local fight about homeless shelter

[Penn]

Not too far from here- they want to turn an old state facility into a homeless shelter.

The issue is- it would house THOUSANDS of people. The workers would be "volunteers"

What could go wrong?

Sounds like a FEMA camp!! The place can hold up to 5000 residents. It used to be a mental facility so the structure is already there.

NIMBY

 

[DoChenRollingBearing]

...

Thousands... I noted your wording there Penn.

I have not seen a local report along these lines (S FL). Anyone else hear of a similar kind of story?

 

[ancona]

Down here in Florida the homeless population swells dramatically in winter. There are three fairly organized areas where dozens and dozens of people camp. The local cops leave them alone for the most part, but we occasionally hear of a fight being broken up or petty crime occurring. I would guess that the crime rate at these camps is actually a bit lower than the rest of the demographic in those areas simply because there is nothing to steal and no money for booze and dope.

 

[rblong2us]

Where else are they gonna go ?

 

[11C1P]

Well even with all the trash drifting into our state now thanks to the oilboom, the homeless population tends to nosedive when the mercury hits -20 with a -40 windchill. Not to mention the population gets less when it gets really cold.

 

[Penn]

http://wnep.com/2014/02/04/residents-fighting-back-against-possible-homeless-shelter/

this is the link

 

[Jay]

Where else are they gonna go ?

people that haven't been homeless haven't got a clue.

 

[Penn]

The town I live in has a good amount of empty houses. Squatters could easily do some damage. We are the go to town for the Union County area where the old Mental Retardation center.

Some towns ran into problems when the prison came in. So they changed how visits are done- that stopped some but not all of the trash from migrating.

The trash comes from NJ/NYC/Philly.