalk next to our house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where would you like this person to go? I’m so sorry your kids don’t want to play outside now that a person who doesn’t have a home is trying to sleep on property that you don’t own.

You say this but I bet this has never happened to you.

Or, the PP understands what it actually means to live in an urban environment and -- as a consequence -- doesn't come off sounding like a scared suburban housewife.

Not PP, but I think the “suburban housewives” are the ones on this thread naively suggesting that OP find a way to save this guy. I’m sure if OP just gives him a hot meal and a shoulder to cry on, he’ll be back on his feet in no time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walked home from dinner..there's human poop in the bus shelter in front of Wilson HS..second pile we've seen this week right in front of Wilson..though I'm guessing there's a lot more in the bushes adjacent.

Are you talking about that area on Fort Dr right in front of the aquatic center and those sketchy woods? That entire area is a cesspool. The homeless started pooping on the benches out front when they realized that those get cleaned. The woods below are simply inaccessible now as they are so full of feces and toilet paper and soiled newspaper. City knows about this but does nothing and it is adjacent to a school. Makes you wonder about Wilson's little organic garden along the sidewalk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walked home from dinner..there's human poop in the bus shelter in front of Wilson HS..second pile we've seen this week right in front of Wilson..though I'm guessing there's a lot more in the bushes adjacent.

Are you talking about that area on Fort Dr right in front of the aquatic center and those sketchy woods? That entire area is a cesspool. The homeless started pooping on the benches out front when they realized that those get cleaned. The woods below are simply inaccessible now as they are so full of feces and toilet paper and soiled newspaper. City knows about this but does nothing and it is adjacent to a school. Makes you wonder about Wilson's little organic garden along the sidewalk.

Hmmm, it's the grassy area by Wilson Pool across from the back of Whole Foods. In the past week have seen big piles of human poop (one in a bus stop, one under the bench by the pool entrance). There is a small woods adjacent which appears to have TP littler. Is that the same area? I feel for the homeowners who abut it, as well as the students. How totally sketchy and unhygeinic. i'm puzzled why bus stops, libraries and benches are homeless facilities in our city..I ride the bus but you won't catch me inside a bus stop since I know what happens there (ie it's an outdoor restroom).

[Anonymous]

Get a timed sprinkler and set it to run for, say, 10 minutes every two hours, 24/7. Of course, direct most of the spay on your property, rain down just enough on the sidewalk to have the person move along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not just ask him to move along politely? And if that doesn’t work, use a directed jet lawn sprinkler to deliver the message.

This.

[Anonymous]

Make them a sandwich and give them water/Gatorade. Call a church or agency that helps the homeless and see if they can help get them.

[Anonymous]

Some of the very helpful posters here should just volunteer to take him in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walked home from dinner..there's human poop in the bus shelter in front of Wilson HS..second pile we've seen this week right in front of Wilson..though I'm guessing there's a lot more in the bushes adjacent.

Are you talking about that area on Fort Dr right in front of the aquatic center and those sketchy woods? That entire area is a cesspool. The homeless started pooping on the benches out front when they realized that those get cleaned. The woods below are simply inaccessible now as they are so full of feces and toilet paper and soiled newspaper. City knows about this but does nothing and it is adjacent to a school. Makes you wonder about Wilson's little organic garden along the sidewalk.

Hmmm, it's the grassy area by Wilson Pool across from the back of Whole Foods. In the past week have seen big piles of human poop (one in a bus stop, one under the bench by the pool entrance). There is a small woods adjacent which appears to have TP littler. Is that the same area? I feel for the homeowners who abut it, as well as the students. How totally sketchy and unhygeinic. i'm puzzled why bus stops, libraries and benches are homeless facilities in our city..I ride the bus but you won't catch me inside a bus stop since I know what happens there (ie it's an outdoor restroom).

There are a few people that now hang out/live in the grass area on Fort Dr behind Chase Bank across Albermarle from the Wawa. They go over to Wilson to defecate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why is that tent city on asphalt better than an SRO?

