Homeless Encampments on School Grounds

[Pea-n-Me]

You're not the only one who has lost people they care about to addiction and mental illness. You don't have to be rude and sarcastic and judgmental about it. My best friend died homeless in a public park less than a mile from her parents' house...in a good neighborhood. She had multiple different substances in her system at the time of death. She'd done several stints in rehab. ALL of us who loved her tried to help her. The addiction and the illness took her away. It was horrific and awful and years later now, we all still miss her and mourn her. She lied through her teeth...it was all the addiction that did it. She was a school teacher...went to work teaching 6TH GRADERS WHILE HIGH AND DRUNK! Multiple DUI's. The last time I ever spoke to her was when she admitted what she'd been doing. I told her to call me when she'd been clean and sober for 6 months.

Don't lecture all of us because we're not making the same choices as you are. Don't lecture us because we are deciding for ourselves what our own personal boundaries are.

Your judgment and holier-than-thou-ism is starting to show. And it's rude.

I also lost two of my closest friends to addictions.

 

[Pink Partridge]

Yeah, as a matter of fact I HAVE seen an addict right after they shoot up. The only man I ever truly loved couldn't get clean and stay that way. He shot and killed himself while speedballing. And by the way, he wasn't homeless. But by all means, keep telling me how clueless I am.

So you can see how unstable and unpredictable a person on drugs can be. You have to then understand why some people are frightened by drug addicts that run after cars and demand money. I really can't believe you dismissed my experiences with drug addicts, yet you have seen worse. A gun. A death. Because of drugs. Yet to my fearful experience, you scoffed "Cool!" Like it was a joke.

Whatever the case, I truly am sorry for what you have been through. And I mean that.

 

[JLTraveling]

You're not the only one who has lost people they care about to addiction and mental illness. You don't have to be rude and sarcastic and judgmental about it. My best friend died homeless in a public park less than a mile from her parents' house...in a good neighborhood. She had multiple different substances in her system at the time of death. She'd done several stints in rehab. ALL of us who loved her tried to help her. The addiction and the illness took her away. It was horrific and awful and years later now, we all still miss her and mourn her. She lied through her teeth...it was all the addiction that did it. She was a school teacher...went to work teaching 6TH GRADERS WHILE HIGH AND DRUNK! Multiple DUI's. The last time I ever spoke to her was when she admitted what she'd been doing. I told her to call me when she'd been clean and sober for 6 months.

Don't lecture all of us because we're not making the same choices as you are. Don't lecture us because we are deciding for ourselves what our own personal boundaries are.

Your judgment and holier-than-thou-ism is starting to show. And it's rude.

I never said anyone shouldn't make their own choices. I responded to the posters who said I lived in a bubble and had never seen homelessness, that I had never seen an addict shoot up, and asked me what I personally was doing about the homeless problem. If that makes you feel judged, sorry.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Can I clue you in on something? Homeless people are not animals. They don't WANT to use the bathroom on the street any more than you do. If there's a public bathroom they can access they will. Every time. But communities like yours have criminalized using bathrooms while homeless, or businesses prohibit it. Here, they duck into a bar or a 24 hour restaurant. We don't have human waste flowing in the streets. Needles either. Maybe our homeless are better behaved than yours, but I kinda doubt it. I think it speaks to the difference that treating people with human dignity makes.

We absolutely have needles, urine, and feces all over the place. And worse - dead bodies, as quoted in the below article. We have people (I think a combination of public works employees and volunteers) cleaning the areas, I don’t know how often. I sometimes see them walking around in protective gear with rakes for the ground, and needle boxes for syringe disposal.

https://thebostonsun.com/2018/11/29...hting-discarded-needles-homeless-encampments/

“The needles are just everywhere. We have an encampment back there. They eat from our school garden. They have camps with tents and defecate on our playground because they can easily sit on the equipment. They come in front of our windows and urinate because they can’t see in but we can see out. It’s insane. We’ve had three dead bodies back there. We had to put tarps over them so kids would walk around them and not see them. The minute the leaves fall off the trees, we have a dangerous situation. You can’t see the needles under the leaves and kids get stuck. We had a child stuck with a needle this year in the leaves and the needle was full of opiates and blood. That little guy had to go through a month of anti-HIV treatment.”

