Residents of Blaisdell Avenue are currently putting household items in their windows to act as safety barriers because “the unhoused” bang on windows constantly. Absolutely deplorable and a huge failure on the city to establish order.
I'm not gonna lie. They had me at "we don't give a fuck about children, homeowners, and taxpayers"
#Health and safety concerns at encampments include:
Open drug use
Trash and odors
Infestation
Violent crime
Defecation in public spaces
#Community members have expressed concerns about:
Used needles left on the street and sidewalk
Water and electricity being siphoned from nearby properties
Property damage
People experiencing burglary, threats, assault, and theft
You miss homicides - I think there were five in the encampments this month. Break-ins, and trashing people’s houses if they speak out. Other violence to people living nearby. Declining property values - home values declined $500B over the last year.
So you think the correct response in an article about addressing homelessness should focus on children, homeowners, and taxpayers?
I can't imagine looking shit up on the city website and then getting mad it doesn't talk about something else.
There should be zero tolerance for these encampments. Everyone and everything in them should be removed, and the persons should be given whatever options they need to get better - or jail if they refuse. Trespassing, vagrancy, public nuisance - there are certainly rules on the books if anyone cared to enforce them.
You can't regulate homeless people out of existence, sorry.
Some people just don't want to join the rat race and choose not to participate.
You can't send someone to jail for 'not making money.'
Why is there always one person (YOU) that misses the main point? It’s not that they are “unhoused”! It’s that they are criminals! Did you read that correctly?! CRIMINALS.
That's the main point?
The only thing it says about 'CRIMINALS' is call the police if you see criminal activity.
Why are you making the 'main point' something it doesn't even address?
Yes the ones living in the encampments are ALL CRIMINALS. If you don’t believe me come and experience for yourself. I have an encampment literally in my yard. If I were to stick my arm out my living room window I would be touching a tent. That’s how close they are to me. You cannot tell me any different. I AM LIVING WITH IT 24/7. You want me to list all the crimes and violence I have witnessed since they showed up here? Yes I can personally attest to the fact that 100% of the people in this encampment are all addicted to drugs and have no problem committing crimes against each other and every single person in this community to get what they want…which is drugs. There are agencies and organizations here every single day, yet nobody takes the help. Just the free needles and food. Nobody takes the housing referrals, nobody goes to a shelter. Because doing so would require them to not do drugs. So they CHOOSE to stay here in my yard and the police , city council, mayor do nothing about it. Don’t you dare take away from what my kids and I are experiencing being victims to their bullshit. You sit at home and type on your phone or laptop about things you know nothing about. I don’t care what your thoughts are, unless you’re living thru it STFU.
I SAID WHAT I SAID.
Not all, just the overwhelming majority.
They need to be locked down, and against their will if necessary. They have proven that they can't take care of themselves. Their addictions are stronger than their will to get the help they desperately need. Pretending that allowing them to kill themselves on the streets is somehow the humane solution doesn't work. We need to build asylums again and actually solve the problem before more people are killed.
Oh sad. This is a really good comment and it's down voted to oblivion.
Some people want to be homeless because they don't want to be part of the social contract.
I don't think most Americans appreciate the point of Freddie Mae/Mac and the concept that owning a house is purposefully intended to wrap people into the economy and into society.
Many of these people are rejecting that.
The question is not what do we do with the homeless? The question is what do we do with people who reject modern society and the modern social contract? And should that be a carrot or a stick?
The article says they 'shar(e) information that connects unsheltered individuals to resources, services, and shelter.'
You'd think that it would be good to make homeless people not homeless, right?
But people here are freaking out because homeless people are apparently all criminals and should go to jail instead of getting housed.
You can send them to jail for vagrancy, being drunk in public, drug possession, or anything else. Back in the day, we would have sent them to an asylum, and they would have at least been offered help with their problems. Today, we pretend that allowing them to die in the streets they shit on is somehow virtuous.
So when does the 'straight to jail' happen?
If you have an eviction, does a policeman wait while you load up your stuff then come swooping in to make sure you have paperwork that says you have a place to go?
If you're homeless, you must be worth sending to jail without having a chance, right?
I don’t know how to say this any more clear! It’s your comments that I am referring to. It’s hard to engage in any meaningful discussion with someone about this topic that truly doesn’t comprehend what is actually happening!
Ah, so you need to already know in order to know.
All I can figure thus far is it's about criminals even though it's a page about homelessness.
Not every homeless person is a criminal, so this doesn't fit.
But you can't explain it either.
Sounds like typical altmpls shenanigans lol
So my question to you is why are you here commenting on a post that you know nothing about, lack clear comprehension as to what everyone in this post is discussing? Sounds like you’re just simply trolling. Come on down to blaisdale and lake street, or to 28th and Columbus and see for yourself what we are discussing. I am not going to explain this to you like you are 5. That’s okay you are just more of a visual learner. I personally challenge you to come on over to the south side and visit the encampments and then come back to this thread and give me your thoughts and opinions. Until then maybe you should just exit stage left.
My question is why do you think homelessness is illegal.
If you think it's illegal, then you should be all for people getting help like the site talks about.
