Is there a solution for ending crime, homelessness & mental health crisis in DC?

[Anonymous]

This was Philly, last summer:

We really MUST do something about fentanyl!

[Anonymous]

There needs to be a place that the chronically mentally ill can go for help and care that is not a shelter and not the kind of inhumane warehouse that the mentally ill were committed to 50+ years ago. The city is spending a ton of money on housing vouchers, and that clearly isn't the answer--could that money go instead to some kind of halfway-housing that has social workers, medical care, and other services on site? There seem to a lot of social services, publicly and privately funded, that aren't particularly effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There needs to be a place that the chronically mentally ill can go for help and care that is not a shelter and not the kind of inhumane warehouse that the mentally ill were committed to 50+ years ago. The city is spending a ton of money on housing vouchers, and that clearly isn't the answer--could that money go instead to some kind of halfway-housing that has social workers, medical care, and other services on site? There seem to a lot of social services, publicly and privately funded, that aren't particularly effective.

You're describing rehab facilities and they cost a fortune to operate

[Anonymous]

Education, housing, jobs, food and health care

What happened to the Sackler money

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised this is still an issue given how expensive things are in DC now. This should price a lot of people into having to move farther away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised this is still an issue given how expensive things are in DC now. This should price a lot of people into having to move farther away.

Are you trying to be ironic? I don't get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's really not that hard. Prosecute crime, prosecute vagrancy, prosecute open-air drug use. Make it clear that DC is not a free-for-all.

This, but most cities are run by Democrats and Democrats seem to be ok with this stuff.

[Anonymous]

End Home Rule, bring in the Federales

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's really not that hard. Prosecute crime, prosecute vagrancy, prosecute open-air drug use. Make it clear that DC is not a free-for-all.

This, but most cities are run by Democrats and Democrats seem to be ok with this stuff.

Rural America tends to be run by republicans and they seem fine with rampant poverty and drug addiction too. Or maybe there are no easy solutions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a solution for ending crime, homelessness & mental health crisis in DC? What a shame to have it all in a superpower’s own capital! Shame on city government, shame on federal government and shame on both political parties.

Well, in LA a Black Republican who is promising to address these things is about to be elected. I am totally fine with switching parties/leadership based on people's proposals to address entrenched issues like above. Are you?

Fwiw, I think Bowser has done a somewhat good job with homelessness, better than our Council. But far more needs to be done and Union Station and other public spaces (I don't CARE who has jurisdiction - work with them to find a solution) are a disgrace.

Well two of the homeless who were booted from in front of the Columbus Circle at Union Station, have now set up their clearly identifiable tents near the Georgetown waterfront.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Education, housing, jobs, food and health care

What happened to the Sackler money

Tell me you have never met a homeless person without telling me you have never met a homeless person. In my long experience with the homeless, few want more than cigarettes, some type of alcohol, drugs, food, and a blanket. Education, housing, job, and health care are not on their agenda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why DC attracts so many homeless, mentally ill, addicts and criminals?

Mental healthcare person here. I asked this when I started working in the field. It is a combination of huge income disparity in DC plus being the national capital makes the city a focus of a lot of people's mental illness. That said, I think the real criminals are the ones who sit on the Hill and do nothing about widespread public health problems (gun violence). But sure, let's get upset about the vulnerable disenfranchised!

You're not wrong, but the criminals who collect handsome salaries on the Hill aren't pushing me off my bike into traffic, yelling sexual slurs, or sh!tt!ng on the sidewalk, so that helps.

There are ways other than calling the gestapo. For example, a port-o-potty by an encampment isn't perfect, but reduces sidewalk poop by a lot. Make it a regularly cleaned port-o-potty and it's even more effective.

"We haven't tried anything and we're all out of ideas!"

Great idea. This will create more jobs for Hispanic emigres.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This was Philly, last summer:

We really MUST do something about fentanyl!

You mean increase the supply?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve lived in cities for about 30 years. The proportionate of visible street homeless (differentiating them from other homeless, who usually are less visible and crash with friends, live in cars, etc.) that are very mentally ill seems to have increased dramatically. Is it fentanyl and other synthetic drugs? The other day a man was screaming obscenities st me and an elderly woman because he was trying t give us some rocks and dried up tissues—I couldn’t even understand what he was saying about them but he clearly thought they were something else. Last month, I was walking and turned me head to look at a store window and a man started screaming at me about looking away from him and something about my ass. Last year, a woman out of nowhere ran up and tried to punch me—-but was so out of it that her swing missed me by about a foot and she fell over.
This seems to me way worse than the crack epidemic of the 90s. These people have brains that are just fried. I don’t know that there’s a solution for that. I now avoid the homeless encampment near my office, whereas before I just walked through it with no real worries.

Sorry this happened to you.

There are some solutions to the homelessness issue - we can end chronic homelessness, but it will take time and money. First, we need to streamline our homeless counts and obtain data - not just names and location, but how long someone has been homeless, what caused them to fall into homelessness, etc. We need to track these folks and provide real support alongside our rapid rehousing program. We need to build longer term transitional housing that last more than 30 to 90 days. We need to build more housing for those who need more closely managed care.

For reducing crime, I like Robert White's, Zachary Parker's, and Beau Finley's ideas.

For fentanyl use, other than creating safe havens for use to get people not doing it in public, I have no idea.

You know what, I would rather spend that time and money on educating children, providing health care to the indigent elderly, providing better housing to poor people who will actually work, creating after school programs for children, adding more resources to libraries and rec centers.

[Anonymous]

Creating “safe havens for use” (of fentanyl) is an idiotic and failed idea.