Bowser Spreads the Wealth opens homeless shelters in each DC ward

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://ich.dc.gov

Start your journey here. Read about the homeless situation in DC as well as the game plan to address it.

Recognize that you have well over 1,000 homeless families in DC (and that's likely a lower estimate than reality since it's based on the point in time count). Recognize that there are well over 2,000 homeless kids in DC. These families must live somewhere. These children must go to school somewhere.

I realize that some of you feel like you worked hard to afford your nice home and good school. That's fine. But you live in DC, and DC has a homeless family housing crisis. Fortunately, the mayor is doing her best to address the problem (whereas many communities simply ignore the problem and waste so much money on emergency responses and services like shelters, ambulances, ER visits, etc.).

Data proves that the best practice is to disperse families in need of assistance throughout the community as opposed to segregating them in the poorest neighborhoods.

The bottom line is this: if you don't like it, then you can leave. Move WOTP. Move into a gated community in the burbs. Nobody will make you stay. It just seems so odd to me that city folk are getting hysterical over this. I mean, you live in DC...a city with a homeless family housing crisis...what do you expect? If you want a homogenous neighborhood, then look elsewhere.

I'm sure someone will say, "Why should we leave? We bought our home and want to stay!" That's fine. You can stay. Nobody will make you leave. But please realize that these families are lifetime DC residents. They aren't transplants. Their DC roots run deep...generations. They can't leave because they have nowhere to go. These are people suffering the effects of generational poverty. They've been failed by the education system. They've been failed by the child welfare system. Their communities have been over-policed, they've been criminalized (and so have their parents, brothers and sisters), and they are saddled with court imposed fines and debt that propel them into a never ending cycle of crisis. They live in a world that you can't even begin to comprehend. It's beyond sad. It's a rather hopeless existence.

Having worked in this arena for two decades, I count my blessings everyday because I realize that my life has a great deal to do with the fact that the deck wasn't stacked against me when I was born into a two-parent home with loving, well-educated, healthy, mentally stable, employed parents who themselves had a well-resourced family network. And I focus my career and pro bono work on do

ing whatever I can to try to improve the system for those who unfortunately entered the world with the cards stacked against them.

I honestly think that you'll be pleasantly surprised when you realize these plans ultimately have zero impact on your lives. I truly believe that.


You make some good points but you are are wrong to assume the homeless are lifelong residents. It's well known that homeless folks make their way to DC from MD and VA because DC has laws requiring housing. Police officers and others in public service will even advise homeless folks to get to the district. We have a huge problem but we are also inducing demand and homeless folks are purposely coming to DC. And they mayor has yet to address where all the families will go after their 90 days is up I these temporary shelters. How will she address mental illness, addiction, generational poverty, illiteracy etc in
, in such a short time. These are the questions we should be asking.

Most are lifelong residents.

DC, MoCo and PG are cooperating on a regional approach to address homelessness. Google it.

You must be a resident in order to access services. That's a fact. You can't just show up a get housing.
(The only possible exception being Covenant House for youth.)

How does a homeless person prove residency? and you are wrong, if a homeless families shows inside DC borders the law requires that DC provide emergency shelter. there is no tangible regional approach to this as DC is the only one that legally mandates housing for homeless families. ANd then we end up housing most of them back in the hotels in suburbs. If this is cooperation we need to start fresh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://ich.dc.gov

Start your journey here. Read about the homeless situation in DC as well as the game plan to address it.

Recognize that you have well over 1,000 homeless families in DC (and that's likely a lower estimate than reality since it's based on the point in time count). Recognize that there are well over 2,000 homeless kids in DC. These families must live somewhere. These children must go to school somewhere.

I realize that some of you feel like you worked hard to afford your nice home and good school. That's fine. But you live in DC, and DC has a homeless family housing crisis. Fortunately, the mayor is doing her best to address the problem (whereas many communities simply ignore the problem and waste so much money on emergency responses and services like shelters, ambulances, ER visits, etc.).