There are a lot of kind and compassionate people trying to work out these problems, but, unfortunately, not much has changed.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

My God, YES! I. Would. Want. Them. Gone.

Any reasonable person would not want tents of homeless people on the grounds of their child's school. Where are the background checks? Where do they throw their garbage? Where do they go to the bathroom? Why are they so bold to set up camp on private property? Why do they think lining the walkway to the gym is appropriate?

You don't need to shout at me. You seem to be antagonistic and all I was observing was it didn't matter what the homeless people were doing you'd want them gone regardless. It was made clear what they were actively doing the first time you mentioned drugs and needles and bathroom. It just was mentioned nearly everytime which is why I said it was overkill and I was meaning the characterization. I wasn't agreeing nor disagreeing about wanting them to stay or be gone. I'm out of this thread now though

 

[Tattylou]

Deleted

 

[Pink Partridge]

You don't need to shout at me. You seem to be antagonistic

I'm sorry that I came off that way. It was not my intent.

Many of us are mentioning bathroom, needles, and garbage in every post, because some people act like these encampments are harmless and it "takes time" to dismantle them. Some people are glossing over the fact that these areas bring filth.

..... all I was observing was it didn't matter what the homeless people were doing you'd want them gone regardless.

I would want them off school property regardless of what they are doing. It doesn't matter what they are doing, they still have to use the bathroom. They still have to dispose of garbage (drug waste and other). And the video very clearly depicts them doing that directly on school grounds. There should be no delay when it comes to protecting children.

 

[Pink Partridge]

We absolutely have needles, urine, and feces all over the place. And worse - dead bodies, as quoted in the below article. We have people (I think a combination of public works employees and volunteers) cleaning the areas, I don’t know how often. I sometimes see them walking around in protective gear with rakes for the ground, and needle boxes for syringe disposal.

https://thebostonsun.com/2018/11/29...hting-discarded-needles-homeless-encampments/

“The needles are just everywhere. We have an encampment back there. They eat from our school garden. They have camps with tents and defecate on our playground because they can easily sit on the equipment. They come in front of our windows and urinate because they can’t see in but we can see out. It’s insane. We’ve had three dead bodies back there. We had to put tarps over them so kids would walk around them and not see them. The minute the leaves fall off the trees, we have a dangerous situation. You can’t see the needles under the leaves and kids get stuck. We had a child stuck with a needle this year in the leaves and the needle was full of opiates and blood. That little guy had to go through a month of anti-HIV treatment.”

There are a lot of kind and compassionate people trying to work out these problems, but, unfortunately, not much has changed.

This was just horrible to read. These poor children. Why aren't the encampments near schools bulldozed? Are we really respecting their space while children are at risk of death? And getting stuck by a needle full of opiates and blood is just that. A risk of death. Not to mention people pulling pants down in front of a school window. How is this not stopped within a day? How are these people not arrested?

Thank you for sharing that article, as disturbing as it was.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is what is going on in my metro part of what I mentioned before about KCMO.

https://fox4kc.com/video/kc-group-helping-homeless-with-basic-service-id/6513201/

 

[Nicolepa]

This is a longstanding problem in Seattle, and in some other cities as well. It's also a big problem in San Francisco.

This is the best I've seen on the subject -- "Seattle is Dying" by one of their local TV stations. It's an hour long, and it's hard to watch, but it's pretty even-handed and has some hopeful info on programs that actually do WORK toward the end.

Have you seen the follow up that came out late last year?

Yikes to you as well

People on this very thread saying that needle throwers and sidewalk poopers should get a free pass.

If I came onto your property, took my pants down, and had a bowel movement on your yard and then tossed a needle, I would be arrested on the spot.

