Encampment has started in our downtown SS neighborhood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ask kristin mink

She has smartly stayed quiet these past few months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would reach out to adult protective services or county DHHS.
-Someone who used to work in county homeless services

+1 This is what I was going to say

That being said, unfortunately, you may want to consider moving. DTSS has been having issues for a while now. With the affordable housing crisis things are just going to get worse. Putting people in jail won't solve it, there will always be more people getting evicted including an increasing number of elderly people.

Every area has homeless people, so DTSS is not unique in that respect. The only "issue" that seems to be present here is that OP and her neighbors don't know how to call the police. This is a old rental building, which probably contributes to the fact that no one is motivated enough to call the police.

I live a couple hundred yards from a couple of apartment buildings, and several more across the street. These are not luxury buildings. There are no encampments near us.

[Anonymous]

OP, the way you and your neighbors “helped” was well-meaning but uninformed.

When someone has been evicted they do not get to return. There is no logic for them and their belongings staying there.

So the first priority for *everyone* should have been connecting these folks to emergency housing. If you had contacted any relevant agency you would have been in contact with someone who knew this buy you tried to DIY it and that was a mistake.

You not only created noisome conditions for yourselves; you also prolonged these folks’ indignity and the instability in their lives—and you can now see how well that has gone for them.

So, step 1, don’t be patting yourself on the back for half-assing this and getting it wrong, and then expecting sympathy because of how nice you were.

Step 2: call DHHS and get actual professionals involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many times have you called the police?

Honestly I was with you until the compromised immune system thing.

Why do this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More prisons

More workhouses!

You mean like the completely unused / underutilized ghost town space of a "workhouse" in Lorton where the artsy fartsy folks ridiculously pretend they are creating something of value? At tax payer expense? Please.

No here: no, shes talking about Dickens. You... Did not get the reference.

[Anonymous]

Send bulldozer like the Israelis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what you're concerned about. You should be taking these people into your home. And I think you know that. That is the only equitable solution here. They don't have a home.

+1
First time I have heard homeless people referred to as "unhoused persons "

[Anonymous]

Time to move out of the ghetto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been tent encampments for a while now in the city of Alexandria and they are totally ok with it here so good luck op this seems to be the new normal here now. They even have a bathroom tent here!

Where in Alexandria are there encampments?

north beauregard & Duke, 395 king st underpass, columbia pike and 7.

Don't forget the guy who lives in the buses adjacent to Fairlington but across from the Bradlee McDonalds on King. He's been there over a year, they do nothing about him. He's always drunk.

north beauregard & Duke - Fairfax County

395 king st underpass - there is no underpass below 395 for King St, but I haven’t seen the encampments on the overpass. I’ll have to look next time I’m there. Or are you saying they are next to the Highway?

columbia pike and 7 - Fairfax County

Fairlington across from Bradlee - that’s Arlington County.

Either way, most (if not all of these) are not City of Alexandria.

The guy across from Bradlee yes is in Arlington but when he stands in the street (King) drunk, or pandhandles at McDonalds drive through or gets beer at the pharmacy or Safeway or runs around yelling at kids at the bus stop, those are all in Alexandria. Arlington refuses to do anything about him, even if he collects propane tanks, traffic cones, takes a dump, sleeps in front of Fairlington but Alexandria has repeatedly tried to get him to go to a shelter, etc and he refuses so he basically is drunk in public and harassing people when he’s awake in Alexandria but sleeps in Arlington.

Sounds like Arlington is mostly asleep on the job, because if Alexandria starts talking to him he knows he has a safe haven across the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what you're concerned about. You should be taking these people into your home. And I think you know that. That is the only equitable solution here. They don't have a home.

+1
First time I have heard homeless people referred to as "unhoused persons "

Keep reading, so you'll keep learning and eventually have something to contribute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More prisons

More workhouses!

You mean like the completely unused / underutilized ghost town space of a "workhouse" in Lorton where the artsy fartsy folks ridiculously pretend they are creating something of value? At tax payer expense? Please.

No here: no, shes talking about Dickens. You... Did not get the reference.

Not enough artsy farts time reading books.

[Anonymous]

If you leave SS, then rents will decrease and they'll be able to afford housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call the police. Contact your city and county representatives.

America is sleepwalking into a massive homeless crisis. I doubt we will get anywhere beyond bootstraps as a solution, sadly.

We are already there. The current situation is practically Parable of the Sower stuff.

[Anonymous]

Update: My neighbor emailed the County. She says a police officer and someone else examined the encampment for about 30 min. She though the second man may have been a social worker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were their belongings able to stay in the apartment when the couple was evicted?

Have you never seen an eviction?

I haven’t. I assumed the landlord disposed of the belongings so they could rent the apartment to someone else. It seems odd that their belongings are allowed to stay in the apartment.

Their belongings were placed on the sidewalk and in the wooded area. It looks like a hoarding situation got them evicted. They do not want to leave their things although everything has been rained on several times since July.