A study in Dysfunction

I find NextDoor mostly useless.

But sometimes, it’ll produce a nugget that gets me going. Like last night. I ran upon this:

I didn’t block her name because she’s a councilwoman. A public figger.

Homeless encampments, you say?

From the link in the image:

DALLAS – After years of shutting down homeless encampments only to have another encampment pop up in a new location, the City of Dallas is considering creating sanctioned encampments.

The idea is to create a safe and clean space for the homeless who are resistant to going to a shelter.

“It’s not okay for people to stay on the street for 8 weeks,” said Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn.

The program is similar to those put into place in Los Angeles, Austin and San Antonio…

Many cities are thinking outside of the box, using tiny houses, shipping containers and even 3D printed homes to provide shelter to those without a home.

The sanctioned encampments do come at a cost. Estimates show it will cost $33,000 to $100,000 per person. – Many cities are thinking outside of the box, using tiny houses, shipping containers and even 3D printed homes to provide shelter to those without a home.

The sanctioned encampments do come at a cost. Estimates show it will cost $33,000 to $100,000 per person – Fox4News

No one should be outdoors for 8 weeks, says the good councilwoman.

Ok, then make them go to a shelter. Compel them to accept help from the countless number of churches around that have homeless outreach. She clearly is a middle aged hu-white, middle to upper class woman that probably hasn’t been around many homeless. If she had, she’d know that the one reason they refuse shelters or other city services is that they tend not let you use drugs or drink in their program, in their spaces.

And don’t think I’m being callous here. These are not ‘but for the grace of God go I folks’. Those ones are in the shelters and programs.

I’d walk by these guys all the time in the shopping center next to my old house. Specifically, near the beer & wine store. They want to grub enough money for a forty or some bum wine, get loaded and pass out. Same story when I was in DC.

They are outdoors because they need help, whether they want it or not. I’m betting if they build these shelters – AT 33-100K PER PERSON, they won’t allow them to drink and use in them. BTW that’s an OK years salary around here. One could get a small apartment and get on your feet with that kind of dough. There’s plenty of empty warehouse space around to build new shelters.

Meanwhile, tax paying slobs like me have to drive around (literally, sometimes) these people on axle busting streets. I don’t even go that far into Dallas County when I go and my poor truck gets PUNISHED. Dealing with the city is a trip through incompetence hell.

There’s a better way. This ain’t it.

Let’s take a look at Herself, shall we?

Her district, and the neighborhood she shows as resident, is a very well-to-do area a stones throw from the Plano border. Literally a mile west, and two south from where I’m sitting right now. We are talking houses $750k to $1.5M and better. Classic. It’s in a big square section of Dallas sticking out well north of the city proper that should not exist. But probably does simply to mulct the property tax.

“It’s documented across this country what it costs for someone to be homeless in a city for city and county services. We talk regularly about outreach workers, the marshals, code compliance, integrated public services, the police, the community courts and even the economic development impacts. I know I’ve had businesses leave District 12 and move to Plano because of homelessness,” she said.

No shit they left and went to Plano. Know why? It’s a mile north or so, in a city that isn’t a dysfunction junction like Dallas. My neighborhood is far lower on the food chain than her district, and I’ve seen maybe three homeless (or at least probables) since I’ve been here. It’s a city that cares about it’s taxpaying residents and wants them happy so they can be mulcted. I don’t know what they do with the homeless. I’m sure we have programs. Maybe one of those is giving them ride a few miles south to Dallas. As a note, her neighborhood is bordered a mile west by Richardson, which doesn’t seem to have those issues either. Huh.

The city said it had no potential locations within the parameters that the encampments be one mile from schools, libraries and rec centers.

Council members directed staff to expand their criteria.

Mendelsohn says Dallas cannot repeat Austin’s initial mistake with a project called Esperanza Community.

Yes. They built it so they came. Interestingly in that quote, one mile from schools, libraries, and rec centers – no mention of homeowners that don’t want that around either.

“When Esperanza was founded in Austin it was a mess and it was tent camping, but it also had no oversight and no structure. It was essentially a dumping ground for people,” she argued.

Mendelsohn says Dallas must create a carefully-managed space for camping.

“I don’t love the idea of it if we’re honest about it, but I would rather them do that in a safe environment where there is access to hygiene services and all there is access to all the wrap around services they could possibly need or want as opposed to being behind somebody’s bridge or in someone’s backyard or along the creek,” she said.

She’d rather them not do that. Does “that” mean drink and do drugs there?

And “carefully managed”? uh-huh. Does that mean no grift either? Who pays for the ongoing management? Is that in the quoted cost?

I don’t have solutions other than look at what other counties do. NYC did it under Giuliani. What I see is that they make it miserable to camp out. Go to a shelter, get help, or we’ll move you and your crap to a camp with nothing around.

We have the programs. Make them use them or give them a bus ticket to LA.