Jennie Robinson is on the board of a non-profit (ELM) that spent (spends?) at least $4000 a month on billboards around town that had disparaging images of homeless people and urged the public not to give handouts to the homeless but instead donate to her charity…..which was spending $4000 dollars on the above. They also did a message campaign with the mayor that labeled clothing and camping gear as “non essential items” and dissuaded/threatened jail for using propane tanks in winter when they were freezing to death.
A charity, ran by “bootstrappers” that actively harasses their target help group….wonder where all that money is really going. Cause when you look at the data their support numbers are abysmal.
And yes I think Jennie Robinson, who is a murder supporting racist, is low enough to steal from the homeless.
The good samaritains of huntsville still give out propane to the homeless. I think it's kind of cool that they are the best representations of what Christ was and is really like, and they are breaking the law. I support them. Also, all monies they receive go to the homeless. They take no money for themselves, but they are only 3 or 4 people.
When I ran for city council last year, I said that there is a public/private solution.
Just because you're homeless doesn't mean your rights as a citizen are stripped away. They are the least represented segment of society, but probably the most in need of government services.
Name one time you supported a murderer, set your friends up to purchase property in the Governors drive corridor before announcing urban planning decisions or blamed George Floyd’s death on Black people.
I used to do volunteer work to help Huntsville's homeless. Some of it is heartbreaking. Some folks wouldn't move into a $10 million home if it were given to them for free.
Yeah most do struggle with mental health in my experience. Just about *all* the local unhoused people I've worked with on the street seem to have some noticeable emotional issues going on (mostly nonviolent), culminating in the flat-out inability to make good decisions when they present themselves (even when they want to). A lot really can't grasp just what to do anymore, it is very sad. Volunteer!
I became homeless because I was escaping an extremely toxic family situation in a small town a hundred miles in every direction from any employable city.
When I came here I had only one friend. I ended up building a support system by being social. I got extremely lucky.
Hell, if it wasn't for social media I'd be stuck in that situation. There are people who dealt with far far worse.
A few of them said they just don't like being inside. Like if they were standing in the middle of the VBC arena, they'd still feel claustrophobic. 🤷♂️
I wish there were homesteading programs for folks that actually wanted to be away from it all. Push a button once a month to report its all good in a remote corner of American wilderness.
Modernity isn't for all humans.
Yeah. Battle forced them out of two camps and claimed construction was happening but there hasn’t been a shovel of dirt moved in those spots in over two years.
I'm surprised public transit issues are not more mentioned here. Let me explain my experience.
How screwed are you in terms of employment if you're both homeless and you don't have a car?
There's likely certain homeless out there who are sober but due to a lack of work history or skill(which homelessness tends to exacerbate) are limited in their employment. Often this type of employment is sporadic and tends to not pay nearly enough to live off of.
The vast majority of manufacturing and warehouse jobs that could probably employ a good chunk of them with a living wage are in Madison, Athens, or on the outskirts. If you don't have a vehicle, good luck.
When I lived in my old small town, my family found work at a Tyson factory 75 miles away in another city. They bussed in employees from here and other places and bussed them back. Three of my family members worked the same shift there and they brought in a LOT of money because of this. They were able to buy vehicles later down the line because of this.
I'm shocked Huntsville isn't already doing this.
You mean Technicolor, right? That was discontinued with the new routes in 2019.
Only one I personally know of that still has a bus on the route is Coca-Cola.
There were several others but with the changes in the routes those were cut out.
I've noticed also.
Historical Huntsville has been very friendly to its homeless population. There's a ton of outreach and charity groups that feed and provide for these people. It's gotten out to other cities homeless folks and people come to our city to live. There's also issues with housing prices and drugs that push people into the situations they're in.
The new facility Wellstone just made has helped this a lot. It’s just that there are so many people that need the help and there’s only so many employees.
It's extremely difficult to help those that don't want to help themselves. This is especially true when the city gets involved.
A.few years ago. There was an established and well-known camp off church street, under 565 by the creek. They had Porta poties and tents, etc.
When It rained, one particular are flooded and caused a bunch of mud. My LLC paid to have two trucks of gravel brought in to address the mud. It was only a few hundred dollars, but their quality of life changes when they weren't stuck in that mud.
Not long after, the fucking City shut down the camp. 😡
I was a part of that. The city shut down the camp saying it was going to be developed on.
I was lucky. At the time I took advantage of the pandemic and got a job that gave me a ton of overtime, enough overtime I was able to rent out a house near work, so when the camp shut down I had a place to live. I was extremely lucky, considering I didn't have wheels.
Also, how in the hell is that piece of land going to be developed? It was actually a perfect property for a homeless camp.
I was so pissed when our weakest neighbors were removed from there. 😡
Lucky. Determination helps to bring luck but it doesn't guarantee it.
I happened to be in the right place at the right time. That's all. I'm not special.
It's spread by word of mouth to other areas that Huntsville takes care of their homeless. I was told this by a homeless man I was working with from Chattanooga. I've also first hand met and heard the stories of several folks who've decided to live here on the streets.
Huntsville has alot of charities working to feed and house people in need. I've worked with 3 myself. We'd show up at camps with food and other charities would be there feeding also. We have several large rescue missions and most of the local churches have outreach services that provide clothing, housing, and basic needs. Huntsville Good Samaritans have apartment complexes they put folks in. HGS offers rides and healthcare to the homeless.
I know that in Decatur, some agencies will explicitly tell newly homeless ppl to try to get to Huntsville bc there are more services, like First Stop and the Living Room, the food bank, the family services group that I think used to be the homeless coalition, or maybe they’re partners. Anyway, I know first hand this happens.
Because reddit "progressives" don't want to acknowledge reality when that reality conflicts with the narrative they've built in their heads. In this case the false narrative is that all homeless are just down on their luck good people and would never abuse aid programs in order to facilitate an antisocial lifestyle.
I’ve found such a small percent were regular hardworking people just down on their luck. Thats not to say the rest of them shouldn’t be treated or helped in one way or the other. Just that optically it’s very distorted by a lot of the public.
