Reply to absolutely absurd article on homeless encampment clearing on 17th st NW/Safeway

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[quote=Anonymous]I live in NoMa and I just wanted to say this:

It’s possible to be supportive of unhoused populations and want them to have agency and assistance and not want to criminalize homelessness, and still think some of these encampments are huge public health problems that need to be addressed. The encampment under the M St underpass has gotten so bad in the last two years. It is upsetting simply from the standpoint that no one should live like that. It is virtually unpassable at this point. It smells of ruined and human feces at all times. I have heard advocates say that’s not true but I live here and yes, it is.

We used to walk through the encampment with our kids in our way to Harris Teeter. I don’t believe in shielding them from reality. We sought to be good neighbors and we would say hello, give money if we had it on us, sometimes even come by with blankets in the winter.

We don’t do any of that anymore. The encampment feels dangerous, overcrowded, and diseased to me. I can only assume Covid is prevalent. I have nothing but empathy for the people who live there, some of whom have been our neighbors for years. But watching that area decline has made me firmly in favor of clearing out the encampment as soon as possible.

I don’t understand how this can even be debated. I don’t feel this way about people living on the streets in general, but the conditions in this location are alarming. They benefit no one, including the residents there. The city has proposed alternatives and I think we should do whatever it takes to get the folks there moved to a better location.[/quote]

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