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Originally Posted by arkhitektor
Its easy enough to say poltically correct things about the homeless, but if you actually want to create a place that attracts people to live, work, shop, dine, and be entertained -- you don't do so by forcing them to fraternize with the homeless while they're doing it.
Despite the fact that even those on the fringes of society need and deserve society's attention, very few people actually want to live or go out on a date across the street from a homeless shelter. If we really want people to spend their leisure time and money in the area in the interest of economic development; the drug problem needs to be cleaned up and the homeless are going to need to be moved elsewhere. Not "lined up and shot", but moved to different location. Its simple economics.
That's my opinion at any rate. Let the criticism begin.......
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Do you know how many homeless families use the west-side facility? How many of the drug dealers are actually homeless? Do we have numbers, or do they just go there because, like in every major American city, downtown tends to attract that type of people?
Look, there is no perfect location for a homeless shelter. The homeless shelter was built far west of downtown, in a rundown part of town, because that's where people wanted it. They wanted it out of sight, to the point where only the homeless, gangstas and druggies would venture over there. Then development moved west and the homeless population found themselves right in the middle of an up and coming entertainment area. Now people want to relocate them even further, because we can't have rich folk spotting poor people, right?
So where? Move them even further west? Then in 20 years, when there is even more development, we can move them again. Face it, there won't be an ideal location for the homeless shelter. The best way to fight this problem is by upping the police presence in the Pioneer Park region and cleaning the area up. I'd wager most homeless people are actually fairly quiet and are a small nuisance at worst. But the fact Pioneer Park, even with a rising homeless population in the state of Utah, has less crime now than it did 15 years ago, shows me that progress IS being made.
What needs to be done, and it already is being done, is the building of affordable housing. That's a major step in the right direction, getting these homeless people in housing and on their feet. But beyond that, the national government needs to step up and actually do something about the homeless problem in America.
26% of our homeless are veterans. That makes me ill. These men and women can go fight for our country and yet when they return, many are tossed aside like trash. We ignore them, because they're a pox on society. 26% and growing! That number will only rise once Iraq War troops return to the United States. Pathetic.
The homeless problem won't go away if you just ignore it. You're going to need social services to help build a solid foundation to combat this issue. Just moving the shelter might seem like a great idea, but it won't do anything. It's not going to make the homeless problem go away, it's not going to fully rid that area of crime (even without the shelter, crime will still be an issue, as it is in many American cities) and it will just move the problem to another area of the city.
Move the shelter is all I hear, but where? Where is a good place for a homeless shelter? So far from the city's eye that people forget that there is actually a homeless problem? I disagree with that. I park by the Rio Grande sometimes and walk to the Gateway and I've only had ONE problem and it was someone talking trash to me. That's it. And I'm a white boy that looks completely out of place walking around that neighborhood.
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However, I'm not advocating giving money to pan-handlers. The City is planning different projects to reduce pan-handling on our city streets.
at least alone.
Where will it be built? I think the character of the neighborhood might make it less/more attractive.
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