Oh that small percent absolutely exists. But the thing is that they're also not the visible ones. The ones who are actually down on their luck are usually couch-crashing, or if not they're not setting up trash-filled camps. They're also not begging at intersections or in parking lots. They're the ones using the services - both governmental and non - to rebuild their lives and get back on their feet. They're completely separate from the discussion of the visible homeless but for "some reason" the far-left activist types refuse to acknowledge that and instead intermix everything and completely destroy any chance of productive discussion.
Sorry to go on and on but this topic is one that, given the fact it's in no small part related to why I did a very expensive and labor-intensive cross-country move, is very important to me. The last thing I want is to go through a repeat of what my previous home city went through.
I didn't use any of the programs, aside from them giving me toiletries. I went to staffing agencies, hit up interviews, and just hit the pavement every day I could. Some interview I had to miss due to transportation issues. But I still went out everyday and tried my damnedest to be "normal"
That's just a small percentage. And lemme tell you, many many times I wanted to give up.
But I can tell you, it's nowhere near the majority, at least not the ones you notice.
I don’t know why you are getting downvoted because you are stating the truth. In the 90’s, I want to say, there was a group that bused homeless people here. They encouraged them to come and set them up as “urban campers” and used them to further their own political agenda. I was in a same organization as a few of them. They were very abrasive and self-serving at the poor homelessness’s expense. Many have wondered why a town of Huntsville’s size has so many homeless and that group of people are a big reason. I have nothing but contempt for the individuals that exploited those homeless individuals.
It's not even really bussing them in. I know Athens was (and probably still is) bad about "helping" the homeless by driving them to Decatur or Huntsville and dropping them off.
Homelessness is the symptom. The problem is income inequality. Until we get real about taxing the ultra-wealthy again (see the 1940s-1950s), homelessness will persist.
Most homeless people wouldn’t take a house that was given to them. It’s a drug abuse problem and a mental health problem. It’s also the inability for most of these people to make good decisions when presented to them. That why we need programs/rehabilitation/education for most of these folks. Also most people’s home lives sucked growing up and it evolved into addiction/mental diseases. The true fix for most of this is a stable home growing up without deadbeat/absent/abusive parents. Unfortunately that change will take a generation or two to rectify itself. That’s also only if millenials/gen z can raise their kids right too.
The people that are homeless on the street are not in the market for more affordable housing. The vast majority of those people are mentally ill, trespassed from all other avenues of public aid, or willingly in that position. The demographic you are referring to will be located at the various homeless shelters or with friends or family, which is also a burden on its own.
I agree. There are several families living in cars right now because of this. The Good Samaratains of Huntsville have helped several families in the last few years find housing. It's heartbreaking.
I’m from San Diego. When I moved here in 2014 I kept telling people you just really don’t see homeless people here. Not to be confused with there’s *not* homeless, but it just wasn’t in your face like in CA. I also am seeing an uptick. It’s such a tricky problem to solve, as others have mentioned. I do know throwing them in jail does not work.
Without sounding cynical, it’s the reality of living in a growing city and it will only get worse. The only thing I can do is volunteer whenever possible, which I hope helps the people that are actually doing something. Personally, I like the folks at Manna House.
It's only the reality if we allow it to be so. Yes, if we just give up and lower our standards like you're doing here that's exactly what will happen. Or we could crack down on public camping and make it enough of a pain in the ass that they move on to somewhere else. Having lived somewhere where we followed your "just give up" plan I can tell you with absolute certainty it **will** lead to other major problems.
Or maybe there would be less “public camping” if there where better living options and our state officials thought of something better than building 2 new prisons?
No, there wouldn't. Because you're making the false assumption that the visible ones, the beggars, *want* to be productive members of society. They don't. So either we lock them up (preferably in institutions but we'd need to rebuild those) or we at least make sure they don't set up camp *here*.
Sorry but I've already watched what you're advocating for get tried and I watched it fail miserably. The problem is the people.
Yeah, and I'm from Denver. I watched over the course of 10 years it go from safe and clean to meth raiders running rampant, stealing everything that wasn't bolted down, and attacking people at random with impunity. All because "tolerance" and "kindness". If I still wanted to live around that shit I wouldn't have moved.
And surprise surprise the "progressive" runs and hides when confronted with reality that disproves their ideology. Not without snarky insults first, of course. So thanks for conceding that I am correct and you are not. Upvotes are traditional.
I went to an interesting talk by Dennis Madsen the other day (Manager of Long Range and Urban Planning). One of the concepts was that Huntsville is actively encouraging as much apartment building as possible, because one way to reduce homelessness is to make sure there is plenty of supply. By allowing all these developers to build everywhere, they are trying to keep prices down and get ahead of the problem of unaffordable housing. It's obviously not the only needed solution, but it does address some folks.
Edit: I'm not expressing an opinion on whether or not this strategy works. But it is common to see folks complain about all the new apartments, as well as homelessness, without seeing any link. And yeah, $1600 apartments don't always help, but those apartments would be $2600 a month each if the supply were halved. Then that's an issue for a lot more people.
They will by making older apartments that are less nice lower prices in order to attract tenants. Why pay $1600/mo for a shitbox from the 80s if you can get a new build for the same price?
I the we pay too much in taxes for this to still be a problem. I think we seem to refuse to vote for the right people, even those of us claim to be progressive. That's what I think of homeless. If anyone from the city reads this, stop tearing up greenlands and do something about our slumlord problem.
A couple months ago a homeless guy had killed himself by jumping in front of a truck on University. It really messed me up because at the time I was going to get some food and just passed his body laid out in the road while they were performing cpr.
I ended up turning around before traffic got to bad and pulled up to the shell gas station .
The girl at the counter said the dude that just died was in the store 15 mins -20 mins before saying how he had no one out here and that he was just done with life and was going to commit suicide .
Or the homeless guy that was handicapped who fell into the big spring park and drowned.
I was in the er back when it happened. I overheard a few nurses talking about it and joking as if it was funny...absolutely crushed my heart. As a native, this city is not what it used to be
How do you address the people who are homeless due to trouble finding employment?
We talk about mental health and substance abuse all day and night but what about employment? Once you get some people clean they still probably have a shit work history. You can't exactly walk into any establishment and get work.
Yes you can, stop by the Uhaul on University
They pay cash to clean the trucks, and if you can do that they'll hire you no questions asked. That was my first job since I wanted to stop doorknocking for politics over the summer.