Data proves that the best practice is to disperse families in need of assistance throughout the community as opposed to segregating them in the poorest neighborhoods.

The bottom line is this: if you don't like it, then you can leave. Move WOTP. Move into a gated community in the burbs. Nobody will make you stay. It just seems so odd to me that city folk are getting hysterical over this. I mean, you live in DC...a city with a homeless family housing crisis...what do you expect? If you want a homogenous neighborhood, then look elsewhere.

I'm sure someone will say, "Why should we leave? We bought our home and want to stay!" That's fine. You can stay. Nobody will make you leave. But please realize that these families are lifetime DC residents. They aren't transplants. Their DC roots run deep...generations. They can't leave because they have nowhere to go. These are people suffering the effects of generational poverty. They've been failed by the education system. They've been failed by the child welfare system. Their communities have been over-policed, they've been criminalized (and so have their parents, brothers and sisters), and they are saddled with court imposed fines and debt that propel them into a never ending cycle of crisis. They live in a world that you can't even begin to comprehend. It's beyond sad. It's a rather hopeless existence.

Having worked in this arena for two decades, I count my blessings everyday because I realize that my life has a great deal to do with the fact that the deck wasn't stacked against me when I was born into a two-parent home with loving, well-educated, healthy, mentally stable, employed parents who themselves had a well-resourced family network. And I focus my career and pro bono work on do

ing whatever I can to try to improve the system for those who unfortunately entered the world with the cards stacked against them.

I honestly think that you'll be pleasantly surprised when you realize these plans ultimately have zero impact on your lives. I truly believe that.


You make some good points but you are are wrong to assume the homeless are lifelong residents. It's well known that homeless folks make their way to DC from MD and VA because DC has laws requiring housing. Police officers and others in public service will even advise homeless folks to get to the district. We have a huge problem but we are also inducing demand and homeless folks are purposely coming to DC. And they mayor has yet to address where all the families will go after their 90 days is up I these temporary shelters. How will she address mental illness, addiction, generational poverty, illiteracy etc in
, in such a short time. These are the questions we should be asking.

Most are lifelong residents.

DC, MoCo and PG are cooperating on a regional approach to address homelessness. Google it.

You must be a resident in order to access services. That's a fact. You can't just show up a get housing.
(The only possible exception being Covenant House for youth.)

How does a homeless person prove residency? and you are wrong, if a homeless families shows inside DC borders the law requires that DC provide emergency shelter. there is no tangible regional approach to this as DC is the only one that legally mandates housing for homeless families. ANd then we end up housing most of them back in the hotels in suburbs. If this is cooperation we need to start fresh.

I'll bite ... they can establish residency with a driver's licence or another form of government identification.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm aware of the opposition in Wards 5 and 6. It comes from a different place than the Ward 3 issues. I am not a fan of Ward 3, it's true. Don't live there. Don't want to live there. But it's not "an obsession or vendetta" because I was speaking about the specific concerns being raised on this thread about that location. If you'd like to talk about the concerns with the shelters in Wards 1, 5 or 6, I'm happy to talk about those concerns, though what I have observed is that the concerns are not "don't want those people in our neighborhood" but "we have 3 shelters already in our neighborhood" and/or "that site is not a safe place for children either." Different conversation. Happy to have it.

Yep, it shows. I suggest you drop some of your prejudices and spend more time with people living there. Your choice, of course, but may come handy both for professional and personal reasons (many people, including us, move from Ward 1 to Ward 3 once we have kids)

Thanks for the suggestion, PP. I know plenty of people who live in your area, some who moved there once they had kids and some who moved there without kids. I don't see how that is relevant to any of this. There is a lot of vitriol on this thread from people in the area near where the Ward 3 shelter is proposed to be located. Maybe the people expressing that vitriol should also drop some of their prejudices and spend more time with people experiencing homelessness. It may come in handy for personal and professional reasons.

