Re: San Diego homeless. The ugly "secret" is that other states have been sending THEIR homeless here with one-way tickets. Now the burden is on California taxpayers to pay for their Healthcare when they take an ambulance to the ER for a hang nail. Or fire and rescue when they start a fire to make coffee and start a raging wildfire. We have a homeless guy living in a canyon behind our home. He generates TONS of garbage including women's shoes and handbags that he rips off from unlocked cars, discarded food packaging, human fecal matter, used syringes and lighters. Community members have been reporting him to the City and police for over a decade. He keeps on keeping on, so brain-addled from meth and yet proving interestingly how resilient a human body can be, even after such self- destruction. Of course he needs mental help and a shelter but he refuses. Now multiply that by hundreds if not thousands. What is the solution? We are all ears.
I rarely jump into comments here, since I think they are a good thing whether or not I agree. But in this case, I must say something to counter misinformation. There is NO proof of the oft-repeated tale about SD's unhoused being sent here in any kind of meaning numbers via one-way tickets.
Secondly, the characterization made about your "personal homeless human" is simply a repetition of every trope out there passed around by people looking to stir up sh*t.
Is it really possible that every single thing attributed to this one person is true? Nope. Do those things happen? Yes. But the all at once part tells me your motivation is disgust, and what you don't have the courage to say out loud is that you'd like all *these people* need to be caged or killed. Please take the time to try to learn some facts.
Wrong. The disgust is with how this slow uptick in homelessness has turned into a raging epidemic. We spent two years of our lives focusing on the homelessness issue here in San Diego, talking to experts, congresspeople, homelessness activists including reps from VVSD (Veterans Village of San Diego) and SOME (So Others May Eat), and the homeless themselves (which is how we learned about the one-way tickets from other towns). So yes, I have taken time to try and learn some facts.
Now, as for my "personal homeless human," Evan, I have photos of his camp under a tree overlooking a park where children play. He's broken off a lot of the branches to make room for his bedding. His syringes have been found in the gutters where kids can find them. After months of calling the police, a group of city-paid workers finally climbed up to his camp and came down with over two tons of garbage a few years ago. Last week, when we climbed up to take a look, it amounts to at least another ton of detritus.
As the VP of our local town Council for several years (NEWS FLASH: I've been a community activist for decades) what to do about Evan has been an ongoing topic of conversation. He started a fire a few years back and fortunately someone was there to stamp it out. The sight of assorted lighters under a tree among the over-dry brush in a canyon behind hundreds of homes is discomfiting to say the least.
How dare you claim that I'd like all "these people" caged or killed? That is WAY out of line. You really ought to apologize for that.
Re: San Diego homeless. The ugly "secret" is that other states have been sending THEIR homeless here with one-way tickets. Now the burden is on California taxpayers to pay for their Healthcare when they take an ambulance to the ER for a hang nail. Or fire and rescue when they start a fire to make coffee and start a raging wildfire. We have a homeless guy living in a canyon behind our home. He generates TONS of garbage including women's shoes and handbags that he rips off from unlocked cars, discarded food packaging, human fecal matter, used syringes and lighters. Community members have been reporting him to the City and police for over a decade. He keeps on keeping on, so brain-addled from meth and yet proving interestingly how resilient a human body can be, even after such self- destruction. Of course he needs mental help and a shelter but he refuses. Now multiply that by hundreds if not thousands. What is the solution? We are all ears.
I rarely jump into comments here, since I think they are a good thing whether or not I agree. But in this case, I must say something to counter misinformation. There is NO proof of the oft-repeated tale about SD's unhoused being sent here in any kind of meaning numbers via one-way tickets.
The vast majority lived here prior to ending up on the streets. (80% this year- https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/homelessness/story/2023-06-08/homelessness-in-san-diego-county-rose-22-percent-last-year-more-of-them-are-women-seniors-and-veterans)
Secondly, the characterization made about your "personal homeless human" is simply a repetition of every trope out there passed around by people looking to stir up sh*t.
Is it really possible that every single thing attributed to this one person is true? Nope. Do those things happen? Yes. But the all at once part tells me your motivation is disgust, and what you don't have the courage to say out loud is that you'd like all *these people* need to be caged or killed. Please take the time to try to learn some facts.
Wrong. The disgust is with how this slow uptick in homelessness has turned into a raging epidemic. We spent two years of our lives focusing on the homelessness issue here in San Diego, talking to experts, congresspeople, homelessness activists including reps from VVSD (Veterans Village of San Diego) and SOME (So Others May Eat), and the homeless themselves (which is how we learned about the one-way tickets from other towns). So yes, I have taken time to try and learn some facts.
The Invisible Ones: Homeless Combat Veterans
https://vimeo.com/644874840?share=copy
Small Acts of Kindness featuring Dave "The Water Man" Ross
https://vimeo.com/761652160?share=copy
Now, as for my "personal homeless human," Evan, I have photos of his camp under a tree overlooking a park where children play. He's broken off a lot of the branches to make room for his bedding. His syringes have been found in the gutters where kids can find them. After months of calling the police, a group of city-paid workers finally climbed up to his camp and came down with over two tons of garbage a few years ago. Last week, when we climbed up to take a look, it amounts to at least another ton of detritus.
As the VP of our local town Council for several years (NEWS FLASH: I've been a community activist for decades) what to do about Evan has been an ongoing topic of conversation. He started a fire a few years back and fortunately someone was there to stamp it out. The sight of assorted lighters under a tree among the over-dry brush in a canyon behind hundreds of homes is discomfiting to say the least.
How dare you claim that I'd like all "these people" caged or killed? That is WAY out of line. You really ought to apologize for that.