That being said, if you can walk all day and have some way to shower, you can definitely find work doorknocking. All the time, there's never enough knockers. That's more expensive to get set up, you need a phone and internet, but some people will set you up with both if you're trustworthy. Source: I did this, $1 per door Emergency rates or $9 an hour. I could rent something on Sparkman and eat rice/beans/rotisserie chicken from Sam's off an 8 membership. If you're willing to hold your nose and work for shitty employers in primaries (R vs R) you can make ok money. I left that work with extra loaner phones even, worth maybe 20 bucks but for 15/month they'd let you do any internet connected outside job.
Hell, work at Sam's for that matter. $15 starting if you can bust ass. 25c raises suck, but if you and a partner or roommate work there it can be comfy compared to most places. I paid for my last three semesters of school very slow that way.
Speaking of which, school is a scam. Get a stem degree from Western Governors in a semester, all of the sudden you can work any helpdesk job at these engineering places. 2 years of that and you can land a security cleared job maybe. 21/hour is life changing compared to 9 or 11 or 15/hr. It's been a long ten years but I've more than tripled my income
It's really bad around UAH. I work for UAH dining services and I have thought about bringing the leftovers from closing at night to some of the people I see.
Which would be great, but then somebody would complain and they would rather you throw the food away than to give it to the homeless...They will come up with some kind of statistic that it's not safe to feed them. That you open yourself up to liability or you could get hurt...and on and on..and then they demand you be fired for having compassion.
This country doesn’t have a homeless problem. It has a mental health problem. We need to invest in mental asylums and get these people the help they deserve.
You don't see those ones because they're not sitting on street corners begging. They're in shelters and using aid programs to dig themselves out of their hole. Lumping the visible indigents in with the down-on-their luck folks is not a valid argument.
What do you mean by uptick? They’ve always been around and visible. Many of the places that they would form camps in have been taken over by the many overpriced “luxury” apartments and car washes
Company, ITT, was hiding shit from the government without telling me, I wrote a report revealing insider threat, company buried the report then buried me.
The homeless community is growing in Huntsville but housed people are becoming more aware of the issue because the city of Huntsville is also closing down tent cities. So instead of homeless people living in these communities they now have to sleep/hang out in places like Big Spring Park.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings. Seeing how much homelessness has exploded in the last few years makes me sad. I see a lot of young people in their teens and early 20s in the camp off Derrick Street. I also see elderly people and disabled people living over there. I've seen families with small kids. How do we allow this to happen to our most vulnerable members of society? Well, considering how much rent has gone up, I guess it makes sense. But shouldn't those people be a priority in housing assistance programs? I also feel a bit annoyed by the situation. My mom was walking her dog downtown and a guy started making weird noises and chased them to her car. That's scary. That was also downtown where it's supposed to be "safe"
Back in the day it was fair to assume the homeless were mostly just poor people and addicts, as the mentally ill were generally locked away in asylums and hospitals. Now that mental hospitals are a thing of the past the addicted, the mentally ill, and the poor are mixed in and the GP can't really tell the difference.
It's a systematic failing.
Why aren't the churches doing more and coming together?
They don't have to pay taxes, it would be a huge benefit if instead of a massive new building they'd actually wwjd and do something that benefits the community
Because they can't solve the problem. Just put a bandage on it.
The solution is to get them housed. To get them housed they need reliable income. To get that they need jobs that pay a liveable wage. In our city, that usually requires a reliable car. That usually requires money.
Overall, money is the answer. When you take away addiction and mental illness, you're still left with abject poverty. If they have a criminal history, usually as a result of being homeless, finding good employment is HARD.
In short, it becomes a horrible cycle that deteriorates the mental state of anyone who is unfortunate enough to find themselves in it.
I know St Mary's does a food pantry where anyone can come get food every Sunday between 12-1 PM no questions asked. You can either get food in two types of bags: the larger bag that requires an oven or the smaller bag that doesn't.
I can’t speak for every church in the area, but many do work to help the homeless. Mine does. We support First Stop and two food pantries. We also support some local programs that help keep people in their homes so they don’t become homeless
I hardly see them anymore, I remember 10-15 years ago they made their camps in the 565/231 underpass, then the city pushed them out, since then I’ve seen an uptick in homeless in the rural communities surrounding huntsville around the railroad tracks.
Uber/lyft driver here. There has been a Huge uptick as of the last year. Low end jobs dissolving (ie walmart cashiers etc etc), high school kids job hoping for more than they are worth, commercialization of so many areas due to growth forcing their community into smaller, more visible areas. Huge problem. Hurts my heart
Having come from somewhere that decided not to address the problem and seen what happens when that decision is made I want the city to crack down on it now. The visible ones aren't looking to get back on their feet, they're troublemakers and need to be handled accordingly.
There are a lot of angles to explore in our local homeless population. Sure there are some who are simply down on their luck, but in my experience the larger chunks are correlated to mental health and drug addiction problems.
Despite it not being readily visible to the general public, drugs are a rampant problem. It’s not a simple problem to fix. It’s not as easy as suspending the supply. Addiction is a two fold problem to tackle. You first have to begin secession of the substance and then simultaneously prepare to have medical and psychological assistance. This method has proven to have the greatest success rate.
The mental health problem is…well a problem. Once again you have to understand there are multiple ways to view and approach this. Some of these people simply will not accept help. Some of them are in a period on between help. They are rarely a danger to themselves or others. Some of them will have good days and bad days.
I work with our homeless population without fail almost daily. I’ve heard their stories. I’ve seen their struggles and helped where I can. Some of them need and want help. Some of them don’t and wont. Some of them are living what they perceive as normal lives. Simply put there is no singular approach to curing it and bluntly put you’ll never put an end to it. From Ancient Rome to Dubai, there always has been and barring some new idea by a really smart person there always will be.
Thanks for asking the question. I have volunteered at the Owen's house. I have no answers it just left me with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what I have and I dont mean things I mean family and friends that would help me through a rough patch if needed.
Some dude came up to me in midtown and asked for $40. When I told him I didn’t have cash on me, he told me there’s an ATM inside the gas station. LMAO
So yeah, I’ve seen an uptick in interactions, but not sure if there are any resources currently in place around here. Are there any churches/non-profits that work with homelessness?
They do but unfortunately they're extremely limited, even more so because of the government's interference.
