Feeding Homeless Downtown

[RedStar25]

Here are recent photos from areas adjacent to Lake Eola showing the mess left behind by the homeless who are fed in the park.

Whos supposed to clean this up? The City? The Residents?

How about the people who feed the homeless in the park. They are the ones bringing them into the area. Since they are willing to take on the responcibility for the homeless they should clean up after them.

Better yet... they should stop enabling the homeless and actually try to help them... not just prolong thier life on the streets.

[neon9]

Here are recent photos from areas adjacent to Lake Eola showing the mess left behind by the homeless who are fed in the park.

Whos supposed to clean this up? The City? The Residents?

How about the people who feed the homeless in the park. They are the ones bringing them into the area. Since they are willing to take on the responcibility for the homeless they should clean up after them.

Better yet... they should stop enabling the homeless and actually try to help them... not just prolong thier life on the streets.

[slapdash09]

i definitely recognize that last picture from my morning walks to panera.

[bulldogger]

That's that space next to Lowndes / Anthony's (Summerlin side). That just needs to get developed already.

Regarding the homeless...

I just went into my office the other day and there was a homeless guy sleeping in the hallway wrapped up in newspaper and bags. I woke him up and told him that he couldn't stay there and needed to move on.

bum - This is bull$hit.

me - what did you say?

bum - nothing

then I go into my office and work for about 5 minutes and decide that he ought to be awake by now and on his way. i got back outside and he's mumbling to himself by the stairwell and he has left a garbage bag with newspapers and matchbooks and lots of beans from a burrito all mushed into the carpet

me - are you going to just leave your garbage?

bum - now that you mention it, i just might

me - you better get the f--- out of here

and all of a sudden he has spirit and moves down the stairs like he has somewhere to be. The hallway smelled like him for about 2 more hours. disgusting.

[Dale]

That's that space next to Lowndes / Anthony's (Summerlin side). That just needs to get developed already.

Regarding the homeless...

I just went into my office the other day and there was a homeless guy sleeping in the hallway wrapped up in newspaper and bags. I woke him up and told him that he couldn't stay there and needed to move on.

bum - This is bull$hit.

me - what did you say?

bum - nothing

then I go into my office and work for about 5 minutes and decide that he ought to be awake by now and on his way. i got back outside and he's mumbling to himself by the stairwell and he has left a garbage bag with newspapers and matchbooks and lots of beans from a burrito all mushed into the carpet

me - are you going to just leave your garbage?

bum - now that you mention it, i just might

me - you better get the f--- out of here

and all of a sudden he has spirit and moves down the stairs like he has somewhere to be. The hallway smelled like him for about 2 more hours. disgusting.

[slapdash09]

the area behind the 7-eleven at summerlin and washington is also one of these dumping grounds.

[Hisma]

Anyone heard the comedy of Sam Kinneson? Perhaps we should consider his method of handling the homeless

Seriously, I don't have near the amount of compassion for the homeless as most on this forum seem to have.

[Dale]

I think a lot of folks are compassion towards the homeless *in the abstract*. And folks who don't have expectations of homeless people don't really care about them.

[WeNeed2Progress]

On the topic of downtown homeless; today I went with my friend to show her son the train at Church Street. There was a homeless dude in a wheelchair, didn't say anything to us so I thought that was cool. So as I was taking photos of her son, she said "lets go." I asked why then followed her eyes to the homeless guy in the wheelchair--- he reached into his pants, unzipped his pants from inside and was about to whip "it" out. We grabbed her son's hand and left. Needless to say, that wasn't something a 5 year-old needed to see. Seriously, it's ridiculous.

On a side note, 55W is coming along nicely. They've already started a paint test I can see also--- looks nice.

[MAntoniazzi]

On the topic of downtown homeless; today I went with my friend to show her son the train at Church Street. There was a homeless dude in a wheelchair, didn't say anything to us so I thought that was cool. So as I was taking photos of her son, she said "lets go." I asked why then followed her eyes to the homeless guy in the wheelchair--- he reached into his pants, unzipped his pants from inside and was about to whip "it" out. We grabbed her son's hand and left. Needless to say, that wasn't something a 5 year-old needed to see. Seriously, it's ridiculous.

On a side note, 55W is coming along nicely. They've already started a paint test I can see also--- looks nice.

[WeNeed2Progress]

Wednesday afternoon, i was standing in front of Gino's by 55w talking on my phone. All the sudden homeless guys comes rigth up to my face askign for change. When i say rigth up to my face he was abotu a foot away. That BS and needs to stop, when is the City going to start taking care of this issue. Who do we need to contact.

I understand they are homeless but atleast put on a show or something and earn your change. As far as feeding them in the Park and leavign all that trash that is also BS.

[drjnieto]

If the city seriously wants to have CSS and the rest of downtown be a desirable entertainment area, then they need to start taking care of the aggressive homeless problem now. If anything, Kuhn needs to pull a Rosen and at least bring attention to it.

Oh yeah, I also noticed that they're removing the old RR tracks between the station and the Esplanade.