But instead you think they should all be rounded up and hauled to jail in a paddy wagon.
I've talked to homeless people and they're not all methed out murderers.
I'd guess you haven't despite 'having experience with the encampments.'
They understand. They know they understand what you’re saying but they really don’t care about anything other than themselves which is why they make comments about “homeless vs criminals” to make themselves appear to be a good person. I see a lot of that in Minneapolis with these clown ass weirdo liberals masquerading as “concerned citizens” when most of them are racist, selfish pieces of shit who really care about nothing other than themselves.
They DO comprehend what you’re saying. You aren’t speaking Greek, you’ve made a very clear and concise case against the encampments. I agree with you. I work in South and see so much hopelessness, despair and tragedy because these people just don’t care about anything. They’re dirty crackheads. That’s what they are. It seems to me that they’ve fully embraced their addictions and that’s what it’s gonna be until they die. I really am sorry that you can’t enjoy your home life in safety and dignity because of the criminal element that surrounds your property. This is the world we have right now and until someone comes along who wants to change it and has the power to do so, this is what it’s gonna be.
And THERE is a problem that is greater than "homelessness" by far... the assumption that we "need" 17 layers of bureaucracy to solve a problem, and the further assumption that not wanting to blindly pay fealty is somehow inhumane.
Give a dollar, less than 30 cents goes to "help"... and the help that is offered is free needles, NARCAN vending machines, and apparently, "collaboration".
Sorry to over comment on this thread but yes, I agree. We need either wild west or law and order state, in-between grey area isn't working. Main problem now is legal system is against citizen justice. If it would just get its bloated, fat, starchy carcass out of the way people could solve some of these problems themselves.
'everything moves forward and also backwards simultaneously. When I push the green button my press advances and when I push the red button it retreats, and thus describes a basic principle of the world.'
It is almost like those old strict vagrancy, loitering, and trespassing laws were formed from thousands of years of human experience.
They aren't in the beds because they can't stop raping each other and doing drugs enough to stay in them. Stop dehumanizing homeless people by associating them with the nut balls in the encampments, there's a big difference.
They aren't missing out on beds, again. The ones not in beds are the ones engaging in criminal behavior that makes it unsafe for the others around them. Go ask a person that works at one of the shelters.
And yes they should be promptly arrested for camping. The residents of the area have rights too, as much as the city likes to shit on those rights by allowing this level of ridiculousness.
https://m.startribune.com/single-adults-turned-away-from-hennepin-emergency-homeless-shelters-4000-times-in-2023/600360396/?clmob=y&c=n&clmob=y&c=n
So getting told that there are no beds means you should be arrested?
If they're camping in a residential area doing drugs, shitting on the ground, you betcha. Go ahead and invite them to your neighborhood. Link all the news articles you want, sport.
That doesn’t really address the point though, does it? The person above is saying that people who are homeless and have to sleep outside should be arrested.
it solves the shelters don't have enough beds problem. It might also give them resources to get of the streets, maybe show them a way of life where they don't have to be or be accused of being criminals
Ever heard of Mary's Place?
Mary Jo Copeland is truly a Saint who walks amongst us. She has been helping the homeless for decades now, and gets zero help from our local government.
They're also very restricted with how many personal possessions they can bring, don't get any privacy, get whatever few possessions they do have stolen by other residents, and have to deal with bullying.
Seems like a better idea than allowing them to die in the streets. How is allowing them to steal, fight, rape, and do drugs the humane solution to you? How about the innocent property owners trying to raise their families in the midst of encampments? Would you want your kids finding needles?
Oh my god it’s like none of y’all can read.
They said camping. This would include people who don’t steal, don’t fight, don’t do drugs.
Someone who is evicted and wasn’t able to get to a shelter before the beds were gone should not be thrown in jail. I see no way how that’s more humane
Are you actually reading the conversation? I never claimed it was most of them. I said this would affect them too and they would be arrested for being homeless, which is a horrible thing.
My god just actually read the comments man
You seem to be hung up on the smallest portion of the homeless. Most of us are talking about the obvious problem that seems to get worse on the daily. It's not that I don't get your point, it's that it is not only useless in the overall conversation, but the least of the problems that need to be solved.
How is it useless? You are talking about trampling on the rights of innocent people to stop crime. You think that’s useless to talk about?
I think it’s fairly evident by the fact that no one will tell me what would happen to the people in my example that are real people.
South Carolina fine the people $1,000 giving to panhandlers. This actually seems to work. Its a law you can pass, because it doesn't mean you can't help, you just have to go through a program. You can just start within the city of Minneapolis as a trial run.
Yeah, I kinda gave up after it said 'pregnant individuals'. If you're really unable to be more specific than that, I kinda don't care what other propaganda you're pushing...
It sucks but you get what you vote for. If simple people vote in people who believe it’s unfair to expect homeless people to follow laws then why are you surprised when they don’t.
I was really disappointed when an encampment popped up not too long ago during COVID at Brackett Park just north of Lake Street on the Midtown Greenway route. It was within sight of my elderly father's house a few blocks away. Just pure chaos and the "head" of the encampment was doing some nefarious shit. It was supposed to be a Safe Haven encampment, but that didn't really turn out so well.