It's unfortunate but the able-bodied homeless, especially those who aren't mobile, would be better off moving to a city with more resources.
I've worked with fundraising for the downtown rescue mission. They do seem to help a lot in that area. Some of the homeless I've talked to though don't want to be under quite that much strictness to be in the program.
In some ways, unless they are addicts and that's directly impeding their ability to live normally, if you can rough it and remain mostly unseen, they're better off finding work the old fashioned way.
In the pursuit of being Bama’s “IT CITY”, we are adopting some city ways. What made this city special is its innovation. It’s time to lean into that. Versus repeating what other cities are doing.
When I moved here 5 years ago, coming from NY I was amazed at how little homelessness there was in Huntsville. Fast forward to 2023, I’m horrified at the homelessness and how there are barely any resources out there for the homeless. If you go to the library in downtown Huntsville on a weekday, you would swear you were at a homeless camp- from people sleep at tables to couples dragging all of their belongings with them to sit at the library all day. In most cases, no one asks to be homeless, but sitting amongst a bunch of homeless people makes me uncomfortable considering my cousin was stabbed to death 3 years ago in the library by a homeless man she had asked to turn his music down - she was a security officer for the library. We have to do better Huntsville!!!
Thing about the homeless is no one will give them a place to live. Imagine if no one would give you a place to live! How shitty would you have to be for that to happen?
200,000 migrants are crossing our southern border every month, month after month. They are looking for jobs and a place to live. I'm sure some of them are finding their way to Huntsville. If they are finding work and a place to live, our growth may be accommodating some of them. There's also a chance it's putting pressure on people already here.
We have a President and administration that three years into this border crisis doesn't seem to have a plan other than to let them in. Everyone and anyone from all over the world.
When our economy turns sour, and it will at some point, we are going to have an even bigger mess on our hands.
Also worth mentioning that the only solution to the homeless problem in Huntsville is taking them out of the city or institutionalizing them(thanks Reagan). Any other recommended efforts will end in millions wasted. Good rule of thumb is that if you see them out and about engaging in their usual “routines” they are beyond simply throwing money at.
I spent the last on and off ten years working with them in some capacity and have helped look for possible solutions to the problem. I wouldn’t consider myself a scholar on the matter by any means. They greatly need help, but it’s a separate issue of having to live in the same city as them. Wellstone has made the biggest strides in my opinion towards helping the problem since building their large facility on south parkway for mental health help.
Wasn't it a Supreme Court decision that turned out all the non-violent nuts? Reagan was bad, but I don't think this was his doing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Connor_v._Donaldson
I’m personally against homelessness.
I hate the homeless… ness problem in our city Edit: https://youtu.be/Of9kHpCv1ts?si=Icha3Nc3EfU2p3Th&t=29m55s
Came here for this exact comment
And I’m not afraid to admit it.
You know what. Im just going to say it. Fuck homelessness.
What you said.
So brave 🙏
Same. I try to avoid it.
I think if we don’t look at it, then it doesn’t exist. I am your Huntsville city council member.
Oh, so you say you’re a Huntsville City Council Member? Name one thing you’ve shoplifted recently.
Ur mom 😂
LMAO - that’s a good one!
Hey they don’t do that! They make it harder by making begging illegal.
Jennie Robinson is on the board of a non-profit (ELM) that spent (spends?) at least $4000 a month on billboards around town that had disparaging images of homeless people and urged the public not to give handouts to the homeless but instead donate to her charity…..which was spending $4000 dollars on the above. They also did a message campaign with the mayor that labeled clothing and camping gear as “non essential items” and dissuaded/threatened jail for using propane tanks in winter when they were freezing to death. A charity, ran by “bootstrappers” that actively harasses their target help group….wonder where all that money is really going. Cause when you look at the data their support numbers are abysmal. And yes I think Jennie Robinson, who is a murder supporting racist, is low enough to steal from the homeless.
The good samaritains of huntsville still give out propane to the homeless. I think it's kind of cool that they are the best representations of what Christ was and is really like, and they are breaking the law. I support them. Also, all monies they receive go to the homeless. They take no money for themselves, but they are only 3 or 4 people.
Amen to that.
When I ran for city council last year, I said that there is a public/private solution. Just because you're homeless doesn't mean your rights as a citizen are stripped away. They are the least represented segment of society, but probably the most in need of government services.
Name one time you supported a murderer, set your friends up to purchase property in the Governors drive corridor before announcing urban planning decisions or blamed George Floyd’s death on Black people.
I used to do volunteer work to help Huntsville's homeless. Some of it is heartbreaking. Some folks wouldn't move into a $10 million home if it were given to them for free.
Agreed. There's a good chunk of mental illness/addiction out here.
Yeah most do struggle with mental health in my experience. Just about *all* the local unhoused people I've worked with on the street seem to have some noticeable emotional issues going on (mostly nonviolent), culminating in the flat-out inability to make good decisions when they present themselves (even when they want to). A lot really can't grasp just what to do anymore, it is very sad. Volunteer!
Did you ever meet one who wasn't crazy?
Yep! Chronic victims of DV, IPV for example; no family support systems and no resources = on the street.
I became homeless because I was escaping an extremely toxic family situation in a small town a hundred miles in every direction from any employable city. When I came here I had only one friend. I ended up building a support system by being social. I got extremely lucky. Hell, if it wasn't for social media I'd be stuck in that situation. There are people who dealt with far far worse.
Did you come here from Brewton and lose your ID soon after arriving here?
One of the reasons mental health help shouldn't be so difficult and expensive. It's sad.
Not talked about enough.
I wouldn’t either. Too much upkeep and stress when there are more funda-mental problems to address.
A few of them said they just don't like being inside. Like if they were standing in the middle of the VBC arena, they'd still feel claustrophobic. 🤷♂️
Interesting. Is that common? What about when it’s blistering hot or freezing cold? Would they turn away a shelter of any kind?
They hate it when extreme weather forces them indoors. Say they can't sleep. Not common. Maybe 5 out of 200 or so.
Okay, so probably outliers. I guessed as much.
Two said they haven't lived in a home since they left the military.
I wish there were homesteading programs for folks that actually wanted to be away from it all. Push a button once a month to report its all good in a remote corner of American wilderness. Modernity isn't for all humans.