But somehow, here on The Dis, these people should not be incarcerated.

In fact, someone said "the homeowners should move if the homeless bothers them."If someone crapping in your yard and throwing a drug needle in your neighborhood bothers you, YOU should move My God. If anything is bizarre or deserves a "yikes", that sure does.

We have an entire school board scared to protect children, as they are opposed to "sweeps".

I say, sweep away!

Sadly, you hear this a lot in Seattle too. People think they are being compassionate by letting them setup camp anywhere, giving them safe injection sites, not charging them when they commit crimes etc.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

This was just horrible to read. These poor children. Why aren't the encampments near schools bulldozed? Are we really respecting their space while children are at risk of death? And getting stuck by a needle full of opiates and blood is just that. A risk of death. Not to mention people pulling pants down in front of a school window. How is this not stopped within a day? How are these people not arrested?

Thank you for sharing that article, as disturbing as it was.

They sometimes are bulldozed, and it’s led to a lot of criticism. An example:

https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/con...police-operation-clean-sweep-opioid-epidemic/

I think you can see from the article that efforts at being compassionate towards these people have been balanced with public safety. The city’s mayor said for years he was going to solve this problem, but he just left, and it still very much exists. Meanwhile you take your life in your hands when you go near this area. Along with people coming up to windows sometimes aggressively asking for money, there have been shootings, stabbings, beatings, and, as previously mentioned, infected substances all over the streets. I have bought people food here, and watched one day as one man became angry that I handed him a bag of food. He immediately walked with it over to other cars trying to sell it for cash. I think the school issue has been one of the saddest and most heated. There are also residents who live in the area who wake up to find feces and needles on their doorsteps, and workers in the area who park in garages that are unsafe with people sleeping in stairwells and having sex in elevators. I know of one person who left work to find someone sleeping in the backseat of their car. Stories have been written by parents whose children are affected by this crisis, as drug addicts. Their efforts to help them are in vain. It’s heartbreaking all around. Yet, we still have insufficient solutions.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I don’t understand why there is any hesitation with sending the police in and removing everyone. There are drug free zones

Why do you assume everyone in the homeless camp is on drugs? I'm sure some are, but surely not all of them. As for the police removing them, I guess that's an option, but these homeless shouldn't end up in jail. It's too bad they are refusing services. I hope that's just COVID-related and not part of a bigger issue with homeless services in Seattle.

 

[barkley]

i'm wondering how much higher the number of homeless will grow when the eviction moratoriums are eventually lifted by the state of washington. i'm in an area that has traditionally had a fairly moderate and stable market despite the highs and crashing lows of the early 2000's. pre-pandemic we were experiencing housing needs in all economic categories outpacing supply. when construction was shut down it compounded the issue. low interest rates combined with an increased influx of out of state desperate to purchase have seen a housing market like my region has never experienced. i strongly suspect that many owners of traditional rental homes will be selling them off as quickly as they can once they are able to. even if a landlord has been fortunate enough to have tenants that have continued to pay timely and in full each month they've seen that the state can and will enact laws that restrict their ownership.

 

[barkley]

It's too bad they are refusing services. I hope that's just COVID-related and not part of a bigger issue with homeless services in Seattle.

i don't think it's covid related or seattle services related. i worked with the homeless in the 80's-the early 2000's in california under a variety of programs with a myriad of services. there were always those who refused services. with some, yes it was mental health related but with others they saw it as their right to live their chosen lifestyle and did not want what they felt was interference (it was almost like a 'pioneer' mindset in an urban setting). i think with some there is always the fear that if they accept services they become 'part of the system' and fear forced intervention on the part of cps, aps or mental health authorities.

 

[ford91exploder]

Well now you’re talking about eminent domain, and while you are greatly simplifying the Kelo v New London case, the fact that the USSC decided in favor of New London was derided by most and led to significant state limitations on the use of eminent domain. Nevermind the fact that the Kelo house was never demolished due to ongoing court cases. It wasn’t a simple “well we want your land, it’s ours now”.

