Bowser Spreads the Wealth opens homeless shelters in each DC ward

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ PP please stop being an ass. The only one talking about toddlers murdering anyone is you.

Wrong. I've asked someone to explain what they are afraid of, and the fears center on this:

1. Increased crime (including a linked article focuses on murder and rape, yet having no connection to homeless perps).

2. Theft (who will steal, and when? These moms will be busy, and there's a curfew. Most kids will be very young; toddlers don't steal.)

3. Crowded buses (whatever)

4. Schools...not sure exactly what...but schools (most families have babies and young kids who won't be in school; others will opt to keep their kids in their current school, so you won't see an influx of kids in your school. Some, yes; too many, not so much.)

5. Home values (tell me where you live, and I'll let you know if you need to worry)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alexandria City does the mixed use housing with mixed results. The presence of public housing units does keep prices lower in the market rate properties compared to similar properties without public housing units.

Unfortunately, it is the reality of the new economy that people cannot earn enough to provide housing for themselves, particularly when they have children they cannot afford to raise. The government must step in to provide shelter or the related social,problems will only grow worse

Those who benefit from the economy are subsidizing those who do not. It is very simple and a reality that will never be changed.

Yep.

Decades and decades of segregated housing and ignoring the plight of lie income African Americans in DC has yielded a crisis. Truly.

Fortunately, Mayor Bowser gets it and is attempting to fix the problem.

DC wasn't "segregated" - it was overwhelmingly majority AA and AA run. Gentrification didn't cause the problems - they were already there. Whites suddenly became a convenient excuse and scapegoat for decades of pre-existing problems.

Oy vey...I don't have time to break this down for you.

In short: zoning laws were historically driven by racism and classism. It's a thing. Google it.

I know that you know that generational poverty exists in the bad areas of DC that you would never live. And you realize that those areas have high crime, bad schools, poor housing stock, etc. Google food deserts.

Now google opportunity zones.

And stop painting white yuppies as victims. Jesus. If you don't want to live near brown people, then move to Chevy Chase View in Kensington. Literally everyone is white, catholic and republican. You'll love it there, but you'll need some money to afford a $1.3 million home. Home prices are high to keep out the riff raff...see how that works?

Yeah, it's a "thing" in some places but here in DC you are at total odds with actual facts and history. The fact is the city has been AA run since the late 1960s. No matter how badly you want to, you cannot retroactively blame the white yuppies who only arrived a few years ago for the past 50 years of bad zoning laws, bad schools, poor housing stocks, food deserts, crime, and the last couple generations worth of multigenerational poverty in DC. It was blacks - not whites - who had the power and position and opportunity and ability to change all that, had they wanted to.

Sigh.

The bad areas of DC have been ignored for decades. Generations, actually. Fact.

I'm not placing the blame squarely on white yuppies, but you are naive if you think the city leaders haven't pandered to white yuppies and corporate interests.

The fact of the matter is that Bowser is the first mayor to proactively address homelessness by throwing money at the problem. She has a great team in place and I'm optimistic that her efforts will be successful.

Ignored for the past 50 years by black administrations, who for decades didn't exactly have white yuppies or corporate interests to pander to in the first place.

Great that Bowser wants to do something about it but there's more to it than just throwing money at the problem, there's more to it than just randomly slicing DC General up and transplanting sections of it to different wards. Not to mention, crony developers with their hands in the pie looking to further their own interests... Thus far that's all the plan seems to describe. Maybe she's well-intentioned but I just don't share your optimism.

Sigh. Please read the thread.

Google Laura Zeilinger. She's the former head of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. She left that sweet Fed gig where she was at the center of promoting best practices to lead Bowser's efforts to effectively address homelessness.

I don't care what you think, pp...I actually know that Bowser's plan will work. She is up to speed on the data and best practices. She's investing money in systems change. She's not stupid; she's doing all the right things. You should be proud that you finally have an effective leader.

I don't work for Bowser. I don't work in the DC system. But I know what's going on here, and this is the best approach. Let's resurrect this thread in 3 years and see where things stand. I'm betting the city will be able to document progress. I'm also confident that toddler crime stats won't be an issue.