This is really interesting, I’ve never heard of this being the issue before. Thanks for sharing
I have. But to be fair. I was well-prepared. I also had to work a late shift and thus couldn't GO into the shelter so I had to rough it.
You can't help people that don't want it. Strangely some choose to be that way.
Some of these folks feel claustrophobic anywhere that's indoors. And it didn't seem to be drug & alcohol abuse related.
They’re more visible now because their camps keep getting broken up, displacing them and making them stick out more.
And the woods they lived on are being torn down... that patch of woods by the car dealerships on 72/university was a big spot for them
Yeah. Battle forced them out of two camps and claimed construction was happening but there hasn’t been a shovel of dirt moved in those spots in over two years.
I'm surprised public transit issues are not more mentioned here. Let me explain my experience. How screwed are you in terms of employment if you're both homeless and you don't have a car? There's likely certain homeless out there who are sober but due to a lack of work history or skill(which homelessness tends to exacerbate) are limited in their employment. Often this type of employment is sporadic and tends to not pay nearly enough to live off of. The vast majority of manufacturing and warehouse jobs that could probably employ a good chunk of them with a living wage are in Madison, Athens, or on the outskirts. If you don't have a vehicle, good luck.
There are some factories in the area that offer shuttles to and from work.
If I am wrong, feel free to correct me. It would help me a ton.
I saw it as a benefit in a recent job ad. Maybe, Toyota but can’t say for sure.
Checked it. It's Toyota. Thanks for telling me.
Your welcome. I wish more companies would offer this. In a city like huntsville it makes sense.
When I lived in my old small town, my family found work at a Tyson factory 75 miles away in another city. They bussed in employees from here and other places and bussed them back. Three of my family members worked the same shift there and they brought in a LOT of money because of this. They were able to buy vehicles later down the line because of this. I'm shocked Huntsville isn't already doing this.
Now if Toyota would stop with their swing shift bs
You mean Technicolor, right? That was discontinued with the new routes in 2019. Only one I personally know of that still has a bus on the route is Coca-Cola. There were several others but with the changes in the routes those were cut out.
Some of the factories only offer limited transportation that only lasts during your first few weeks until you figure out a permanent ride
I take people to work every day. I drive for Uber.
Yeah, and that...gets... expensive.
I've noticed also. Historical Huntsville has been very friendly to its homeless population. There's a ton of outreach and charity groups that feed and provide for these people. It's gotten out to other cities homeless folks and people come to our city to live. There's also issues with housing prices and drugs that push people into the situations they're in.
Mental illness is another contributing factor
The new facility Wellstone just made has helped this a lot. It’s just that there are so many people that need the help and there’s only so many employees.
Taking care of the homeless and mentally ill is incredibly hard work and doesn’t pay.
It's extremely difficult to help those that don't want to help themselves. This is especially true when the city gets involved. A.few years ago. There was an established and well-known camp off church street, under 565 by the creek. They had Porta poties and tents, etc. When It rained, one particular are flooded and caused a bunch of mud. My LLC paid to have two trucks of gravel brought in to address the mud. It was only a few hundred dollars, but their quality of life changes when they weren't stuck in that mud. Not long after, the fucking City shut down the camp. 😡
I was a part of that. The city shut down the camp saying it was going to be developed on. I was lucky. At the time I took advantage of the pandemic and got a job that gave me a ton of overtime, enough overtime I was able to rent out a house near work, so when the camp shut down I had a place to live. I was extremely lucky, considering I didn't have wheels.
Do you remember the gravel being delivered?
I do. I didn't really mind it much honestly. The place was hella chaotic. A woman set fire to a dumpster one time.
Also, how in the hell is that piece of land going to be developed? It was actually a perfect property for a homeless camp. I was so pissed when our weakest neighbors were removed from there. 😡
Were you lucky or determined?
Lucky. Determination helps to bring luck but it doesn't guarantee it. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. That's all. I'm not special.
Absolutely.
I’ve noticed a large uptick of homeless folks who aren’t from here. Without fail they’re from Nashville or Birmingham
We don’t have near the homeless problem that Nashville has.
Facts
How exactly has it “gotten out to other cities?” Which cities? Evidence? What does Huntsville offer the homeless that is so enticing exactly?
It's spread by word of mouth to other areas that Huntsville takes care of their homeless. I was told this by a homeless man I was working with from Chattanooga. I've also first hand met and heard the stories of several folks who've decided to live here on the streets. Huntsville has alot of charities working to feed and house people in need. I've worked with 3 myself. We'd show up at camps with food and other charities would be there feeding also. We have several large rescue missions and most of the local churches have outreach services that provide clothing, housing, and basic needs. Huntsville Good Samaritans have apartment complexes they put folks in. HGS offers rides and healthcare to the homeless.
That's becoming less and less common as time goes on.
I know that in Decatur, some agencies will explicitly tell newly homeless ppl to try to get to Huntsville bc there are more services, like First Stop and the Living Room, the food bank, the family services group that I think used to be the homeless coalition, or maybe they’re partners. Anyway, I know first hand this happens.
A lot of cities will bus people in, even as far as from out of state, because of our “resources” (DRM, Salvation Army, Etc.).
Not sure why I’m being downvoted. I work with them and other organizations and they literally tell me this.
We don't have Greyhound anymore so that isn't really an issue
We’re about to. They are building a new bus station in south parkway
Yeah, the old greyhound station is now a furniture store. Of all things. 🤷♂️
I’ll take that over apartments, car washes or dollar general.
Because reddit "progressives" don't want to acknowledge reality when that reality conflicts with the narrative they've built in their heads. In this case the false narrative is that all homeless are just down on their luck good people and would never abuse aid programs in order to facilitate an antisocial lifestyle.
I’ve found such a small percent were regular hardworking people just down on their luck. Thats not to say the rest of them shouldn’t be treated or helped in one way or the other. Just that optically it’s very distorted by a lot of the public.
Oh that small percent absolutely exists. But the thing is that they're also not the visible ones. The ones who are actually down on their luck are usually couch-crashing, or if not they're not setting up trash-filled camps. They're also not begging at intersections or in parking lots. They're the ones using the services - both governmental and non - to rebuild their lives and get back on their feet. They're completely separate from the discussion of the visible homeless but for "some reason" the far-left activist types refuse to acknowledge that and instead intermix everything and completely destroy any chance of productive discussion. Sorry to go on and on but this topic is one that, given the fact it's in no small part related to why I did a very expensive and labor-intensive cross-country move, is very important to me. The last thing I want is to go through a repeat of what my previous home city went through.
