Homeless person sleeping in my front door vestibule

[Anonymous]

He’s not in our house, but on our private property and has been there all night. DH doesn’t want to call the cops because he’s afraid the man will get hurt. I’m freaked out. What should I do?

[Anonymous]

Divorce your husband. He’s an idiot. (I have a cheap lawyer if you need help with the divorce )

call the police ASAP. this guy is trespassing and you don’t know what weapons he may be concealing. It is better to be safe then sorry.

[Anonymous]

Just lock your doors and let the guy be. He just needed a place to sleep. I'm sure he'll leave in the morning.

I live in an apartment building in San Francisco, and if I get home late enough there's often a homeless person sleeping in front of the front door and I have to go around to the back alley entrance. There's no need to call the cops. Even if the guy has a weapon it's for protection.

[Anonymous]

He is likely harmless and the poster above is crazy - he’s sleeping. Totally understand why it’s a bit uncomfortable though. Could you call a non emergency number or see if the homeless shelter in your area has an emergency number? Sometimes at certain temperatures they will go out and offer a bed to folks (though they don’t always take it because shelters don’t always feel like safe places for those that aren’t housed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just lock your doors and let the guy be. He just needed a place to sleep. I'm sure he'll leave in the morning.

I live in an apartment building in San Francisco, and if I get home late enough there's often a homeless person sleeping in front of the front door and I have to go around to the back alley entrance. There's no need to call the cops. Even if the guy has a weapon it's for protection.

+1 I’m the poster above and honestly this guy is right. He’s harming no one and just needs a protected place to sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just lock your doors and let the guy be. He just needed a place to sleep. I'm sure he'll leave in the morning.

I live in an apartment building in San Francisco, and if I get home late enough there's often a homeless person sleeping in front of the front door and I have to go around to the back alley entrance. There's no need to call the cops. Even if the guy has a weapon it's for protection.

That’s lovely. Totally different tangent, have you ever been the victim of a violent crime?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I ended up calling the non emergency line and stressed that he was not harming anyone. The police came out, woke him up, nicely explained that he couldn’t sleep in front of someone’s door, and then left after he walked away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just lock your doors and let the guy be. He just needed a place to sleep. I'm sure he'll leave in the morning.

I live in an apartment building in San Francisco, and if I get home late enough there's often a homeless person sleeping in front of the front door and I have to go around to the back alley entrance. There's no need to call the cops. Even if the guy has a weapon it's for protection.

That’s lovely. Totally different tangent, have you ever been the victim of a violent crime?

Yes - I grew up in NYC. Though the perpetrator of the crimes were never homeless people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I ended up calling the non emergency line and stressed that he was not harming anyone. The police came out, woke him up, nicely explained that he couldn’t sleep in front of someone’s door, and then left after he walked away.

This was a good response. I would have done the same. I mean, most likely he was harmless, but you never know-you have to protect your family first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just lock your doors and let the guy be. He just needed a place to sleep. I'm sure he'll leave in the morning.

I live in an apartment building in San Francisco, and if I get home late enough there's often a homeless person sleeping in front of the front door and I have to go around to the back alley entrance. There's no need to call the cops. Even if the guy has a weapon it's for protection.

That’s lovely. Totally different tangent, have you ever been the victim of a violent crime?

I agree with that poster, and have been the victim of violent crime. Attacker wasn’t homeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just lock your doors and let the guy be. He just needed a place to sleep. I'm sure he'll leave in the morning.

I live in an apartment building in San Francisco, and if I get home late enough there's often a homeless person sleeping in front of the front door and I have to go around to the back alley entrance. There's no need to call the cops. Even if the guy has a weapon it's for protection.

Really? I’m assuming the OP is a woman.

You expect a woman to go around to a back alley entrance late at night so as not to disturb the homeless person sleeping at the front door? Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I ended up calling the non emergency line and stressed that he was not harming anyone. The police came out, woke him up, nicely explained that he couldn’t sleep in front of someone’s door, and then left after he walked away.

That was the right move. You don't want him to get in the habit of using your vestibule to sleep in. So if you see him there again, handle it the same way. It is unfortunate but people who are homeless generally also have addictions or mental health issues that can make their behavior unpredictable. If you feel you want to do something to help then consider making donations to your local soup kitchen or shelter. Things like $, sleeping bags, blankets, hygiene supplies, food and gift cards are always appreciated.

[Anonymous]

This is exactly the problem. The people that run homeless shelters should help you not cops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I ended up calling the non emergency line and stressed that he was not harming anyone. The police came out, woke him up, nicely explained that he couldn’t sleep in front of someone’s door, and then left after he walked away.

That was the right move. You don't want him to get in the habit of using your vestibule to sleep in. So if you see him there again, handle it the same way. It is unfortunate but people who are homeless generally also have addictions or mental health issues that can make their behavior unpredictable. If you feel you want to do something to help then consider making donations to your local soup kitchen or shelter. Things like $, sleeping bags, blankets, hygiene supplies, food and gift cards are always appreciated.

It was exactly the right thing to do because our system is messed up and we have police deal with non criminal issues. They shouldn’t have to deal with this but alas we use them for so many things that are not police related.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I ended up calling the non emergency line and stressed that he was not harming anyone. The police came out, woke him up, nicely explained that he couldn’t sleep in front of someone’s door, and then left after he walked away.

And what do think happened next?

He had to go find another vestibule to sleep in...likely one of your neighbors down the block.