[Anonymous]

The plan will work. It might end homelessness but the whole city will resemble ghetto. Liberal destructiveness knows no end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The plan will work. It might end homelessness but the whole city will resemble ghetto. Liberal destructiveness knows no end.

Interesting thought

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ PP please stop being an ass. The only one talking about toddlers murdering anyone is you.

Wrong. I've asked someone to explain what they are afraid of, and the fears center on this:

1. Increased crime (including a linked article focuses on murder and rape, yet having no connection to homeless perps).

2. Theft (who will steal, and when? These moms will be busy, and there's a curfew. Most kids will be very young; toddlers don't steal.)

3. Crowded buses (whatever)

4. Schools...not sure exactly what...but schools (most families have babies and young kids who won't be in school; others will opt to keep their kids in their current school, so you won't see an influx of kids in your school. Some, yes; too many, not so much.)

5. Home values (tell me where you live, and I'll let you know if you need to worry)

You sound unhinged. No one mentioned toddlers harming anyone. You said families, which is comprised of adults, correct? Home values will go down. Btw I don't live in the neighborhood so I'm not worried about the school issue. However, I felt very badly for the parents at Stoddard that stood up and expressed concern about their school in their neighborhood and they seem like very kind caring people and they were not being judgmental at all. They seemed very concerned and that made me feel badly and listen to their concerns. Because the way you've handled the concerns as an advocate for homeless, I can see why there's been no progress thus far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The plan will work. It might end homelessness but the whole city will resemble ghetto. Liberal destructiveness knows no end.

Interesting thought

Google Soviet housing stock. All mixed income and no homeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The plan will work. It might end homelessness but the whole city will resemble ghetto. Liberal destructiveness knows no end.

Interesting thought

Google Soviet housing stock. All mixed income and no homeless.

Are you thinking Bowser or Sanders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ PP please stop being an ass. The only one talking about toddlers murdering anyone is you.

Wrong. I've asked someone to explain what they are afraid of, and the fears center on this:

1. Increased crime (including a linked article focuses on murder and rape, yet having no connection to homeless perps).

2. Theft (who will steal, and when? These moms will be busy, and there's a curfew. Most kids will be very young; toddlers don't steal.)

3. Crowded buses (whatever)

4. Schools...not sure exactly what...but schools (most families have babies and young kids who won't be in school; others will opt to keep their kids in their current school, so you won't see an influx of kids in your school. Some, yes; too many, not so much.)

5. Home values (tell me where you live, and I'll let you know if you need to worry)

You sound unhinged. No one mentioned toddlers harming anyone. You said families, which is comprised of adults, correct? Home values will go down. Btw I don't live in the neighborhood so I'm not worried about the school issue. However, I felt very badly for the parents at Stoddard that stood up and expressed concern about their school in their neighborhood and they seem like very kind caring people and they were not being judgmental at all. They seemed very concerned and that made me feel badly and listen to their concerns. Because the way you've handled the concerns as an advocate for homeless, I can see why there's been no progress thus far.

Tell me what the parents are concerned about?

There have been comments along the lines of "40 families with multiple kids entering and exiting the school every month will be disruptive."

Data shows that many of the families won't even have school aged kids.

Data also shows that many of the families will opt to keep their kids in their current school, not the new one.

So, you won't have tons of kids entering and exiting the school. You will have some. Some. But I realize we all have our tipping points, right? So I guess that's the issue?

Are you worried about disruptive behavior? That's a crapshoot. We had a severely disturbed kid in our elementary school with nearly zero farms...I'm talking violent. Throwing scissors. Breaking furniture. He was ultimately removed from the classroom in the spring. He was white and had wealthy parents. Despite the nearly daily outbursts, my kid still excelled. So what's the real fear?

Test scores impacting home values? The kids will need to actually be there long enough to be tested and have it count towards the calculations. We are talking about a very small number of kids whose scores will count.

