CHICAGO | General Discussions

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by emathias

I don't know specifically what Chicago plans to spend on, but the national trend is toward "Housing First," which gets people housed so that they have the stability for other treatments to work.

this was a good examination of how difficult that is to implement without additional support structures along the way (mental health support being a big one)

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/right-to-fail/

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ I totally understand your argument--heard it before a multiple times and it makes theoretical sense.

But in the end I think it's mostly conjecture. I don't know if we have any evidence that we will see greater output and greater wealth generation by simply putting more wealthy households within close proximity to eachother.

And yes, of course I invest in the city--I still think that's where the future of the region's best and brightest will be. But I am not motivated by a disdain for the burbs. The burbs may lose some of their allure but they ain't going anywhere no matter how much you keep saying it; nevertheless I will always root for the city.

I'm dealing with an interesting problem right now with a homeless man living on railroad property directly adjacent to my property. The railroad won't handle it and the guy has been apparently living there for over a decade. He has a shed and multiple dogs. Social worker types show up there almost daily delivering him food or otherwise helping him.

One wonders at what point the system is actually about solving these problems and not enabling it. As far as I'm concerned this guy should not be living on the street, the workers know who he is, where he is, but have not been able to place him in housing for over a decade? Surely the waiting list is not that long, surely he could get a section 8 voucher, surely CHA could find him a unit in that time. So what's going on here? How is it not animal abuse to have dogs on chains living outdoors on a railway embankment? How is not human abuse to be providing this guy services for that long knowing it is not a safe or sanitary living condition. The entire encampment is knee deep with trash and you have a guy living outside in the cold in a pile of trash with a bunch of dogs.

But course it's tricky because it's homelessness, he probably doesn't want to be in a shelter. He probably doesn't want to have to do CHA section 8 inspections once a month, etc etc. In order to truly "end" homelessness you'd have to pass a law making it illegal and forcibly arrest some people and take them to shelters or homes where they can't leave. Society is obviously not about to do that, so how do you fix a problem like what I described?

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

I'm dealing with an interesting problem right now with a homeless man living on railroad property directly adjacent to my property. The railroad won't handle it and the guy has been apparently living there for over a decade. He has a shed and multiple dogs. Social worker types show up there almost daily delivering him food or otherwise helping him.

One wonders at what point the system is actually about solving these problems and not enabling it. As far as I'm concerned this guy should not be living on the street, the workers know who he is, where he is, but have not been able to place him in housing for over a decade? Surely the waiting list is not that long, surely he could get a section 8 voucher, surely CHA could find him a unit in that time. So what's going on here? How is it not animal abuse to have dogs on chains living outdoors on a railway embankment? How is not human abuse to be providing this guy services for that long knowing it is not a safe or sanitary living condition. The entire encampment is knee deep with trash and you have a guy living outside in the cold in a pile of trash with a bunch of dogs.

But course it's tricky because it's homelessness, he probably doesn't want to be in a shelter. He probably doesn't want to have to do CHA section 8 inspections once a month, etc etc. In order to truly "end" homelessness you'd have to pass a law making it illegal and forcibly arrest some people and take them to shelters or homes where they can't leave. Society is obviously not about to do that, so how do you fix a problem like what I described?

Most shelters /section 8 places I imagine don't allow dogs, which puts this gentleman at an impasse if getting rid of his dogs is non-negotiable.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

I'm dealing with an interesting problem right now with a homeless man living on railroad property directly adjacent to my property. The railroad won't handle it and the guy has been apparently living there for over a decade. He has a shed and multiple dogs. Social worker types show up there almost daily delivering him food or otherwise helping him.

One wonders at what point the system is actually about solving these problems and not enabling it. As far as I'm concerned this guy should not be living on the street, the workers know who he is, where he is, but have not been able to place him in housing for over a decade? Surely the waiting list is not that long, surely he could get a section 8 voucher, surely CHA could find him a unit in that time. So what's going on here? How is it not animal abuse to have dogs on chains living outdoors on a railway embankment? How is not human abuse to be providing this guy services for that long knowing it is not a safe or sanitary living condition. The entire encampment is knee deep with trash and you have a guy living outside in the cold in a pile of trash with a bunch of dogs.

But course it's tricky because it's homelessness, he probably doesn't want to be in a shelter. He probably doesn't want to have to do CHA section 8 inspections once a month, etc etc. In order to truly "end" homelessness you'd have to pass a law making it illegal and forcibly arrest some people and take them to shelters or homes where they can't leave. Society is obviously not about to do that, so how do you fix a problem like what I described?