[EngineerNole]

I've met a goodly number of homeless folks in my time, and I am not surprised that so many of them are infused with a spirit of entitlement, given the way they are regarded as hapless victims, and given the number of services available to them that do not require that they exercise common coutesy, such as picking up after themselves.

[Hisma]

I don't believe that they should be treated like victims either, but I think they would act the way they are regardless of how people treat them. That is because homeless people are usually crazy, or drunks, or straight up lazy #$%#@ that don't give a crap about anyone but themselves. I think the government made a huge mistake when they shut down all the large mental institutions. Anyway, to me they are animals and should be treated that way. I do not feel sorry for an adult who lives a way they choose to live...unless they are crazy, then like i said, let's open back up some mental institutions.

[Chemmie]

Some (usually super-liberals) like to try and paint the homeless as people whom are just "down on their luck" or recently unemployed from their investment banking jobs. It's a joke.

99% of the homeless are uneducated, lazy and crazy bums. Regardless of what some people want me to believe, I've never met a smart homeless person.

Nobody really knows the solution to dealing with them, but I assure everyone that it's not enabling them.

With that said, I don't support our city's decision to disallow people from feeding them. What the homeless bums leave behind isn't the fault of the people feeding them, but of the people leaving the crap behind. Throw them in jail for littering, or something.

[RedStar25]

Guys guys guys..... spending almost every waking moment of my childhood/young adulthood downtown let me give you some tips....

If they ask for some change say "all I have is plastic." They thank you and are none the wiser. But for gods sake if you have your hand in your pocket... dont rattel your lose change.

If they ask for money or try and stop you to tell you some sob story lie.... Say something in another language ex. "sprechen sie deutche?"or "Je ton khule!"

If all else fails.... pass gas... and giggle....ex.... *fert* (hand to mouth) "ta he he he."

Trust me... all three work

[tennis32801]

As much as I agree with most of the views on here, i find this song very touching.

I was coming to the end of a long long walk

When a man crawled out of a cardboard box

Under the E. Street Bridge

Followed me on to it

I went out halfway across

With that homeless shadow tagging along

So I dug for some change

Wouldn't need it anyway

He took it lookin' just a bit ashamed

He said, You know, I haven't always been this way

I've had my moments, days in the sun

Moments I was second to none

Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do

Like that plane ride coming home from the war

That summer my son was born

And memories like a coat so warm

A cold wind can't get through

Lookin' at me now you might not know it

But I've had my moments

I stood there tryin' to find my nerve

Wondering if a single soul on Earth

Would care at all

Miss me when I'm gone

That old man just kept hanging around

Lookin' at me, lookin' down

I think he recognized

That look in my eyes

Standing with him there I felt ashamed

I said, You know, I haven't always felt this way

I've had my moments, days in the sun

Moments I was second to none

Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do

Like the day I walked away from the wine

For a woman who became my wife

And a love that, when it was right,

Could always see me through

Lookin' at me now you might not know it

But I've had my moments

I know somewhere 'round a trashcan fire tonight

That old man tells his story one more time

He says

I've had my moments, days in the sun

Moments I was second to none

Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do

Like that cool night on the E. Street Bridge

When a young man almost ended it

I was right there, wasn't scared a bit

And I helped to pull him through

Lookin' at me now you might not know it

Oh, lookin' at me now you might not know it

But I've had my moments

[neon9]

Some (usually super-liberals) like to try and paint the homeless as people whom are just "down on their luck" or recently unemployed from their investment banking jobs. It's a joke.

99% of the homeless are uneducated, lazy and crazy bums. Regardless of what some people want me to believe, I've never met a smart homeless person.

Nobody really knows the solution to dealing with them, but I assure everyone that it's not enabling them.

With that said, I don't support our city's decision to disallow people from feeding them. What the homeless bums leave behind isn't the fault of the people feeding them, but of the people leaving the crap behind. Throw them in jail for littering, or something.

[bulldogger]

Hey Buddy,

That's a great poem and all, but can you spare a buck? I'm tryin to catch a bus home to Oviedo. OK Buddy?

[RedStar25]

99% huh? I don't know about that. However, I have seen studies that put the number of homeless that are veterans at between 50-66% of the total homeless population.

Methinks we're creating a whole new mass of homeless with our current misadventures in Iraq.

[sunshine]

They can be human shield just like South Park movie.

[neon9]

So your saying homeless men are emotionaly ill equiped to deal with thier emotions? Or are you saying that we fill our army with under achiving men of a substandard social-economic class? Maybe both?

[Dale]

yeah to some extent I would say both, plus whatever mental issues they have from being shot at and such. Plus, how many support systems are there for people who have come back from war? It's probably similar to being let out of prison and generally those people don't adjust well either.

[Dale]

In fact, I'd characterize most of the homeless folks I've known as being rather clever and resourceful, some almost too clever.

[neon9]

While I do agree that the war industry is a meat-grinder, I can't say that I've met any homeless folks that were mentally incapacitated. Oh sure, lots of them had been saddled with this-or-that fashionable diagnosis, but none were looney.