You could do some research. SROs were financially unsustainable and unsafe.

Problems Plague City-Backed Hotel : Housing: Drugs, crime are rampant at Downtown hotel renovated under ambitious program, police say.
NOV. 25, 1995 12 AM PT
TIMES STAFF WRITER
After living on the grimy streets of Downtown Los Angeles, Herman Lewis thought that moving into the Hayward Manor hotel at 6th and Spring streets would bring more safety and comfort.

Within days, he realized he was wrong. “You might as well be on the street,” said Lewis, who lived at the Hayward from August, 1994, through May, 1995. “Drugs are everywhere. You don’t even have to go outside of the place. You can get anything you want inside.”

Drug dealing and drug use are only some of the problems facing the Hayward Manor, according to police and the current manager, a court-appointed receivership representative. There’s also prostitution, murder, sexual assault, robbery and other crimes.

These kinds of problems are not unusual for some of the low-cost hotels on the fringe of Skid Row. But unlike the others, the Hayward is part of a $110-million citywide project hailed as the most ambitious affordable housing effort in Los Angeles history by outgoing Mayor Tom Bradley in 1993. At a cost of $25 million, the Hayward was the most expensive of the 15 affordable housing projects unveiled that day.

Now, two years later, the 525-unit single resident occupancy hotel is in danger of defaulting on a $13.4-million city-authorized revenue bond, according to the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s. And taxpayers may never be repaid for a $10-million city loan made in 1992 for acquisition and rehabilitation of the beleaguered hotel, city officials acknowledge.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-11-25-me-6994-story.html

tents on asphalt are better?

I see you want to establish a strawman for some bs argument. Look buddy, your problem is that you presume that you are the first person that thought of something. The outcome was that the city lit money on fire while the homeless felt more safe on the street.

From what I understand, the people that think every issue is about land use and zoning are now think that SROs are the solution for homelessness. It quite smug, arrogant and directly contradicts a lot of other stuff they promote, but who needs to be consistent, right? It is just an incredible mindset to think that zoning is the cause and the solution. Total broken brain stuff to think that social ills are effectively an early 2010s "one neat trick" listicle, but about zoning. But also, quite arrogant to not actually consider why there are no SROs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why is that tent city on asphalt better than an SRO?

You could do some research. SROs were financially unsustainable and unsafe.

Problems Plague City-Backed Hotel : Housing: Drugs, crime are rampant at Downtown hotel renovated under ambitious program, police say.
NOV. 25, 1995 12 AM PT
TIMES STAFF WRITER
After living on the grimy streets of Downtown Los Angeles, Herman Lewis thought that moving into the Hayward Manor hotel at 6th and Spring streets would bring more safety and comfort.

Within days, he realized he was wrong. “You might as well be on the street,” said Lewis, who lived at the Hayward from August, 1994, through May, 1995. “Drugs are everywhere. You don’t even have to go outside of the place. You can get anything you want inside.”

Drug dealing and drug use are only some of the problems facing the Hayward Manor, according to police and the current manager, a court-appointed receivership representative. There’s also prostitution, murder, sexual assault, robbery and other crimes.

These kinds of problems are not unusual for some of the low-cost hotels on the fringe of Skid Row. But unlike the others, the Hayward is part of a $110-million citywide project hailed as the most ambitious affordable housing effort in Los Angeles history by outgoing Mayor Tom Bradley in 1993. At a cost of $25 million, the Hayward was the most expensive of the 15 affordable housing projects unveiled that day.

Now, two years later, the 525-unit single resident occupancy hotel is in danger of defaulting on a $13.4-million city-authorized revenue bond, according to the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s. And taxpayers may never be repaid for a $10-million city loan made in 1992 for acquisition and rehabilitation of the beleaguered hotel, city officials acknowledge.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-11-25-me-6994-story.html

tents on asphalt are better?