So please tell me what the fears are in terms of impacting the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The plan will work. It might end homelessness but the whole city will resemble ghetto. Liberal destructiveness knows no end.

Interesting thought

Google Soviet housing stock. All mixed income and no homeless.

Are you really advocating for a Communist-style takeover?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The plan will work. It might end homelessness but the whole city will resemble ghetto. Liberal destructiveness knows no end.

Interesting thought

Google Soviet housing stock. All mixed income and no homeless.

Are you really advocating for a Communist-style takeover?

The shelter site IS right across from the Soviet, uh Russian, Embassy compound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ PP please stop being an ass. The only one talking about toddlers murdering anyone is you.

Wrong. I've asked someone to explain what they are afraid of, and the fears center on this:

1. Increased crime (including a linked article focuses on murder and rape, yet having no connection to homeless perps).

2. Theft (who will steal, and when? These moms will be busy, and there's a curfew. Most kids will be very young; toddlers don't steal.)

3. Crowded buses (whatever)

4. Schools...not sure exactly what...but schools (most families have babies and young kids who won't be in school; others will opt to keep their kids in their current school, so you won't see an influx of kids in your school. Some, yes; too many, not so much.)

5. Home values (tell me where you live, and I'll let you know if you need to worry)

Again, you are the only one going around saying people are worried about homeless toddlers murdering people. Nobody else here said that. At best you are obtuse and aren't actually understanding what people are saying, or at worst, you do understand what they are saying but are willfully and deliberately mischaracterizing and misrepresenting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The plan will work. It might end homelessness but the whole city will resemble ghetto. Liberal destructiveness knows no end.

Interesting thought

Google Soviet housing stock. All mixed income and no homeless.

Are you really advocating for a Communist-style takeover?

The shelter site IS right across from the Soviet, uh Russian, Embassy compound.

now the Russians are afraid of public housing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ PP please stop being an ass. The only one talking about toddlers murdering anyone is you.

Wrong. I've asked someone to explain what they are afraid of, and the fears center on this:

1. Increased crime (including a linked article focuses on murder and rape, yet having no connection to homeless perps).

2. Theft (who will steal, and when? These moms will be busy, and there's a curfew. Most kids will be very young; toddlers don't steal.)

3. Crowded buses (whatever)

4. Schools...not sure exactly what...but schools (most families have babies and young kids who won't be in school; others will opt to keep their kids in their current school, so you won't see an influx of kids in your school. Some, yes; too many, not so much.)

5. Home values (tell me where you live, and I'll let you know if you need to worry)

You sound unhinged. No one mentioned toddlers harming anyone. You said families, which is comprised of adults, correct? Home values will go down. Btw I don't live in the neighborhood so I'm not worried about the school issue. However, I felt very badly for the parents at Stoddard that stood up and expressed concern about their school in their neighborhood and they seem like very kind caring people and they were not being judgmental at all. They seemed very concerned and that made me feel badly and listen to their concerns. Because the way you've handled the concerns as an advocate for homeless, I can see why there's been no progress thus far.

Tell me what the parents are concerned about?

There have been comments along the lines of "40 families with multiple kids entering and exiting the school every month will be disruptive."

Data shows that many of the families won't even have school aged kids.

Data also shows that many of the families will opt to keep their kids in their current school, not the new one.

So, you won't have tons of kids entering and exiting the school. You will have some. Some. But I realize we all have our tipping points, right? So I guess that's the issue?

Are you worried about disruptive behavior? That's a crapshoot. We had a severely disturbed kid in our elementary school with nearly zero farms...I'm talking violent. Throwing scissors. Breaking furniture. He was ultimately removed from the classroom in the spring. He was white and had wealthy parents. Despite the nearly daily outbursts, my kid still excelled. So what's the real fear?

Test scores impacting home values? The kids will need to actually be there long enough to be tested and have it count towards the calculations. We are talking about a very small number of kids whose scores will count.

So please tell me what the fears are in terms of impacting the school?