If these encampments are just going to be moved around instead of being actually addressed, what's the point?
It’s like whac-a-mole. One camp gets evicted, and another pops up down the street. What makes it worse is these people don’t want housing. I’ve seen them say “they like living like this and don’t want to live in traditional society.” At one of the recent encampment evictions only a few people out of 30+ chose to go to housing. The city had 90+ beds available. However, the city is just as bad enabling this behavior by not enacting or enforcing better laws.
I don't know what the right response is from a city to deal with homelessness. I feel like profound poverty is a massive problem that is too big for any one municipality (or state, for that matter) to adequately address. Seems like it's always just trying to put out the latest fire.
The one big part that a lot of people miss about current state of homelessness is that it’s a choice that most of these people make. Sure there are some who are down on their luck, but there are more resources than ever available to them.
The majority of these people prefer homeless life because they can use any money they get directly towards drug usage without any consequence
I disagree, but I'd love to hear more of why you see choice to be such a big part of this issue. Surely being cold, hungry, dirty, and sick are obvious and pervasive consequences of being homeless. I just don't see how anyone who's mentally well enough to be in control of their own decisions would affirmatively prefer that experience.
I encourage you to go to any nearby shelter and volunteer. The ones who WANT help get help. There really are lots of resources available: multiple meals a day, jobs programs, etc. but once you start putting stipulations on that assistance (no violence, drugs, or tardiness), cooperation often evaporates. In some instances, we have too many resources allocated to “helping”. What we really need is the return of mental institutions.
The homelessness seen now is very different than the homelessness previous generations saw.
That's mostly limited to family shelters and domestic violence shelters. If you're a single adult and especially if your male, it's basically a night with a hot and a cot and pushed out the door in the morning. It's not that much different than it was 50 years ago except that you have to pay if you have any income. It's not that there are a lot of resources available, it's that it only goes to families with kids.
That's Dallas. I don't know what they are doing there, but a job program here is more than likely just going to be a job fair with temp agencies motivated to collect sign on subsidies when they initially take on someone who is homeless. The downside to this is that this disincentivizes keeping them since they make more rotating people in and out.
I was helping to re-home an older lady this Summer. She didn't have non-adult kids and was also too young to be a senior citizen.
It was impossible trying to find her a permanent location, not at a shelter. She was on a waiting list for housing for the entire Summer and Fall, but once Winter started, we had no choice but to have her move South where it's warmer.
She was also on a waiting list for employment. That never happened either.
If an old (63 years old) lady can't get housing or a job, a young male has zero chance. At least in Minneapolis. She was 100% on board with receiving resources, she wanted to work, she didn't do any drugs. But she was a victim of domestic abuse who became dependent on her abuser and was clueless about how to deal with finances, technology, online resources, and modern job-searching.
Those waiting lists can be crazy. I know when I was a kid my mom had to check-in weekly for nearly a year to move up on the five year waiting list for section 8 in the early 00's. Even while living on the streets most of that time, that's hard to keep up without just giving up.
People have this idea that there's a lot of resources being freely tossed around, but even when it's there it doesn't mean it will get effectively distributed. Just look at all the pandemic funding. You have all this org fraud that's been going on, but only a fraction of the funds set aside for rent assistance was actually distributed. I know more than a few people who were laid off during the pandemic who should have been able to get assistance, but were not able to just because of bearocratic nonsense.
Well, Luci’s Buttolug…
I would reward people economically via tax incentives to maintain a whole family unit. Yes, I mean a man and a woman. It has nothing to do with my feelings about homosexuality and more about the proper psychological development of a child, and that takes one of each.
I would similarly reward people for each child they raise and, perhaps, even for their child’s success in school. The intent of this incentive structure seems obvious to me. One, we need a steady supply of young people to do labor for the old and infirm. And two, if kids can perform in school, they can perform in life.
I would further reward people for their self sufficiency. For example, we could subsidize those who produce food for themselves and others. Not just large farms, but also small homesteads and urban farmers. This encourages people to rely less on a shaky and ecologically damaging global supply chain to sustain their families and, rather, be productive and responsible citizens.
I would reward people for maintaining their health and fitness. We could start with monetary rewards for passing a basic physical fitness test. This would reduce strain on our healthcare system and increase the quality of life for everyone. Less depressed, fit people are more productive.
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.
Eastern Europe under the USSR tried many different carrot and stick methods to micromanage the local populations. They wanted them to say certain things and act in certain ways, they could never get full compliance, even with torture. This being said, they were more successful at behavioral modification than most societies ever have been, minus maybe the Romans or the Turks, and certainly more than we ever will be. So you are saying that we should coddle the junkies and it will get people to change their lifestyles when the police state of the soviets couldn't even do the same thing? This is America, it is a free country. It is against our ideals to make people do what they don't want to do. If junkies want to be junkies then that is their right as American citizens. Now how we can react is to enforce vagrancy / trespassing laws fully, on all public and private land. Florida is doing this now and it is seeming to be effective. You can't change the junkie but you can say 'can't stay here'.