I could see how it might be more appealing since you could quickly move your tent away from people doing drugs. A few years ago, our neighbors were evicted for doing drugs after a lengthy process for us involving not just mgmt, but the police. We couldn’t just pack up our home in an hour and move several blocks away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Homeless out on the street (chronic)? Or homeless who are couch surfing (periodic)? Because by far most of the intractably homeless are addicts and/or have severe mental health issues. Their behavior is so bad that relatives and friends can no longer house them. And many don't want housing. What they are doing now works for them. It just doesn't work for the people around them, like business owners or residents.

And they are the ones that are difficult to deal with. Police know how to connect people to services and they do. But you can't force someone to live somewhere. The only way to remedy the immediate quality of life situation that's bothering others (someone defecating on the sidewalk in front of a business, someone doing the same in garden apartment hallways, etc.) is to arrest them for trespassing. Most police and prosecutors around here have decided to not deal with trespassing, for a variety of reasons, so the person either isn't moved away, or if police do arrest him, he's right back there in a matter of hours. If society wants to decriminalize or at least minimize arresting people for low-level offenses like this, the quality of life for everyone else will decline. I'm not saying we should be arresting willy nilly. I'm just saying it's a conundrum. And one with no great answer. The same 50 chronic homeless people in Silver Spring cause most of the quality of life issues for others. And there's very little anyone can do about it.

That’s pretty racist to put the blame for all the quality of life issues in Silver Spring on a handful of homeless Black people.

50 people is not a handful - it's a borderline mob. And who but you said anything about their race?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Homeless out on the street (chronic)? Or homeless who are couch surfing (periodic)? Because by far most of the intractably homeless are addicts and/or have severe mental health issues. Their behavior is so bad that relatives and friends can no longer house them. And many don't want housing. What they are doing now works for them. It just doesn't work for the people around them, like business owners or residents.

And they are the ones that are difficult to deal with. Police know how to connect people to services and they do. But you can't force someone to live somewhere. The only way to remedy the immediate quality of life situation that's bothering others (someone defecating on the sidewalk in front of a business, someone doing the same in garden apartment hallways, etc.) is to arrest them for trespassing. Most police and prosecutors around here have decided to not deal with trespassing, for a variety of reasons, so the person either isn't moved away, or if police do arrest him, he's right back there in a matter of hours. If society wants to decriminalize or at least minimize arresting people for low-level offenses like this, the quality of life for everyone else will decline. I'm not saying we should be arresting willy nilly. I'm just saying it's a conundrum. And one with no great answer. The same 50 chronic homeless people in Silver Spring cause most of the quality of life issues for others. And there's very little anyone can do about it.

That’s pretty racist to put the blame for all the quality of life issues in Silver Spring on a handful of homeless Black people.

+1

I have lived in downtown SS for 16 years and rarely encounter homeless people. Only when I am in the library, on Georgia Ave near the service center, or outside of the Safeway in Thayer or CVS on Wayne. If they are hanging elsewhere, they are clean and quiet so they look no different than the other poor people in the area. I am not naive. I grew up in Baltimore City and lived in gritty cities in the US and abroad most of my twenties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walked home from dinner..there's human poop in the bus shelter in front of Wilson HS..second pile we've seen this week right in front of Wilson..though I'm guessing there's a lot more in the bushes adjacent.

Are you talking about that area on Fort Dr right in front of the aquatic center and those sketchy woods? That entire area is a cesspool. The homeless started pooping on the benches out front when they realized that those get cleaned. The woods below are simply inaccessible now as they are so full of feces and toilet paper and soiled newspaper. City knows about this but does nothing and it is adjacent to a school. Makes you wonder about Wilson's little organic garden along the sidewalk.

Hmmm, it's the grassy area by Wilson Pool across from the back of Whole Foods. In the past week have seen big piles of human poop (one in a bus stop, one under the bench by the pool entrance). There is a small woods adjacent which appears to have TP littler. Is that the same area? I feel for the homeowners who abut it, as well as the students. How totally sketchy and unhygeinic. i'm puzzled why bus stops, libraries and benches are homeless facilities in our city..I ride the bus but you won't catch me inside a bus stop since I know what happens there (ie it's an outdoor restroom).

