"Street sleepers" Crimes & Incidents, posted by Whaddawedo?, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2009 at 3:55 pm
According to the “police blotters” in last Thursday’s (5/28) “Daily” newspapers, Tuesday 5/26, at 5:44 AM, a group of people, some Palo Alto residents and some transient , were cited at/in the Bryant Street parking garage.
One paper said it was 6 for sleeping in the garage (Post), the other said it was 5 for open alcoholic beverage container (News).
The actual police report log for May 27 shows there were 6 who were cited at that time and place for 647(e) PC, “lodges in any building, structure…public or private, without the permission of the owner….” (No addresses or hometowns were listed on the police log sheet available online.)
Whatever the case may be, does anyone care to pose inexpensive solutions to resolve the problem(s)?
Posted by jim H., a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2009 at 11:05 pm
isn't this why we have the Opportunity Center?
I was going up from the lower level a few weeks ago, opened the door to go up the stairway and the door hit a man's sleeping bag. The man wasn't in it. He happened to be urinating in the stairway.
The garage stairways already smell like the ones under city hall.
Posted by Whaddawedo?, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 4, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Grey Hound's "solution" is the status quo, plus a ticket to Mexico for a "holiday" before checking in at Club Elmwood for the winter (beats the armory).
Posted by homeful so far, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jun 4, 2009 at 1:54 pm
There have been homeless vagrants on the street since the Reagan era. That is when I remember it starting. There are always sleeping bags of people sleeping downtown somewhere. There are people who must have been there going on 30 years now.
Sending people out of town on a Greyhound is not the solution, first it will not work, second wherever they go they are someone's problem.
I think in the long term it the best solution would be to give these people a place to live that is as cheap as clean as possible as long as they stay out of trouble. If they get in trouble, something like a work camp or jail.
Leaving them there is really annoying for years. Punishing them is useless. Pushing them off onto someone else is not fair. Prison is too expensive. It is said they used to take these people to the edge of whatever town and beat them up and kick them out. They have enough problems.
Isn't it better and cheaper in the long run to house them in some orderly way keeping them safe? Every once in a while some superior soul decides to take it on themselves to beat up or kill one of these people. Are we really at that level?
Posted by jim H., a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Jun 4, 2009 at 7:38 pm
there have been homeless people since long before Reagan.
Trying to "solve" the problem is futile. Many are unable to hold jobs for mental reasons. Is the military an option for those able? Many homeless are veterans, however, so not sure how successful that is. But, at least it gives them food, shelter and a job.
Posted by homeful so far, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jun 5, 2009 at 12:03 am
Jim H. ... there may always have been homeless people, but not in Palo Alto, and not for long, chronically. like we have seen since Reagan. You say they have mental reasons, and one thing Reagan did was to empty the mental hospitals and dump these people on the street.
I feel sorry for the homeless, but begging in the street is not the place for them, not to mention all the places they congregate.
They certainly are not ready for the military. They might be able to do something simple, but for me, as long as they stay out of trouble, it's a plus for everyone else.
Posted by Jake, a resident of another community, on Jun 5, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Why, "send them to Mexico"??
I'm sure Mexico does not want or need more poor people. People who don't want to or can't work, I'm sure are not needed in Mexico.
When was the last time you saw a Mexican or Latin panhandler?? most likely never. The vast majority are people who will and do work, any type they can get. Why don't the people who hold up the "will work for food" signs, actually hand out where they could possibly get picked up to do a hard days work?
Implicating Mexicans in Palo Alto's homeless/sleeping around the downtown area is simply not fact.
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