I honestly don't know what can be done about situations like this. This (like many others) is an exceedingly difficult situation, both for the homeless themselves as well as the city/county government(s). Additional mental health facilities are very important, as well as CHA/Section 8 housing, but something else is driving a good number of these situations. Some people simply choose their homeless situation because they refuse shelters/treatment. Not entirely sure jailing them is the right move, but I'm not sure what else is appropriate.

Aaron (Glowrock)

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

this was a good examination of how difficult that is to implement without additional support structures along the way (mental health support being a big one)

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/right-to-fail/

It does need to be done in a coordinated manner to be most effective. But one of three problems solved by Housing First is removing requirements that recipients of publicly-funded housing be a certain level of stable first. For example, using drugs has frequently been a non-starter, but when you lack the stability of a home, any chance of beating addiction really just disappears for all practical purposes.

Then there are things like Chicago's SRO law, which is actually quite restrictive in who can live in an SRO. You basically have to have a job or be receiving the highest amounts of money that the government gives. SSI recipients, for example, do not receive enough support to qualify for an SRO even if technically they could make the rent payments. And no one can co-sign or sign a promissory note to provide cash assistance (for example if a family couldn't afford to rent a place for a loved one in their own but still wanted to and could help some). And SSI recipients are, by definition, the least likely to be able to functionally support themselves because it means they've never had significant employment. SSI is also set at 75% of the poverty line. I don't know if that's by statute or what, but it's where the top award amount for SSI recipients ends - at 75% if the poverty line. I can't imagine trying to make anything work in that. And then the number actually gets lower if you're homeless, to about half of the poverty line under the theory that if you're not paying rent you don't need the extra money.

Absolutely most housing should be drug-free. But having some housing available for addicts doesn't strike me as crazy, either.

[TR Devlin]

If you were sorry to see the old DNAinfo close, or if you're looking for a good local news site, check out these links:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifes...206-story.html

https://blockclubchicago.org/

[maru2501]

on Chicago's tale of two cities

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Ma...Leaves-Behind/

[Le Baron]

Got lucky and took a video of the storm. Some frames from the video. Tried to post to the Essex thread but can't seem to post there.

[harryc]

Badass storm shots - you can see the lighting strike evolve.

[RedCorsair87]

^So nice of Thor to visit Chicago, but I'm not sure why he chose to sit on top of Sears...

[colemonkee]

^ Avengers: Endgame promo, no doubt.

[gebs]

Unbelievable timing, Le Baron. If you have that slow-motion video posted somewhere, please share the link as well if you can.

[The Pimp]

Great catch Le Baron. The power generated by those lightning strikes is utterly amazing.

[Busy Bee]

Those lightning strike shots are..........electrifying.

[TonyL]

Check this out. Lightning striking all 4 towers at once.

https://wapo.st/2GCPeLx

[SolarWind]

May 1, 2019

[LouisVanDerWright]

Wow that's really high. More water on the way tomorrow.

[Baronvonellis]

Yea, as a PSA people should try not to take showers or do laundy this week from all the rain the deep tunnels are totally full! The McCook Reservoir is full and the Calumet Reservoir is almost full. So then the sewers will start going into the Chicago River soon. News agencies in Chicago should try to notify people better about this, so we don't pollute the River.

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by Baronvonellis

Yea, as a PSA people should try not to take showers or do laundy this week from all the rain the deep tunnels are totally full! The McCook Reservoir is full and the Calumet Reservoir is almost full. So then the sewers will start going into the Chicago River soon. News agencies in Chicago should try to notify people better about this, so we don't pollute the River.

Good advice in general.

I thought the Thornton Resv was online. Maybe the central city system doesnt connect to Thornton. Also what is the first lock that can be opened to release water downstream?

[F1 Tommy]

Originally Posted by Baronvonellis

Yea, as a PSA people should try not to take showers or do laundy this week from all the rain the deep tunnels are totally full! The McCook Reservoir is full and the Calumet Reservoir is almost full. So then the sewers will start going into the Chicago River soon. News agencies in Chicago should try to notify people better about this, so we don't pollute the River.

Unless you are unincorporated and have a well out in the burbs, but that would be Chicagoland as I don't think Chicago has any unincorporated land left??