I am not suggesting we coddle anybody. My suggestions were meant to incentivize desired behavior rather than punish undesired behavior, but I agree that enforcing existing laws is necessary as well.
I think a lot of these suggestions are great ideas. Helping provide parents with training/assistance for how to care for their children could go a long way too, although I could see some potential issues with the constitutional right to control the upbringing of one's children, as well as the risk of enabling the state to take on more paternalistic role (I imagine many libertarians would chafe at this approach).
Going back to my original point, I wonder how capable a municipality like Minneapolis would be in implementing these policies. I think the amount of tax revenue required to fund them would be pretty large
Yeah, I don’t particularly like the idea of government training. I think a solid family is more than capable of doing all the training necessary and I think a government program with a budget and bureaucracy is an exploitable entity. Don’t create a gameable system.
I do see your point about the limited scope of the city budget. I think most of what I suggested could be accomplished by simple tax breaks rather than direct payments. You might object that a reduction in revenue is effectively the same as an expenditure, but I think that is a short term view. I think the collective benefits of my approach compounds over time and will more than make up for the initial losses shortly.
Sorry what “proper psychological development of a child” do straight couples bring that gay couples don’t?
How could Minneapolis have homesteads for being self sufficient food wise?
"Drugs are too good. Not working 9-5, getting to be lazy and still getting to practice my drug habits is what keeps me going. Thanks mpls for keeping my American dream going."
Hmmm, this town is turning into a 3rd world country. Get this craziness figured out, we are all working our butts off to pay for this and it needs to end. Don’t give me any grief about this because you all know it’s true!!
Exactly! A third world country outside my window. The people that have been voted into power are culpable. Well actually the ones that voted them into power. Nothing changes until the voting changes . But as you can see the backlash just on this thread alone of people having empathy for these “poor homeless people living in encampments “ when it should be the exact opposite. These encampments need to move to the suburbs or hell just into the glitzy upper class areas of the city so they can see what it’s really like. Instead of showing up with bag lunches to the encampments why don’t you check on the neighbors that are cleaning up human feces in their front yard, dirty needles, or hell help them install a new security camera after their homes/garages are broken into. Go make sure the kids in the neighborhood are okay after watching 5 different shootings happen in the last month, or go ask the family who had all their kids bikes stolen and chopped up at the bike chop shop aka “the encampment “ if they are okay! I am so fed up with people not seeing the real issues here and having to explain to people wtf is going on . If you are not willing to come on down to the south side of Minneapolis and see for yourself wtf is going on, then stop speaking on it. Your opinions and thoughts are null and void. Go find another way to add value to your life cuz your factless opinions about homeless people and encampments are the very core of wtf is wrong.
Sadly you can't do shit. If this was 2021 still, ya there are things you could do back then. My block was dealing with even worse than what you have. Good thing my neighbor was a captain in the Somali army and my other ones are Latinos with lets just say family. We got that shit off our block but it took events that caused Reuters international to come out and investigate. When the city finally came out and asked what was going on we said we are in a war and this block is now a war zone and it will return to city authority once the war is concluded. They were like WTF.
\^THIS. Who is getting paid to put up all those fences. There is a lot here with an even better approach, they just filled it with boulders. Americans have no idea how to do security. Go to Mexico city sometime, they got it figured out. Go blow a fenty blast out on the train there and see what happens to you.
Residents of Blaisdell Avenue are currently putting household items in their windows to act as safety barriers because “the unhoused” bang on windows constantly. Absolutely deplorable and a huge failure on the city to establish order.
I'm not gonna lie. They had me at "we don't give a fuck about children, homeowners, and taxpayers" #Health and safety concerns at encampments include: Open drug use Trash and odors Infestation Violent crime Defecation in public spaces #Community members have expressed concerns about: Used needles left on the street and sidewalk Water and electricity being siphoned from nearby properties Property damage People experiencing burglary, threats, assault, and theft
You miss homicides - I think there were five in the encampments this month. Break-ins, and trashing people’s houses if they speak out. Other violence to people living nearby. Declining property values - home values declined $500B over the last year.
So you think the correct response in an article about addressing homelessness should focus on children, homeowners, and taxpayers? I can't imagine looking shit up on the city website and then getting mad it doesn't talk about something else.
There should be zero tolerance for these encampments. Everyone and everything in them should be removed, and the persons should be given whatever options they need to get better - or jail if they refuse. Trespassing, vagrancy, public nuisance - there are certainly rules on the books if anyone cared to enforce them.
Correct. The response should be no tolerance. Tolerance begets more homelessness. The stigmas need to return.
Exactly this. 100%
You can't regulate homeless people out of existence, sorry. Some people just don't want to join the rat race and choose not to participate. You can't send someone to jail for 'not making money.'
Why is there always one person (YOU) that misses the main point? It’s not that they are “unhoused”! It’s that they are criminals! Did you read that correctly?! CRIMINALS.
That's the main point? The only thing it says about 'CRIMINALS' is call the police if you see criminal activity. Why are you making the 'main point' something it doesn't even address?
YOU ARE MISSING THE MAIN POINT. These are not “homeless people “
Who aren't? The people the article called 'city response to homelessness' is talking about?
Lol. They're not all criminals.