Different PP here who appreciates your comments and insights. I am not sure all the vitriolic posters live near the site - am familiar with many there and I am hearing concern as well as compassion in conversations. My guess is that some PPs simply do not like the city paying $3000+ for non-luxury housing excluding services while others are bigoted and hostile to helping poor and struggling families.

Question - if I donate a million dollars to homeless causes but I don't want to live next to a homeless shelter or next to public housing, do you still consider me as supporting homeless families and causes?

I would wonder why you donate that kind of money given that you are not interested in being around the people it is intended to benefit. If your $1M donation is contingent on the shelter not being located near your house, I would not consider you supportive, no. I would consider you to be someone who is attempting to use wealth and power to make something go away.

It wasn't about these shelters in particular. It is a more general question. I think you need to be less judgmental and open minded because your mind set of attacking the wealthy as this is their fault and judging them may backfire. Do your research and see who is funding 90% of the homeless causes and foundations.

People who announce that they paid a lot of money for their homes and therefore shouldn't have to live near a homeless shelter or have their kids exposed to the homeless st school because of generalized fears and prejudices deserve to be judged regardless of how much money they have donated to a particular cause.

My children don't attend any of the schools in question so that is not a factor. It was a question and your answer demonstrates how your anger at wealthy people is doing no one any good. At least I can say I have donated a lot of money to help feed, shelter, and clothe the homeless and indigent people in DC. Can you say the same?

Aren't you presumptuous? You have no idea what my HHI is, the percentage of my earnings that are donated to Bread for the City, DC Central Kitchen and other worthy organizations, the hours I have spent volunteering, and other worthy causes, or the neighborhood in which I live. So please don't try to marginalize me by making baseless accusations about harboring anger toward the wealthy. Problems like poverty and homelessness don't disappear because you happen to write a check once a year.

How does it feel to have someone presume things about you?

And btw if the check is large enough it can make a big difference in helping the homeless if it is used properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm aware of the opposition in Wards 5 and 6. It comes from a different place than the Ward 3 issues. I am not a fan of Ward 3, it's true. Don't live there. Don't want to live there. But it's not "an obsession or vendetta" because I was speaking about the specific concerns being raised on this thread about that location. If you'd like to talk about the concerns with the shelters in Wards 1, 5 or 6, I'm happy to talk about those concerns, though what I have observed is that the concerns are not "don't want those people in our neighborhood" but "we have 3 shelters already in our neighborhood" and/or "that site is not a safe place for children either." Different conversation. Happy to have it.

Yep, it shows. I suggest you drop some of your prejudices and spend more time with people living there. Your choice, of course, but may come handy both for professional and personal reasons (many people, including us, move from Ward 1 to Ward 3 once we have kids)

Thanks for the suggestion, PP. I know plenty of people who live in your area, some who moved there once they had kids and some who moved there without kids. I don't see how that is relevant to any of this. There is a lot of vitriol on this thread from people in the area near where the Ward 3 shelter is proposed to be located. Maybe the people expressing that vitriol should also drop some of their prejudices and spend more time with people experiencing homelessness. It may come in handy for personal and professional reasons.

Different PP here who appreciates your comments and insights. I am not sure all the vitriolic posters live near the site - am familiar with many there and I am hearing concern as well as compassion in conversations. My guess is that some PPs simply do not like the city paying $3000+ for non-luxury housing excluding services while others are bigoted and hostile to helping poor and struggling families.

Question - if I donate a million dollars to homeless causes but I don't want to live next to a homeless shelter or next to public housing, do you still consider me as supporting homeless families and causes?

I would wonder why you donate that kind of money given that you are not interested in being around the people it is intended to benefit. If your $1M donation is contingent on the shelter not being located near your house, I would not consider you supportive, no. I would consider you to be someone who is attempting to use wealth and power to make something go away.

It wasn't about these shelters in particular. It is a more general question. I think you need to be less judgmental and open minded because your mind set of attacking the wealthy as this is their fault and judging them may backfire. Do your research and see who is funding 90% of the homeless causes and foundations.