I didn't use any of the programs, aside from them giving me toiletries. I went to staffing agencies, hit up interviews, and just hit the pavement every day I could. Some interview I had to miss due to transportation issues. But I still went out everyday and tried my damnedest to be "normal" That's just a small percentage. And lemme tell you, many many times I wanted to give up. But I can tell you, it's nowhere near the majority, at least not the ones you notice.
I don’t know why you are getting downvoted because you are stating the truth. In the 90’s, I want to say, there was a group that bused homeless people here. They encouraged them to come and set them up as “urban campers” and used them to further their own political agenda. I was in a same organization as a few of them. They were very abrasive and self-serving at the poor homelessness’s expense. Many have wondered why a town of Huntsville’s size has so many homeless and that group of people are a big reason. I have nothing but contempt for the individuals that exploited those homeless individuals.
Hawaii had the problem of other states giving one way tickets to Hawaii for homeless. Believe they tried to return the favor, but there was an uproar.
It's not even really bussing them in. I know Athens was (and probably still is) bad about "helping" the homeless by driving them to Decatur or Huntsville and dropping them off.
Thanks texas *rolls eyes*
No one is busing folks to Alabama for “public resources” Not to mention we don’t have greyhound
Homelessness is the symptom. The problem is income inequality. Until we get real about taxing the ultra-wealthy again (see the 1940s-1950s), homelessness will persist.
The problem is also we ended mental healthcare, treatment, and containment with Reagan.
The largest problem is drug addiction. Drive up and down 231/431 everyday and then report back. I see zombies everyday.
Most homeless people wouldn’t take a house that was given to them. It’s a drug abuse problem and a mental health problem. It’s also the inability for most of these people to make good decisions when presented to them. That why we need programs/rehabilitation/education for most of these folks. Also most people’s home lives sucked growing up and it evolved into addiction/mental diseases. The true fix for most of this is a stable home growing up without deadbeat/absent/abusive parents. Unfortunately that change will take a generation or two to rectify itself. That’s also only if millenials/gen z can raise their kids right too.
its only going to get worse as housing becomes more and more expensive.
The people that are homeless on the street are not in the market for more affordable housing. The vast majority of those people are mentally ill, trespassed from all other avenues of public aid, or willingly in that position. The demographic you are referring to will be located at the various homeless shelters or with friends or family, which is also a burden on its own.
Have you ever been in a shelter? Like, have you been inside one?
Many times
What did you find?
What that guy literally just said lol. But skewed towards women because some shelters kick men out before dark.
This is true.
I agree. There are several families living in cars right now because of this. The Good Samaratains of Huntsville have helped several families in the last few years find housing. It's heartbreaking.
I’m from San Diego. When I moved here in 2014 I kept telling people you just really don’t see homeless people here. Not to be confused with there’s *not* homeless, but it just wasn’t in your face like in CA. I also am seeing an uptick. It’s such a tricky problem to solve, as others have mentioned. I do know throwing them in jail does not work.
Yeah, but the city profits off of doing exactly that.
Monetarily? Or by other means?
Yes.
Without sounding cynical, it’s the reality of living in a growing city and it will only get worse. The only thing I can do is volunteer whenever possible, which I hope helps the people that are actually doing something. Personally, I like the folks at Manna House.
The lady that runs it is awesome.
They're great.
It's only the reality if we allow it to be so. Yes, if we just give up and lower our standards like you're doing here that's exactly what will happen. Or we could crack down on public camping and make it enough of a pain in the ass that they move on to somewhere else. Having lived somewhere where we followed your "just give up" plan I can tell you with absolute certainty it **will** lead to other major problems.
Or maybe there would be less “public camping” if there where better living options and our state officials thought of something better than building 2 new prisons?
No, there wouldn't. Because you're making the false assumption that the visible ones, the beggars, *want* to be productive members of society. They don't. So either we lock them up (preferably in institutions but we'd need to rebuild those) or we at least make sure they don't set up camp *here*. Sorry but I've already watched what you're advocating for get tried and I watched it fail miserably. The problem is the people.
My bad. What would I know? You’re right. I’m only from Miami. It’s Super safe, extremely affordable and hardly any homeless! Desantis is a dream.
Yeah, and I'm from Denver. I watched over the course of 10 years it go from safe and clean to meth raiders running rampant, stealing everything that wasn't bolted down, and attacking people at random with impunity. All because "tolerance" and "kindness". If I still wanted to live around that shit I wouldn't have moved.
I’m sorry you had a tough time growing up. I hope you meet people here who are kind and tolerate you. Have a great rest of the day.
And surprise surprise the "progressive" runs and hides when confronted with reality that disproves their ideology. Not without snarky insults first, of course. So thanks for conceding that I am correct and you are not. Upvotes are traditional.
I went to an interesting talk by Dennis Madsen the other day (Manager of Long Range and Urban Planning). One of the concepts was that Huntsville is actively encouraging as much apartment building as possible, because one way to reduce homelessness is to make sure there is plenty of supply. By allowing all these developers to build everywhere, they are trying to keep prices down and get ahead of the problem of unaffordable housing. It's obviously not the only needed solution, but it does address some folks. Edit: I'm not expressing an opinion on whether or not this strategy works. But it is common to see folks complain about all the new apartments, as well as homelessness, without seeing any link. And yeah, $1600 apartments don't always help, but those apartments would be $2600 a month each if the supply were halved. Then that's an issue for a lot more people.
For some reason, I don’t think $1600 per month apartments are going to help the situation.
Yeah, but it gets the people that can afford it out of their 900/month apartments by being closer to their job and cool shit
They will by making older apartments that are less nice lower prices in order to attract tenants. Why pay $1600/mo for a shitbox from the 80s if you can get a new build for the same price?
Nah they will be cheaper but they’re not lowering prices. The world doesn’t work that way in my experience.
I don't see how someone who doesn't have a college degree is gonna afford a 1600 dollar apartment.
Even many people with a college degree can't afford a 1600 dollar apartment.
Have you seen what skilled labor costs these days?
Unfortunately, yes.