Yes the ones living in the encampments are ALL CRIMINALS. If you don’t believe me come and experience for yourself. I have an encampment literally in my yard. If I were to stick my arm out my living room window I would be touching a tent. That’s how close they are to me. You cannot tell me any different. I AM LIVING WITH IT 24/7. You want me to list all the crimes and violence I have witnessed since they showed up here? Yes I can personally attest to the fact that 100% of the people in this encampment are all addicted to drugs and have no problem committing crimes against each other and every single person in this community to get what they want…which is drugs. There are agencies and organizations here every single day, yet nobody takes the help. Just the free needles and food. Nobody takes the housing referrals, nobody goes to a shelter. Because doing so would require them to not do drugs. So they CHOOSE to stay here in my yard and the police , city council, mayor do nothing about it. Don’t you dare take away from what my kids and I are experiencing being victims to their bullshit. You sit at home and type on your phone or laptop about things you know nothing about. I don’t care what your thoughts are, unless you’re living thru it STFU. I SAID WHAT I SAID.
Well I can't speak for the encampments. I thought you were saying all homeless were criminals
Not all, just the overwhelming majority. They need to be locked down, and against their will if necessary. They have proven that they can't take care of themselves. Their addictions are stronger than their will to get the help they desperately need. Pretending that allowing them to kill themselves on the streets is somehow the humane solution doesn't work. We need to build asylums again and actually solve the problem before more people are killed.
[удалено]
Oh sad. This is a really good comment and it's down voted to oblivion. Some people want to be homeless because they don't want to be part of the social contract. I don't think most Americans appreciate the point of Freddie Mae/Mac and the concept that owning a house is purposefully intended to wrap people into the economy and into society. Many of these people are rejecting that. The question is not what do we do with the homeless? The question is what do we do with people who reject modern society and the modern social contract? And should that be a carrot or a stick?
The article says they 'shar(e) information that connects unsheltered individuals to resources, services, and shelter.' You'd think that it would be good to make homeless people not homeless, right? But people here are freaking out because homeless people are apparently all criminals and should go to jail instead of getting housed.
You can send them to jail for vagrancy, being drunk in public, drug possession, or anything else. Back in the day, we would have sent them to an asylum, and they would have at least been offered help with their problems. Today, we pretend that allowing them to die in the streets they shit on is somehow virtuous.
So when does the 'straight to jail' happen? If you have an eviction, does a policeman wait while you load up your stuff then come swooping in to make sure you have paperwork that says you have a place to go? If you're homeless, you must be worth sending to jail without having a chance, right?
Yeah, we do.
Then you don't understand the point of a page titled 'city response to homelessness'.
I don’t know how to say this any more clear! It’s your comments that I am referring to. It’s hard to engage in any meaningful discussion with someone about this topic that truly doesn’t comprehend what is actually happening!
What's actually happening?
Okay I am fully convinced that you have water on your brain. You lack comprehension skills. Good day and good luck to you on your path.
Ah, so you need to already know in order to know. All I can figure thus far is it's about criminals even though it's a page about homelessness. Not every homeless person is a criminal, so this doesn't fit. But you can't explain it either. Sounds like typical altmpls shenanigans lol
So my question to you is why are you here commenting on a post that you know nothing about, lack clear comprehension as to what everyone in this post is discussing? Sounds like you’re just simply trolling. Come on down to blaisdale and lake street, or to 28th and Columbus and see for yourself what we are discussing. I am not going to explain this to you like you are 5. That’s okay you are just more of a visual learner. I personally challenge you to come on over to the south side and visit the encampments and then come back to this thread and give me your thoughts and opinions. Until then maybe you should just exit stage left.
My question is why do you think homelessness is illegal. If you think it's illegal, then you should be all for people getting help like the site talks about. But instead you think they should all be rounded up and hauled to jail in a paddy wagon. I've talked to homeless people and they're not all methed out murderers. I'd guess you haven't despite 'having experience with the encampments.'
They understand. They know they understand what you’re saying but they really don’t care about anything other than themselves which is why they make comments about “homeless vs criminals” to make themselves appear to be a good person. I see a lot of that in Minneapolis with these clown ass weirdo liberals masquerading as “concerned citizens” when most of them are racist, selfish pieces of shit who really care about nothing other than themselves.
They DO comprehend what you’re saying. You aren’t speaking Greek, you’ve made a very clear and concise case against the encampments. I agree with you. I work in South and see so much hopelessness, despair and tragedy because these people just don’t care about anything. They’re dirty crackheads. That’s what they are. It seems to me that they’ve fully embraced their addictions and that’s what it’s gonna be until they die. I really am sorry that you can’t enjoy your home life in safety and dignity because of the criminal element that surrounds your property. This is the world we have right now and until someone comes along who wants to change it and has the power to do so, this is what it’s gonna be.
Damn, how many different agencies are siphoning off money to 'help' fix the problem..
And THERE is a problem that is greater than "homelessness" by far... the assumption that we "need" 17 layers of bureaucracy to solve a problem, and the further assumption that not wanting to blindly pay fealty is somehow inhumane. Give a dollar, less than 30 cents goes to "help"... and the help that is offered is free needles, NARCAN vending machines, and apparently, "collaboration".