People who announce that they paid a lot of money for their homes and therefore shouldn't have to live near a homeless shelter or have their kids exposed to the homeless st school because of generalized fears and prejudices deserve to be judged regardless of how much money they have donated to a particular cause.

My children don't attend any of the schools in question so that is not a factor. It was a question and your answer demonstrates how your anger at wealthy people is doing no one any good. At least I can say I have donated a lot of money to help feed, shelter, and clothe the homeless and indigent people in DC. Can you say the same?

Aren't you presumptuous? You have no idea what my HHI is, the percentage of my earnings that are donated to Bread for the City, DC Central Kitchen and other worthy organizations, the hours I have spent volunteering, and other worthy causes, or the neighborhood in which I live. So please don't try to marginalize me by making baseless accusations about harboring anger toward the wealthy. Problems like poverty and homelessness don't disappear because you happen to write a check once a year.

How does it feel to have someone presume things about you?

And btw if the check is large enough it can make a big difference in helping the homeless if it is used properly.

Yes, on both counts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm aware of the opposition in Wards 5 and 6. It comes from a different place than the Ward 3 issues. I am not a fan of Ward 3, it's true. Don't live there. Don't want to live there. But it's not "an obsession or vendetta" because I was speaking about the specific concerns being raised on this thread about that location. If you'd like to talk about the concerns with the shelters in Wards 1, 5 or 6, I'm happy to talk about those concerns, though what I have observed is that the concerns are not "don't want those people in our neighborhood" but "we have 3 shelters already in our neighborhood" and/or "that site is not a safe place for children either." Different conversation. Happy to have it.

Yep, it shows. I suggest you drop some of your prejudices and spend more time with people living there. Your choice, of course, but may come handy both for professional and personal reasons (many people, including us, move from Ward 1 to Ward 3 once we have kids)

Thanks for the suggestion, PP. I know plenty of people who live in your area, some who moved there once they had kids and some who moved there without kids. I don't see how that is relevant to any of this. There is a lot of vitriol on this thread from people in the area near where the Ward 3 shelter is proposed to be located. Maybe the people expressing that vitriol should also drop some of their prejudices and spend more time with people experiencing homelessness. It may come in handy for personal and professional reasons.

Different PP here who appreciates your comments and insights. I am not sure all the vitriolic posters live near the site - am familiar with many there and I am hearing concern as well as compassion in conversations. My guess is that some PPs simply do not like the city paying $3000+ for non-luxury housing excluding services while others are bigoted and hostile to helping poor and struggling families.

Question - if I donate a million dollars to homeless causes but I don't want to live next to a homeless shelter or next to public housing, do you still consider me as supporting homeless families and causes?

I would wonder why you donate that kind of money given that you are not interested in being around the people it is intended to benefit. If your $1M donation is contingent on the shelter not being located near your house, I would not consider you supportive, no. I would consider you to be someone who is attempting to use wealth and power to make something go away.

It wasn't about these shelters in particular. It is a more general question. I think you need to be less judgmental and open minded because your mind set of attacking the wealthy as this is their fault and judging them may backfire. Do your research and see who is funding 90% of the homeless causes and foundations.

People who announce that they paid a lot of money for their homes and therefore shouldn't have to live near a homeless shelter or have their kids exposed to the homeless st school because of generalized fears and prejudices deserve to be judged regardless of how much money they have donated to a particular cause.

My children don't attend any of the schools in question so that is not a factor. It was a question and your answer demonstrates how your anger at wealthy people is doing no one any good. At least I can say I have donated a lot of money to help feed, shelter, and clothe the homeless and indigent people in DC. Can you say the same?

Aren't you presumptuous? You have no idea what my HHI is, the percentage of my earnings that are donated to Bread for the City, DC Central Kitchen and other worthy organizations, the hours I have spent volunteering, and other worthy causes, or the neighborhood in which I live. So please don't try to marginalize me by making baseless accusations about harboring anger toward the wealthy. Problems like poverty and homelessness don't disappear because you happen to write a check once a year.