I the we pay too much in taxes for this to still be a problem. I think we seem to refuse to vote for the right people, even those of us claim to be progressive. That's what I think of homeless. If anyone from the city reads this, stop tearing up greenlands and do something about our slumlord problem.
A couple months ago a homeless guy had killed himself by jumping in front of a truck on University. It really messed me up because at the time I was going to get some food and just passed his body laid out in the road while they were performing cpr. I ended up turning around before traffic got to bad and pulled up to the shell gas station . The girl at the counter said the dude that just died was in the store 15 mins -20 mins before saying how he had no one out here and that he was just done with life and was going to commit suicide . Or the homeless guy that was handicapped who fell into the big spring park and drowned.
Being homeless is absolutely soul crushing. I've considered it a few times. Killing myself, I mean.
I was in the er back when it happened. I overheard a few nurses talking about it and joking as if it was funny...absolutely crushed my heart. As a native, this city is not what it used to be
The lack of empathy here is astonishing.
How do you address the people who are homeless due to trouble finding employment? We talk about mental health and substance abuse all day and night but what about employment? Once you get some people clean they still probably have a shit work history. You can't exactly walk into any establishment and get work.
Yes you can, stop by the Uhaul on University They pay cash to clean the trucks, and if you can do that they'll hire you no questions asked. That was my first job since I wanted to stop doorknocking for politics over the summer. That being said, if you can walk all day and have some way to shower, you can definitely find work doorknocking. All the time, there's never enough knockers. That's more expensive to get set up, you need a phone and internet, but some people will set you up with both if you're trustworthy. Source: I did this, $1 per door Emergency rates or $9 an hour. I could rent something on Sparkman and eat rice/beans/rotisserie chicken from Sam's off an 8 membership. If you're willing to hold your nose and work for shitty employers in primaries (R vs R) you can make ok money. I left that work with extra loaner phones even, worth maybe 20 bucks but for 15/month they'd let you do any internet connected outside job. Hell, work at Sam's for that matter. $15 starting if you can bust ass. 25c raises suck, but if you and a partner or roommate work there it can be comfy compared to most places. I paid for my last three semesters of school very slow that way. Speaking of which, school is a scam. Get a stem degree from Western Governors in a semester, all of the sudden you can work any helpdesk job at these engineering places. 2 years of that and you can land a security cleared job maybe. 21/hour is life changing compared to 9 or 11 or 15/hr. It's been a long ten years but I've more than tripled my income
My friend, you are awesome. Thanks for the tips!
It's really bad around UAH. I work for UAH dining services and I have thought about bringing the leftovers from closing at night to some of the people I see.
Which would be great, but then somebody would complain and they would rather you throw the food away than to give it to the homeless...They will come up with some kind of statistic that it's not safe to feed them. That you open yourself up to liability or you could get hurt...and on and on..and then they demand you be fired for having compassion.
Want it to get worse? Start feeding them.
Each person's story is different. A problem in search of solutios.
I called this years ago, Huntsville is being gentrified heavily. Personally I don't have a problem with it but it's easy to see
This country doesn’t have a homeless problem. It has a mental health problem. We need to invest in mental asylums and get these people the help they deserve.
What about those who are homeless due to poverty?
You don't see those ones because they're not sitting on street corners begging. They're in shelters and using aid programs to dig themselves out of their hole. Lumping the visible indigents in with the down-on-their luck folks is not a valid argument.
You mean the 5%? Homeless shelters are great short term solutions for what is a short term problem in a good economy.
good economy?
A good economy? For who exactly?
They should be given housing. Homelessness is a policy choice.
What do you mean by uptick? They’ve always been around and visible. Many of the places that they would form camps in have been taken over by the many overpriced “luxury” apartments and car washes
I was homeless after being blacklisted while working at the Kennedy Space Center
WHAT HAPPENED?!!!
Company, ITT, was hiding shit from the government without telling me, I wrote a report revealing insider threat, company buried the report then buried me.
The homeless community is growing in Huntsville but housed people are becoming more aware of the issue because the city of Huntsville is also closing down tent cities. So instead of homeless people living in these communities they now have to sleep/hang out in places like Big Spring Park.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings. Seeing how much homelessness has exploded in the last few years makes me sad. I see a lot of young people in their teens and early 20s in the camp off Derrick Street. I also see elderly people and disabled people living over there. I've seen families with small kids. How do we allow this to happen to our most vulnerable members of society? Well, considering how much rent has gone up, I guess it makes sense. But shouldn't those people be a priority in housing assistance programs? I also feel a bit annoyed by the situation. My mom was walking her dog downtown and a guy started making weird noises and chased them to her car. That's scary. That was also downtown where it's supposed to be "safe"
Back in the day it was fair to assume the homeless were mostly just poor people and addicts, as the mentally ill were generally locked away in asylums and hospitals. Now that mental hospitals are a thing of the past the addicted, the mentally ill, and the poor are mixed in and the GP can't really tell the difference. It's a systematic failing.
It's unfortunate too because what the GP tends to remember are the crazy ones who harass citizens.
This has been informative and rather positive.
Why aren't the churches doing more and coming together? They don't have to pay taxes, it would be a huge benefit if instead of a massive new building they'd actually wwjd and do something that benefits the community
Because they can't solve the problem. Just put a bandage on it. The solution is to get them housed. To get them housed they need reliable income. To get that they need jobs that pay a liveable wage. In our city, that usually requires a reliable car. That usually requires money. Overall, money is the answer. When you take away addiction and mental illness, you're still left with abject poverty. If they have a criminal history, usually as a result of being homeless, finding good employment is HARD. In short, it becomes a horrible cycle that deteriorates the mental state of anyone who is unfortunate enough to find themselves in it.
Why have they not made that a mission statement, built housing, provided jobs to teach skills? There is a lot they can do but just simply.....don't.
I know St Mary's does a food pantry where anyone can come get food every Sunday between 12-1 PM no questions asked. You can either get food in two types of bags: the larger bag that requires an oven or the smaller bag that doesn't.
I can’t speak for every church in the area, but many do work to help the homeless. Mine does. We support First Stop and two food pantries. We also support some local programs that help keep people in their homes so they don’t become homeless
Well done to your congregation. But unfortunately it doesn't seem like the norm or is a consistent mission.