What "data" are you referring to that says there won't be any school aged kids, and that they are all toddlers? Are you not aware that for example at Ketcham, the elementary school nearest DC General has 30% of its students that are homeless? What, did you think families somehow magically stop being homeless once their kids become school age? Did you think those kids somehow vanish or that things magically change?

And given your own school is nearly zero FARMS you clearly have no clue whatsoever of what the rest of us are talking about.

Our local ES isn't that far behind Ketcham as it already has more than 40 homeless kids because we already have several of shelters in our ward. Meanwhile there are other DCPS schools that barely have any homeless kids at all. Yet we're the ones supposed to pretend we don't know what we're talking about, to sit down, shut up and listen to the folks who don't even have any poor or homeless kids in their own neighborhoods.

Again, if Bowser wants to "share the wealth" she's welcome to share it somewhere else, because we've already shouldered more than many other parts of the city. They should stop and take stock in that first before just slicing everything up equally.

[Anonymous]

^ Typo - more than 30 homeless kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ PP please stop being an ass. The only one talking about toddlers murdering anyone is you.

Wrong. I've asked someone to explain what they are afraid of, and the fears center on this:

1. Increased crime (including a linked article focuses on murder and rape, yet having no connection to homeless perps).

2. Theft (who will steal, and when? These moms will be busy, and there's a curfew. Most kids will be very young; toddlers don't steal.)

3. Crowded buses (whatever)

4. Schools...not sure exactly what...but schools (most families have babies and young kids who won't be in school; others will opt to keep their kids in their current school, so you won't see an influx of kids in your school. Some, yes; too many, not so much.)

5. Home values (tell me where you live, and I'll let you know if you need to worry)

You sound unhinged. No one mentioned toddlers harming anyone. You said families, which is comprised of adults, correct? Home values will go down. Btw I don't live in the neighborhood so I'm not worried about the school issue. However, I felt very badly for the parents at Stoddard that stood up and expressed concern about their school in their neighborhood and they seem like very kind caring people and they were not being judgmental at all. They seemed very concerned and that made me feel badly and listen to their concerns. Because the way you've handled the concerns as an advocate for homeless, I can see why there's been no progress thus far.

Tell me what the parents are concerned about?

There have been comments along the lines of "40 families with multiple kids entering and exiting the school every month will be disruptive."

Data shows that many of the families won't even have school aged kids.

Data also shows that many of the families will opt to keep their kids in their current school, not the new one.

So, you won't have tons of kids entering and exiting the school. You will have some. Some. But I realize we all have our tipping points, right? So I guess that's the issue?

Are you worried about disruptive behavior? That's a crapshoot. We had a severely disturbed kid in our elementary school with nearly zero farms...I'm talking violent. Throwing scissors. Breaking furniture. He was ultimately removed from the classroom in the spring. He was white and had wealthy parents. Despite the nearly daily outbursts, my kid still excelled. So what's the real fear?

Test scores impacting home values? The kids will need to actually be there long enough to be tested and have it count towards the calculations. We are talking about a very small number of kids whose scores will count.

So please tell me what the fears are in terms of impacting the school?

What "data" are you referring to that says there won't be any school aged kids, and that they are all toddlers? Are you not aware that for example at Ketcham, the elementary school nearest DC General has 30% of its students that are homeless? What, did you think families somehow magically stop being homeless once their kids become school age? Did you think those kids somehow vanish or that things magically change?

And given your own school is nearly zero FARMS you clearly have no clue whatsoever of what the rest of us are talking about.

Our local ES isn't that far behind Ketcham as it already has more than 40 homeless kids because we already have several of shelters in our ward. Meanwhile there are other DCPS schools that barely have any homeless kids at all. Yet we're the ones supposed to pretend we don't know what we're talking about, to sit down, shut up and listen to the folks who don't even have any poor or homeless kids in their own neighborhoods.

Again, if Bowser wants to "share the wealth" she's welcome to share it somewhere else, because we've already shouldered more than many other parts of the city. They should stop and take stock in that first before just slicing everything up equally.

Naive question here: What is the distance between the NW house Bowser just bought and the closest proposed shelter?