How does it feel to have someone presume things about you?

And btw if the check is large enough it can make a big difference in helping the homeless if it is used properly.

You're right - it CAN make a big difference. What it does not do is exempt your neighborhood from housing a shelter. All this tells me is that you are the sort of person who donates money in order to avoid things (like having a shelter placed in your neighborhood) or to receive some kind of recognition ("At least I can say I have donated...").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm aware of the opposition in Wards 5 and 6. It comes from a different place than the Ward 3 issues. I am not a fan of Ward 3, it's true. Don't live there. Don't want to live there. But it's not "an obsession or vendetta" because I was speaking about the specific concerns being raised on this thread about that location. If you'd like to talk about the concerns with the shelters in Wards 1, 5 or 6, I'm happy to talk about those concerns, though what I have observed is that the concerns are not "don't want those people in our neighborhood" but "we have 3 shelters already in our neighborhood" and/or "that site is not a safe place for children either." Different conversation. Happy to have it.

Yep, it shows. I suggest you drop some of your prejudices and spend more time with people living there. Your choice, of course, but may come handy both for professional and personal reasons (many people, including us, move from Ward 1 to Ward 3 once we have kids)

Thanks for the suggestion, PP. I know plenty of people who live in your area, some who moved there once they had kids and some who moved there without kids. I don't see how that is relevant to any of this. There is a lot of vitriol on this thread from people in the area near where the Ward 3 shelter is proposed to be located. Maybe the people expressing that vitriol should also drop some of their prejudices and spend more time with people experiencing homelessness. It may come in handy for personal and professional reasons.

Different PP here who appreciates your comments and insights. I am not sure all the vitriolic posters live near the site - am familiar with many there and I am hearing concern as well as compassion in conversations. My guess is that some PPs simply do not like the city paying $3000+ for non-luxury housing excluding services while others are bigoted and hostile to helping poor and struggling families.

Question - if I donate a million dollars to homeless causes but I don't want to live next to a homeless shelter or next to public housing, do you still consider me as supporting homeless families and causes?

I would wonder why you donate that kind of money given that you are not interested in being around the people it is intended to benefit. If your $1M donation is contingent on the shelter not being located near your house, I would not consider you supportive, no. I would consider you to be someone who is attempting to use wealth and power to make something go away.

It wasn't about these shelters in particular. It is a more general question. I think you need to be less judgmental and open minded because your mind set of attacking the wealthy as this is their fault and judging them may backfire. Do your research and see who is funding 90% of the homeless causes and foundations.

People who announce that they paid a lot of money for their homes and therefore shouldn't have to live near a homeless shelter or have their kids exposed to the homeless st school because of generalized fears and prejudices deserve to be judged regardless of how much money they have donated to a particular cause.

My children don't attend any of the schools in question so that is not a factor. It was a question and your answer demonstrates how your anger at wealthy people is doing no one any good. At least I can say I have donated a lot of money to help feed, shelter, and clothe the homeless and indigent people in DC. Can you say the same?

Aren't you presumptuous? You have no idea what my HHI is, the percentage of my earnings that are donated to Bread for the City, DC Central Kitchen and other worthy organizations, the hours I have spent volunteering, and other worthy causes, or the neighborhood in which I live. So please don't try to marginalize me by making baseless accusations about harboring anger toward the wealthy. Problems like poverty and homelessness don't disappear because you happen to write a check once a year.

How does it feel to have someone presume things about you?

And btw if the check is large enough it can make a big difference in helping the homeless if it is used properly.

You're right - it CAN make a big difference. What it does not do is exempt your neighborhood from housing a shelter. All this tells me is that you are the sort of person who donates money in order to avoid things (like having a shelter placed in your neighborhood) or to receive some kind of recognition ("At least I can say I have donated...").

You sound a bit unhinged. I hope things improve for you - I really do. I don't even live in this neighborhood or school so I don't need to debate it with you anymore. Btw its more than one check a year!