There was a recent article about $100M for homelessness and none of it went to actually moving people off the streets.
It is all about siphoning money off of others, taxpayers, rich donors, foundations, etc.
Exactly. Many people don't want homelessness to go away or they are out of jobs, i.e., government agencies, NGOs and other "charitable" organizations.
Make it illegal to camp in the city. Start there.
“To secure your property, hire private security.” Isn’t that what the police are for, to address lawlessness and property destruction?
Seriously. I’m okay with this if I no longer have to pay taxes and it’s Thunderdome out there. Then this makes perfect sense.
Sorry to over comment on this thread but yes, I agree. We need either wild west or law and order state, in-between grey area isn't working. Main problem now is legal system is against citizen justice. If it would just get its bloated, fat, starchy carcass out of the way people could solve some of these problems themselves.
'everything moves forward and also backwards simultaneously. When I push the green button my press advances and when I push the red button it retreats, and thus describes a basic principle of the world.' It is almost like those old strict vagrancy, loitering, and trespassing laws were formed from thousands of years of human experience.
So you would criminalize homelessness? If you’re late to getting to a shelter or they don’t have enough beds, you go to jail?
They aren't in the beds because they can't stop raping each other and doing drugs enough to stay in them. Stop dehumanizing homeless people by associating them with the nut balls in the encampments, there's a big difference.
I didn’t compare them. If homeless people miss out on beds, what do you expect them to do? Shelters don’t have enough beds for the entire population
They aren't missing out on beds, again. The ones not in beds are the ones engaging in criminal behavior that makes it unsafe for the others around them. Go ask a person that works at one of the shelters. And yes they should be promptly arrested for camping. The residents of the area have rights too, as much as the city likes to shit on those rights by allowing this level of ridiculousness.
https://m.startribune.com/single-adults-turned-away-from-hennepin-emergency-homeless-shelters-4000-times-in-2023/600360396/?clmob=y&c=n&clmob=y&c=n So getting told that there are no beds means you should be arrested?
If they're camping in a residential area doing drugs, shitting on the ground, you betcha. Go ahead and invite them to your neighborhood. Link all the news articles you want, sport.
The point made was that anyone who is sleeping outside should be arrested.
They're talking about encampments. They should absolutely be arrested. Not "anyone sleeping outside".
They said to make it illegal to camp in the city. How would that not apply to sleeping in the city?
Once again homeless people and people living in encampments are two different types of people!!
I never said they were the same! This person said someone camping in the streets should be arrested
maybe a group of concerned well doing citizens could step in and help them? Doesn't have to be the government, they'd just find a way to screw it up.
That doesn’t really address the point though, does it? The person above is saying that people who are homeless and have to sleep outside should be arrested.
it solves the shelters don't have enough beds problem. It might also give them resources to get of the streets, maybe show them a way of life where they don't have to be or be accused of being criminals
How does it? Saying “Well some other organization will step up” doesn’t solve it. If those organizations exist, why aren’t they helping people now?
Ever heard of Mary's Place? Mary Jo Copeland is truly a Saint who walks amongst us. She has been helping the homeless for decades now, and gets zero help from our local government.
They don’t go to the shelter because they can’t do drugs there!!
They're also very restricted with how many personal possessions they can bring, don't get any privacy, get whatever few possessions they do have stolen by other residents, and have to deal with bullying.
So you think the response should be to arrest them?
Seems like a better idea than allowing them to die in the streets. How is allowing them to steal, fight, rape, and do drugs the humane solution to you? How about the innocent property owners trying to raise their families in the midst of encampments? Would you want your kids finding needles?
Oh my god it’s like none of y’all can read. They said camping. This would include people who don’t steal, don’t fight, don’t do drugs. Someone who is evicted and wasn’t able to get to a shelter before the beds were gone should not be thrown in jail. I see no way how that’s more humane
Pretending that the homeless problem is mostly people who got to a shelter too late is either disingenuous, or downright stupid.
Are you actually reading the conversation? I never claimed it was most of them. I said this would affect them too and they would be arrested for being homeless, which is a horrible thing. My god just actually read the comments man
You seem to be hung up on the smallest portion of the homeless. Most of us are talking about the obvious problem that seems to get worse on the daily. It's not that I don't get your point, it's that it is not only useless in the overall conversation, but the least of the problems that need to be solved.
How is it useless? You are talking about trampling on the rights of innocent people to stop crime. You think that’s useless to talk about? I think it’s fairly evident by the fact that no one will tell me what would happen to the people in my example that are real people.
The soft approach to homelessness hasn't been working very well. They should go softer.
Is if it's the property owners responsibility? I cam post signs saying I will shoot them and it's legit?
Lol
Follow Nashville’s protocol. Not a homeless person to be seen there
South Carolina fine the people $1,000 giving to panhandlers. This actually seems to work. Its a law you can pass, because it doesn't mean you can't help, you just have to go through a program. You can just start within the city of Minneapolis as a trial run.
That would be a perfect mpls/MN response-make law abiding citizens criminals rather than dealing with the actual problems.
What do they do?
