I met a woman in the ER who told me she was homeless and mentally ill, and has kids, but her family who lives near the hospital wont let her near her kids and they want nothing to do with her. Wont speak to her or answer the door. The mentally ill/retarded have kids and the kids turn out the same.
Another ER visit at a different hospital. I had to wait overnight for a hospital transfer to yet another hospital where I had surgery and most of the patients near me were waiting for a bed at PIW. None were available and the doctor couldnt find one in MD or VA either, all full. They all left and said they would try again in a day or two. Clearly more mental hospitals are needed. I am very ill and spend lots of time in the hospital. I could right a book on my experiences in the ER and my hospital roomates. |
***write a book Also, I'm the poster who wrote about the woman sleeping at the bus stop for 30 years. She has family in DC that own homes, but she said they have their lives and everyone needs their own space. Friends have offered her to stay in their apartments, but she won't go. She always has an excuse. At least she isn't violent like many others. I offered her use of my phone to apply for stimulus checks, and told her I could help her submit it, but she refused. She does use my phone sometimes to call these friends to arrange to meet them to get things she has in there apartments. Once I arranged for her to use someones storage unit near the bys stop so she didn't have to lug around the bags. She could even have her own key. She didn't want it. I told her the woman would likely help her with other things too, but she wasnt interested. I bought her oranges once, but I think she just let them rot in her bags. Sometimes, there isn't anything you can do for these people. |
Lol |
Nancy should throw an ice cream party! |
I spend a lot of time on the West Coast. Many wealthy people and almost all families in SF have moved to the suburbs, esp. over the Golden Gate Bridge. It's heavenly there if you can afford it. SF feels almost abandoned except for the homeless. It's very sad. And even now, they are building camps in Marin County, so who knows what's next. In LA, I think it's even worse. Last summer in Venice, you had to look past a mile-long row of tents to see the Pacific. People literally set up camp on the beach - tents, random sofas, armchairs, ART, BBQs, you name it. It had almost a party atmosphere until it turned bad - which happens a few times a day. Then they cleared it out, and I kept asking where the homeless went. Turns out, they just moved inland a bit - about 5-10 blocks from the beach, on Rose and all the other main streets. You can walk down a main Street at dusk, and the homeless are everywhere, on the sidewalks, in tents, in doorways. It's a little terrifying. Most of the time they are silent, completely out of it, but other times, they are loud and filled with rage and violent. Violent crime is way up in LA, and the homeless are a bit part of the problem. This week a nurse and a grad student were both murdered by homeless men in LA: https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-identified-slaying-24-year-woman-la-furniture/story?id=82347326 And yes, the wealthy people in LA just step over the homeless on their way to Starbucks (true story). There's not a lot of true compassion and definitely no problem-solving going on. |
******sorry, I left out a telling detail in the first story/paragraph. The mentally ill woman was carrying these dolls and stuffed animals. She was rocking the large doll, lining them up in seperate chairs and having conversations with them. She saw me nearly in tears, begging to be seen. She kept telling me i was going to be ok, then told me her story while consoling the dolls and stuffed animals. They took her back to the ER before me for who knows what, but i really was dying, needed life saving medication, and hadto be admitted. This is why DC needs more mental hospitals. the streets are not just overwhelmed, it is also the hospitals. The seriously ill medical patients are overlooked and put at the end of the line behind the mentally ill. |
******sorry, I left out a telling detail in the first story/paragraph. The mentally ill woman was carrying these dolls and stuffed animals. She was rocking the large doll, lining them up in seperate chairs and having conversations with them. She saw me nearly in tears, begging to be seen. She kept telling me i was going to be ok, then told me her story while consoling the dolls and stuffed animals. They took her back to the ER before me for who knows what, but i really was dying, needed life saving medication, and hadto be admitted. This is why DC needs more mental hospitals. the streets are not just overwhelmed, it is also the hospitals. The seriously ill medical patients are overlooked and put at the end of the line behind the mentally ill. |
No offense, but DC has a largely Democrat mayor, council etc. Who legislate. We can certainly tackle homelessness. Instead we told the federal park police to NOT dismantle these camps, and so it continues that that "is the solution" |
Please do. And 311. Why didn't you call the first time you saw them? Genuinely curious. |
It's not easy living. I'm sure they have to deal with everything from rats getting into their stuff to teenage thugs kicking the snot out of them and scattering their stuff for no good reason. A couple of years ago I saw a car stop near where a homeless guy was, three guys jumped out and just started beating the guy up for no reason. I ran over and chased them off, they just jumped back into their car and left. This city is full of mentally ill people. Some are homeless, others are non-homeless violent sociopaths who have cars. |
That is not a solution. But Park Police being shitty toward the homeless is not a solution either. My proposal would be something like this: 1. Mental health evaluations 2. Evaluate where they are from. If they are not from DC, then someone else should be taking care of them and take whatever legal action necessary, whether getting their home communities to take them in or forcing their home communities to pay. 3. If they are a danger to themselves or anyone else, put them into an institution under supervised care 4. If they are not a danger to themselves, provide them with managed housing (not tents and not paying above market rate). 5. They are also responsible for the upkeep of the housing. Unsanitary behavior gets them referred to institutional care. 6. Integrated case management and assistance with clear timelines, milestones and objectives - for example treating substance addiction or helping those who just had an issue where they became homeless because they lost their job and couldn't pay rent and getting them back on a path to self sufficiency. 7. If the homeless don't like it, they can move to somewhere else with different policies with the homeless. |
I agree that it's mental illness, but society does not want mental hospitals. They closed them down and there was a big push to abolish them under Reagan. It is seen as inhumane to house them all in mental hospitals, but the alternative is these homeless encampments. Just sort of a mess all around and there aren't easy solutions. |
So few are from outside of DC. Non residents are mainly illegals, and DC loves and welcomes illegals. They aren't capable of helping themselves and will never leave. Once you are here, you are here. This is a sanctuary city for all. The DC government is barely more capable than most living on the streets. Some are former homeless. No DC government employee will be effective. Have you ever had to battle them for benefits. These are blissfully ignorant individuals who will dig their heals in the ground like an animal and refuse to service you or process benefits. They investigate nothing. They ignore, ignore, ignore until you exasperate yourself and literally die, as in my case. Do you think I would be dying of a terminal illness that was preventable if they served all people? They can't help themselves. They are too busy worried about and keeping score of what you have and what they 'the other' doesn't have. Mary Cheh's constituent service director has two responses for anyone seeking benefits. She knows a manager at 'MAC DON ODS' or she will provide a bus ticket out of town. They believe they have the authority to keep your benefits and instead force you to work in fast food. It's take it or you get nothing. 100 years from now, DC will be no better, only worse because no one will challenge the status quo. |
This might just be a "you" problem. You do sound like an a**. |
I'll read your points, but just want to be clear that park police clearing parks for health, hygeine and their intended purpose is not "being shitty" |