Anyway, NONE of that has anything to do with homeless people setting up camp illegally on a school campus. So no, I’m not worried about “sweeps” taking place on land that is not meant for camping. “THE CITIZENS” may own the school, but they have also made certain laws about its use, including banning such things as drugs, weapons, etc..

There is ONE house left standing in the entire community, for the majority it was we want your keys and take or leave what we are giving you you have 10 days to vacate the property. Yeah that pretty well describes a out of control government abusing eminent domain.

Do you think a person that is shooting up heroin and going to the bathroom on a sidewalk cares about the minimum wage?

I know mentally ill people/drug addicts with advanced college educations. People capable of making $100k a year with their engineering or computer science degrees. They have no desire to work. They want drugs.


My question still stands:

"Do you think the school should move so the homeless people camped around there can continue to throw their needles on the ground? And use the school property as a bathroom?"

1 - Yes absolutely the school should move to permanently dismantle the homeless encampment.

That said the SJW's who closed the psychiatric hospitals need to admit they were wrong and get on the bandwagon of reopening the closed facilities so that the homeless mentally ill have a safe clean supportive environment. That does not permit living on the streets.

We also need to create effective drug treatment programs and end the hugely expensive 'war on drugs' and move to the model the Netherlands uses - drugs are sold by the govt in dispensaries at low cost.

This would also serve to break the back of the cartels. As well as giving the inner cities a chance to turn round as selling drugs will no longer be a viable choice for a intelligent inner city person, Why would you work at mickey -d's for 15/hour when you can make 5-10 grand a day at your 'corner' yeah you will probably end up dead by 30 ...

The simple fact with Drugs we cannot save everyone but we must try to save as many as we can but the people need to WANT to be helped.

 

[KingAugie]

Why do you assume everyone in the homeless camp is on drugs? I'm sure some are, but surely not all of them. As for the police removing them, I guess that's an option, but these homeless shouldn't end up in jail. It's too bad they are refusing services. I hope that's just COVID-related and not part of a bigger issue with homeless services in Seattle.

Why should it make a difference if only some are on drugs?
If they are breaking the law then why shouldn't they end up in jail?

 

[VandVsmama]

The current policies used in cities like San Francisco and Seattle aren't working. They're only making the problem worse. I don't know what the solution is. I only know that what they're doing right now isn't helping at all.

 

[KingAugie]

The current policies used in cities like San Francisco and Seattle aren't working. They're only making the problem worse. I don't know what the solution is. I only know that what they're doing right now isn't helping at all.

Exactly and shame on the local government for making this an issue for the school, parents and children to have to fix.

 

[Pink Partridge]

1 - Yes absolutely the school should move to permanently dismantle the homeless encampment.

That said the SJW's who closed the psychiatric hospitals need to admit they were wrong and get on the bandwagon of reopening the closed facilities so that the homeless mentally ill have a safe clean supportive environment. That does not permit living on the streets.

We also need to create effective drug treatment programs and end the hugely expensive 'war on drugs' and move to the model the Netherlands uses - drugs are sold by the govt in dispensaries at low cost.

This would also serve to break the back of the cartels. As well as giving the inner cities a chance to turn round as selling drugs will no longer be a viable choice for a intelligent inner city person, Why would you work at mickey -d's for 15/hour when you can make 5-10 grand a day at your 'corner' yeah you will probably end up dead by 30 ...

The simple fact with Drugs we cannot save everyone but we must try to save as many as we can but the people need to WANT to be helped.

I agree with everything you are saying here, minus the drugs sold by government. I can't agree on that, because I am not educated enough on that program.

 

[JimMIA]

How about we raise the minimum wage to a living wage and build affordable housing? Give people a chance to make a better life for themselves. Homelessness is the result of not caring.

San Francisco has tried that and it made their problem worse, not better. The money thrown at free housing went to waste because the housing was not used.

Drug addicts won't live in free housing, even with free food, because they are not allowed to shoot up there.