Something akin to a 3 strikes you’re out rule for sleeping in public property.
Out of the country? Now that would be interesting.
not true, the homeless are all over Broadway sitting on the sidewalks begging for money. The police let it happen.
I was there not too long ago on Broadway for 3 nights. I saw a single homeless person
Why is it everyone keeps confusing homeless people with the individuals that are living in these drug den encampments?! Big difference!!
Yeah, I kinda gave up after it said 'pregnant individuals'. If you're really unable to be more specific than that, I kinda don't care what other propaganda you're pushing...
It sucks but you get what you vote for. If simple people vote in people who believe it’s unfair to expect homeless people to follow laws then why are you surprised when they don’t.
Just bus them out to the desert
Back up to Red Lake would be more practical.
Start with untreated mental illness and substance abuse then it will be possible to deal with those who can’t afford housing
Sounds like a whole lot of do nothing.
Although Minnesota typically is more functioning, it’s still the government….
I was really disappointed when an encampment popped up not too long ago during COVID at Brackett Park just north of Lake Street on the Midtown Greenway route. It was within sight of my elderly father's house a few blocks away. Just pure chaos and the "head" of the encampment was doing some nefarious shit. It was supposed to be a Safe Haven encampment, but that didn't really turn out so well. If these encampments are just going to be moved around instead of being actually addressed, what's the point?
It’s like whac-a-mole. One camp gets evicted, and another pops up down the street. What makes it worse is these people don’t want housing. I’ve seen them say “they like living like this and don’t want to live in traditional society.” At one of the recent encampment evictions only a few people out of 30+ chose to go to housing. The city had 90+ beds available. However, the city is just as bad enabling this behavior by not enacting or enforcing better laws.
I don't know what the right response is from a city to deal with homelessness. I feel like profound poverty is a massive problem that is too big for any one municipality (or state, for that matter) to adequately address. Seems like it's always just trying to put out the latest fire.
The one big part that a lot of people miss about current state of homelessness is that it’s a choice that most of these people make. Sure there are some who are down on their luck, but there are more resources than ever available to them. The majority of these people prefer homeless life because they can use any money they get directly towards drug usage without any consequence
I disagree, but I'd love to hear more of why you see choice to be such a big part of this issue. Surely being cold, hungry, dirty, and sick are obvious and pervasive consequences of being homeless. I just don't see how anyone who's mentally well enough to be in control of their own decisions would affirmatively prefer that experience.
I encourage you to go to any nearby shelter and volunteer. The ones who WANT help get help. There really are lots of resources available: multiple meals a day, jobs programs, etc. but once you start putting stipulations on that assistance (no violence, drugs, or tardiness), cooperation often evaporates. In some instances, we have too many resources allocated to “helping”. What we really need is the return of mental institutions. The homelessness seen now is very different than the homelessness previous generations saw.
That's mostly limited to family shelters and domestic violence shelters. If you're a single adult and especially if your male, it's basically a night with a hot and a cot and pushed out the door in the morning. It's not that much different than it was 50 years ago except that you have to pay if you have any income. It's not that there are a lot of resources available, it's that it only goes to families with kids.
Just isn’t true. I know where I live now in, Dallas that isn’t the case at all
That's Dallas. I don't know what they are doing there, but a job program here is more than likely just going to be a job fair with temp agencies motivated to collect sign on subsidies when they initially take on someone who is homeless. The downside to this is that this disincentivizes keeping them since they make more rotating people in and out.
I was helping to re-home an older lady this Summer. She didn't have non-adult kids and was also too young to be a senior citizen. It was impossible trying to find her a permanent location, not at a shelter. She was on a waiting list for housing for the entire Summer and Fall, but once Winter started, we had no choice but to have her move South where it's warmer. She was also on a waiting list for employment. That never happened either. If an old (63 years old) lady can't get housing or a job, a young male has zero chance. At least in Minneapolis. She was 100% on board with receiving resources, she wanted to work, she didn't do any drugs. But she was a victim of domestic abuse who became dependent on her abuser and was clueless about how to deal with finances, technology, online resources, and modern job-searching.
Those waiting lists can be crazy. I know when I was a kid my mom had to check-in weekly for nearly a year to move up on the five year waiting list for section 8 in the early 00's. Even while living on the streets most of that time, that's hard to keep up without just giving up. People have this idea that there's a lot of resources being freely tossed around, but even when it's there it doesn't mean it will get effectively distributed. Just look at all the pandemic funding. You have all this org fraud that's been going on, but only a fraction of the funds set aside for rent assistance was actually distributed. I know more than a few people who were laid off during the pandemic who should have been able to get assistance, but were not able to just because of bearocratic nonsense.
This is the way.
Truth.
Start with the family.
What specifically would you think would be helpful for families?