[Anonymous]

Interesting tidbits of info from Ward 6

http://www.capitalcommunitynews.com/content/mayor-unveils-sw-shelter-plan

[Anonymous]

"DC, MoCo and PG are cooperating on a regional approach to address homelessness. Google it."

This regional approach is very good. Of course, it's important not to lose sight of the regional perspective when considering housing availability and prices. There's much handwringing and money being spent about affordable housing in DC. While affordable housing is important, the problem doesn't look so dire when the region is considered more broadly. Cities wax and wane, areas change and some markets remain relatively affordable while others increase in price. As DC neighborhoods gentrify and housing prices rise, parts of PG County remain quite affordable, not far away from DC. Our housing market is regional. By what logic should DC spend millions to keep the same people in the city when there are perfectly good, more affordable market alternatives in the region?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"DC, MoCo and PG are cooperating on a regional approach to address homelessness. Google it."

This regional approach is very good. Of course, it's important not to lose sight of the regional perspective when considering housing availability and prices. There's much handwringing and money being spent about affordable housing in DC. While affordable housing is important, the problem doesn't look so dire when the region is considered more broadly. Cities wax and wane, areas change and some markets remain relatively affordable while others increase in price. As DC neighborhoods gentrify and housing prices rise, parts of PG County remain quite affordable, not far away from DC. Our housing market is regional. By what logic should DC spend millions to keep the same people in the city when there are perfectly good, more affordable market alternatives in the region?

How genteel. Maybe we should outsource the problem to WalMart, who can create relocation centers in Upper Marlboro? There are about 1,000 people at DC General, 400 of who are two and under.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"DC, MoCo and PG are cooperating on a regional approach to address homelessness. Google it."

This regional approach is very good. Of course, it's important not to lose sight of the regional perspective when considering housing availability and prices. There's much handwringing and money being spent about affordable housing in DC. While affordable housing is important, the problem doesn't look so dire when the region is considered more broadly. Cities wax and wane, areas change and some markets remain relatively affordable while others increase in price. As DC neighborhoods gentrify and housing prices rise, parts of PG County remain quite affordable, not far away from DC. Our housing market is regional. By what logic should DC spend millions to keep the same people in the city when there are perfectly good, more affordable market alternatives in the region?

Because despite the regional collaboration, this area is not organized collaboratively like that. DC is one jurisdiction. Montgomery County and PG County have separate departments that deal with housing and homelessness. I don't know about Virginia, but I assume that it's the same way there. DC isn't going to provide subsidized housing to people who are not living in DC. Living in PG County makes you a resident of Maryland, not DC.

I agree that it's pretty ridiculous, but that's the way that it works.

[Anonymous]

PP. do you have the stats on how many children in total I've at DC General. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

...live at DC General ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP. do you have the stats on how many children in total I've at DC General. Thank you.

The article PP posted above says 1,000 people, 40% of whom are under 2. There are 237 units in DC General. It's at capacity pretty much all the time. My understanding from colleagues who work at various core service agencies is that there are around 1,900 kids living in motels, in addition to the 400 kids at DC General, but I don't know where they got those numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm aware of the opposition in Wards 5 and 6. It comes from a different place than the Ward 3 issues. I am not a fan of Ward 3, it's true. Don't live there. Don't want to live there. But it's not "an obsession or vendetta" because I was speaking about the specific concerns being raised on this thread about that location. If you'd like to talk about the concerns with the shelters in Wards 1, 5 or 6, I'm happy to talk about those concerns, though what I have observed is that the concerns are not "don't want those people in our neighborhood" but "we have 3 shelters already in our neighborhood" and/or "that site is not a safe place for children either." Different conversation. Happy to have it.