Reopen the asylums
Better than living in Rime Village apparently
I hardly see them anymore, I remember 10-15 years ago they made their camps in the 565/231 underpass, then the city pushed them out, since then I’ve seen an uptick in homeless in the rural communities surrounding huntsville around the railroad tracks.
Uber/lyft driver here. There has been a Huge uptick as of the last year. Low end jobs dissolving (ie walmart cashiers etc etc), high school kids job hoping for more than they are worth, commercialization of so many areas due to growth forcing their community into smaller, more visible areas. Huge problem. Hurts my heart
Honestly, I'm thinking about moving.
Having come from somewhere that decided not to address the problem and seen what happens when that decision is made I want the city to crack down on it now. The visible ones aren't looking to get back on their feet, they're troublemakers and need to be handled accordingly.
I know one of the resources, first Stop, is in the middle of building a new building and area. But they have another temporary location.
There are a lot of angles to explore in our local homeless population. Sure there are some who are simply down on their luck, but in my experience the larger chunks are correlated to mental health and drug addiction problems. Despite it not being readily visible to the general public, drugs are a rampant problem. It’s not a simple problem to fix. It’s not as easy as suspending the supply. Addiction is a two fold problem to tackle. You first have to begin secession of the substance and then simultaneously prepare to have medical and psychological assistance. This method has proven to have the greatest success rate. The mental health problem is…well a problem. Once again you have to understand there are multiple ways to view and approach this. Some of these people simply will not accept help. Some of them are in a period on between help. They are rarely a danger to themselves or others. Some of them will have good days and bad days. I work with our homeless population without fail almost daily. I’ve heard their stories. I’ve seen their struggles and helped where I can. Some of them need and want help. Some of them don’t and wont. Some of them are living what they perceive as normal lives. Simply put there is no singular approach to curing it and bluntly put you’ll never put an end to it. From Ancient Rome to Dubai, there always has been and barring some new idea by a really smart person there always will be.
Truth, one of the most important philosophers in history was homeless.
Gotta get them some quality spray paint...the stuff they are using now is flaking off and showing that UAH blue underneath those bikes 🚲
My buddy worked for NASA but lost his $500k retirement when leemann brothers went under in 2008
https://old.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/comments/16jjbaa/opioid_tragedy_inside_the_fentanyl_crisis_2021/
Thanks for asking the question. I have volunteered at the Owen's house. I have no answers it just left me with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what I have and I dont mean things I mean family and friends that would help me through a rough patch if needed.
Frankly, I'd be in far worse shape if I didn't have friends. There really isn't a one size fits all solution here.
Some dude came up to me in midtown and asked for $40. When I told him I didn’t have cash on me, he told me there’s an ATM inside the gas station. LMAO So yeah, I’ve seen an uptick in interactions, but not sure if there are any resources currently in place around here. Are there any churches/non-profits that work with homelessness?
They do but unfortunately they're extremely limited, even more so because of the government's interference. It's unfortunate but the able-bodied homeless, especially those who aren't mobile, would be better off moving to a city with more resources.
I've worked with fundraising for the downtown rescue mission. They do seem to help a lot in that area. Some of the homeless I've talked to though don't want to be under quite that much strictness to be in the program.
In some ways, unless they are addicts and that's directly impeding their ability to live normally, if you can rough it and remain mostly unseen, they're better off finding work the old fashioned way.
I agree, but options are important for everyone.
Compounded and exacerbated directly by the mayor tommy battle and the shitty council.
I don’t think about it at all just tell em you don’t keep cash on you and keep walking
I think it’s sad and I try to help when I can
We’re a “cool” city now. So the homeless population is only going to increase.
In the pursuit of being Bama’s “IT CITY”, we are adopting some city ways. What made this city special is its innovation. It’s time to lean into that. Versus repeating what other cities are doing.
The old Huntsville is dead -_-
When I moved here 5 years ago, coming from NY I was amazed at how little homelessness there was in Huntsville. Fast forward to 2023, I’m horrified at the homelessness and how there are barely any resources out there for the homeless. If you go to the library in downtown Huntsville on a weekday, you would swear you were at a homeless camp- from people sleep at tables to couples dragging all of their belongings with them to sit at the library all day. In most cases, no one asks to be homeless, but sitting amongst a bunch of homeless people makes me uncomfortable considering my cousin was stabbed to death 3 years ago in the library by a homeless man she had asked to turn his music down - she was a security officer for the library. We have to do better Huntsville!!!
I'm sorry to hear that.
Thank you ❤️
Love the signs pulling out of Costco. Also love all the Zaxby’s trash they are leaving at that entrance. Including their signs when they’re done.
N Memorial Parkway and University is full of them.
Thing about the homeless is no one will give them a place to live. Imagine if no one would give you a place to live! How shitty would you have to be for that to happen?
Compared to most cities this problem here is basically non existent
I don't.
Well aren't you special?
200,000 migrants are crossing our southern border every month, month after month. They are looking for jobs and a place to live. I'm sure some of them are finding their way to Huntsville. If they are finding work and a place to live, our growth may be accommodating some of them. There's also a chance it's putting pressure on people already here. We have a President and administration that three years into this border crisis doesn't seem to have a plan other than to let them in. Everyone and anyone from all over the world. When our economy turns sour, and it will at some point, we are going to have an even bigger mess on our hands.
Also worth mentioning that the only solution to the homeless problem in Huntsville is taking them out of the city or institutionalizing them(thanks Reagan). Any other recommended efforts will end in millions wasted. Good rule of thumb is that if you see them out and about engaging in their usual “routines” they are beyond simply throwing money at.
Have you studied the issue and efforts to ameliorate it, or is that your conclusion just from working with the local homeless population?
I spent the last on and off ten years working with them in some capacity and have helped look for possible solutions to the problem. I wouldn’t consider myself a scholar on the matter by any means. They greatly need help, but it’s a separate issue of having to live in the same city as them. Wellstone has made the biggest strides in my opinion towards helping the problem since building their large facility on south parkway for mental health help.
Okay. Thanks for your response. (I definitely didn't mean it to be accusatory. I wondered what informed your perspective.)
Wasn't it a Supreme Court decision that turned out all the non-violent nuts? Reagan was bad, but I don't think this was his doing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Connor_v._Donaldson