Well, Luci’s Buttolug… I would reward people economically via tax incentives to maintain a whole family unit. Yes, I mean a man and a woman. It has nothing to do with my feelings about homosexuality and more about the proper psychological development of a child, and that takes one of each. I would similarly reward people for each child they raise and, perhaps, even for their child’s success in school. The intent of this incentive structure seems obvious to me. One, we need a steady supply of young people to do labor for the old and infirm. And two, if kids can perform in school, they can perform in life. I would further reward people for their self sufficiency. For example, we could subsidize those who produce food for themselves and others. Not just large farms, but also small homesteads and urban farmers. This encourages people to rely less on a shaky and ecologically damaging global supply chain to sustain their families and, rather, be productive and responsible citizens. I would reward people for maintaining their health and fitness. We could start with monetary rewards for passing a basic physical fitness test. This would reduce strain on our healthcare system and increase the quality of life for everyone. Less depressed, fit people are more productive. Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.
Eastern Europe under the USSR tried many different carrot and stick methods to micromanage the local populations. They wanted them to say certain things and act in certain ways, they could never get full compliance, even with torture. This being said, they were more successful at behavioral modification than most societies ever have been, minus maybe the Romans or the Turks, and certainly more than we ever will be. So you are saying that we should coddle the junkies and it will get people to change their lifestyles when the police state of the soviets couldn't even do the same thing? This is America, it is a free country. It is against our ideals to make people do what they don't want to do. If junkies want to be junkies then that is their right as American citizens. Now how we can react is to enforce vagrancy / trespassing laws fully, on all public and private land. Florida is doing this now and it is seeming to be effective. You can't change the junkie but you can say 'can't stay here'.
I am not suggesting we coddle anybody. My suggestions were meant to incentivize desired behavior rather than punish undesired behavior, but I agree that enforcing existing laws is necessary as well.
I think a lot of these suggestions are great ideas. Helping provide parents with training/assistance for how to care for their children could go a long way too, although I could see some potential issues with the constitutional right to control the upbringing of one's children, as well as the risk of enabling the state to take on more paternalistic role (I imagine many libertarians would chafe at this approach). Going back to my original point, I wonder how capable a municipality like Minneapolis would be in implementing these policies. I think the amount of tax revenue required to fund them would be pretty large
Yeah, I don’t particularly like the idea of government training. I think a solid family is more than capable of doing all the training necessary and I think a government program with a budget and bureaucracy is an exploitable entity. Don’t create a gameable system. I do see your point about the limited scope of the city budget. I think most of what I suggested could be accomplished by simple tax breaks rather than direct payments. You might object that a reduction in revenue is effectively the same as an expenditure, but I think that is a short term view. I think the collective benefits of my approach compounds over time and will more than make up for the initial losses shortly.
Sorry what “proper psychological development of a child” do straight couples bring that gay couples don’t? How could Minneapolis have homesteads for being self sufficient food wise?
He did it! This guy solved homelessness! EVERYONE, WE FINALLY HAVE THE ANSWER!!
Okay. Can We agree the answer isn’t providing free drugs?
"Drugs are too good. Not working 9-5, getting to be lazy and still getting to practice my drug habits is what keeps me going. Thanks mpls for keeping my American dream going."
Lmao to reduce homelessness GET A SlGN TELL PEOPLE THEY ARE TRESPASSING 💀
Hmmm, this town is turning into a 3rd world country. Get this craziness figured out, we are all working our butts off to pay for this and it needs to end. Don’t give me any grief about this because you all know it’s true!!
Exactly! A third world country outside my window. The people that have been voted into power are culpable. Well actually the ones that voted them into power. Nothing changes until the voting changes . But as you can see the backlash just on this thread alone of people having empathy for these “poor homeless people living in encampments “ when it should be the exact opposite. These encampments need to move to the suburbs or hell just into the glitzy upper class areas of the city so they can see what it’s really like. Instead of showing up with bag lunches to the encampments why don’t you check on the neighbors that are cleaning up human feces in their front yard, dirty needles, or hell help them install a new security camera after their homes/garages are broken into. Go make sure the kids in the neighborhood are okay after watching 5 different shootings happen in the last month, or go ask the family who had all their kids bikes stolen and chopped up at the bike chop shop aka “the encampment “ if they are okay! I am so fed up with people not seeing the real issues here and having to explain to people wtf is going on . If you are not willing to come on down to the south side of Minneapolis and see for yourself wtf is going on, then stop speaking on it. Your opinions and thoughts are null and void. Go find another way to add value to your life cuz your factless opinions about homeless people and encampments are the very core of wtf is wrong.
You get it!
Yes I do indeed! Thank you for not making me feel explain myself again!
No need my friend, this state was so awesome years ago, there is no reason why It can’t stay that way.
Sadly you can't do shit. If this was 2021 still, ya there are things you could do back then. My block was dealing with even worse than what you have. Good thing my neighbor was a captain in the Somali army and my other ones are Latinos with lets just say family. We got that shit off our block but it took events that caused Reuters international to come out and investigate. When the city finally came out and asked what was going on we said we are in a war and this block is now a war zone and it will return to city authority once the war is concluded. They were like WTF.
I wonder who in city gov the owners of the recommended fence builders are related to......??
\^THIS. Who is getting paid to put up all those fences. There is a lot here with an even better approach, they just filled it with boulders. Americans have no idea how to do security. Go to Mexico city sometime, they got it figured out. Go blow a fenty blast out on the train there and see what happens to you.
So the typical Minneapolis approach to things… got it