Yep, it shows. I suggest you drop some of your prejudices and spend more time with people living there. Your choice, of course, but may come handy both for professional and personal reasons (many people, including us, move from Ward 1 to Ward 3 once we have kids)

Thanks for the suggestion, PP. I know plenty of people who live in your area, some who moved there once they had kids and some who moved there without kids. I don't see how that is relevant to any of this. There is a lot of vitriol on this thread from people in the area near where the Ward 3 shelter is proposed to be located. Maybe the people expressing that vitriol should also drop some of their prejudices and spend more time with people experiencing homelessness. It may come in handy for personal and professional reasons.

Different PP here who appreciates your comments and insights. I am not sure all the vitriolic posters live near the site - am familiar with many there and I am hearing concern as well as compassion in conversations. My guess is that some PPs simply do not like the city paying $3000+ for non-luxury housing excluding services while others are bigoted and hostile to helping poor and struggling families.

Question - if I donate a million dollars to homeless causes but I don't want to live next to a homeless shelter or next to public housing, do you still consider me as supporting homeless families and causes?

I would wonder why you donate that kind of money given that you are not interested in being around the people it is intended to benefit. If your $1M donation is contingent on the shelter not being located near your house, I would not consider you supportive, no. I would consider you to be someone who is attempting to use wealth and power to make something go away.

It wasn't about these shelters in particular. It is a more general question. I think you need to be less judgmental and open minded because your mind set of attacking the wealthy as this is their fault and judging them may backfire. Do your research and see who is funding 90% of the homeless causes and foundations.

People who announce that they paid a lot of money for their homes and therefore shouldn't have to live near a homeless shelter or have their kids exposed to the homeless st school because of generalized fears and prejudices deserve to be judged regardless of how much money they have donated to a particular cause.

Says who?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm aware of the opposition in Wards 5 and 6. It comes from a different place than the Ward 3 issues. I am not a fan of Ward 3, it's true. Don't live there. Don't want to live there. But it's not "an obsession or vendetta" because I was speaking about the specific concerns being raised on this thread about that location. If you'd like to talk about the concerns with the shelters in Wards 1, 5 or 6, I'm happy to talk about those concerns, though what I have observed is that the concerns are not "don't want those people in our neighborhood" but "we have 3 shelters already in our neighborhood" and/or "that site is not a safe place for children either." Different conversation. Happy to have it.

Yep, it shows. I suggest you drop some of your prejudices and spend more time with people living there. Your choice, of course, but may come handy both for professional and personal reasons (many people, including us, move from Ward 1 to Ward 3 once we have kids)

Thanks for the suggestion, PP. I know plenty of people who live in your area, some who moved there once they had kids and some who moved there without kids. I don't see how that is relevant to any of this. There is a lot of vitriol on this thread from people in the area near where the Ward 3 shelter is proposed to be located. Maybe the people expressing that vitriol should also drop some of their prejudices and spend more time with people experiencing homelessness. It may come in handy for personal and professional reasons.

Different PP here who appreciates your comments and insights. I am not sure all the vitriolic posters live near the site - am familiar with many there and I am hearing concern as well as compassion in conversations. My guess is that some PPs simply do not like the city paying $3000+ for non-luxury housing excluding services while others are bigoted and hostile to helping poor and struggling families.

Question - if I donate a million dollars to homeless causes but I don't want to live next to a homeless shelter or next to public housing, do you still consider me as supporting homeless families and causes?

I would wonder why you donate that kind of money given that you are not interested in being around the people it is intended to benefit. If your $1M donation is contingent on the shelter not being located near your house, I would not consider you supportive, no. I would consider you to be someone who is attempting to use wealth and power to make something go away.

It wasn't about these shelters in particular. It is a more general question. I think you need to be less judgmental and open minded because your mind set of attacking the wealthy as this is their fault and judging them may backfire. Do your research and see who is funding 90% of the homeless causes and foundations.

People who announce that they paid a lot of money for their homes and therefore shouldn't have to live near a homeless shelter or have their kids exposed to the homeless st school because of generalized fears and prejudices deserve to be judged regardless of how much money they have donated to a particular cause.

Says who?

+1 says who?