There are a few people that now hang out/live in the grass area on Fort Dr behind Chase Bank across Albermarle from the Wawa. They go over to Wilson to defecate.

I know I sound like a huge rube, but I had no idea about this. And my kids play baseball and tennis at Ft Reno all the time. What can be done about this? Isn't there a Tenley association that can start putting pressure on the city to clean this up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walked home from dinner..there's human poop in the bus shelter in front of Wilson HS..second pile we've seen this week right in front of Wilson..though I'm guessing there's a lot more in the bushes adjacent.

Are you talking about that area on Fort Dr right in front of the aquatic center and those sketchy woods? That entire area is a cesspool. The homeless started pooping on the benches out front when they realized that those get cleaned. The woods below are simply inaccessible now as they are so full of feces and toilet paper and soiled newspaper. City knows about this but does nothing and it is adjacent to a school. Makes you wonder about Wilson's little organic garden along the sidewalk.

Hmmm, it's the grassy area by Wilson Pool across from the back of Whole Foods. In the past week have seen big piles of human poop (one in a bus stop, one under the bench by the pool entrance). There is a small woods adjacent which appears to have TP littler. Is that the same area? I feel for the homeowners who abut it, as well as the students. How totally sketchy and unhygeinic. i'm puzzled why bus stops, libraries and benches are homeless facilities in our city..I ride the bus but you won't catch me inside a bus stop since I know what happens there (ie it's an outdoor restroom).

There are a few people that now hang out/live in the grass area on Fort Dr behind Chase Bank across Albermarle from the Wawa. They go over to Wilson to defecate.

I know I sound like a huge rube, but I had no idea about this. And my kids play baseball and tennis at Ft Reno all the time. What can be done about this? Isn't there a Tenley association that can start putting pressure on the city to clean this up?

In that circumstance, there is not much you can do except contact MPD, ANC, Cheh and demand that they increase patrols around the school to prevent the defecation.

You notice that they don't do this stuff at Ft Reno, and that's because Park Police don't mess around. Which is both good in one way and can also be bad too, but that's another story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Homeless out on the street (chronic)? Or homeless who are couch surfing (periodic)? Because by far most of the intractably homeless are addicts and/or have severe mental health issues. Their behavior is so bad that relatives and friends can no longer house them. And many don't want housing. What they are doing now works for them. It just doesn't work for the people around them, like business owners or residents.

And they are the ones that are difficult to deal with. Police know how to connect people to services and they do. But you can't force someone to live somewhere. The only way to remedy the immediate quality of life situation that's bothering others (someone defecating on the sidewalk in front of a business, someone doing the same in garden apartment hallways, etc.) is to arrest them for trespassing. Most police and prosecutors around here have decided to not deal with trespassing, for a variety of reasons, so the person either isn't moved away, or if police do arrest him, he's right back there in a matter of hours. If society wants to decriminalize or at least minimize arresting people for low-level offenses like this, the quality of life for everyone else will decline. I'm not saying we should be arresting willy nilly. I'm just saying it's a conundrum. And one with no great answer. The same 50 chronic homeless people in Silver Spring cause most of the quality of life issues for others. And there's very little anyone can do about it.

That’s pretty racist to put the blame for all the quality of life issues in Silver Spring on a handful of homeless Black people.

+1

I have lived in downtown SS for 16 years and rarely encounter homeless people. Only when I am in the library, on Georgia Ave near the service center, or outside of the Safeway in Thayer or CVS on Wayne. If they are hanging elsewhere, they are clean and quiet so they look no different than the other poor people in the area. I am not naive. I grew up in Baltimore City and lived in gritty cities in the US and abroad most of my twenties.

The idea that there is anywhere close to 50 homeless people in DTSS is absurd on its face. Beyond that, most of the quality of life issues have nothing at all to do with them. The few homeless people that are there are actually quite docile and keep to themselves. They are not the people out assaulting people, robbing people and breaking into and stealing cars. Those people have homes.