The Epidemic

The homeless drug addict situation is going crazy in the suburb town we live in (well the whole region, actually). We actually live outside of city limits, so we are county, but literally downtown, in our cute little town of about 38,000 people, is literally being taken over by drug addicts.

this is one of the dozens of photo's that one of the downtown residents took outside her backyard of her property.

Another resident posted a video he shot of one of the druggies standing inside a tent - shooting a needle into his arm.

The city council meeting on Wed night (we did not go) was packed standing room only. At least 40 people got up and spoke their 2 minutes. There were lots more who wanted to speak, but they called the meeting closed at 9:45pm. Residents recounted details of all the trash - needles, bottles of urine, feces, garbage, stripped down stolen bikes, discarded clothing. They recounted all the thefts they have had from their yards, homes and cars. Residents, who out their back windows of their homes (with children) get to watch people going to the bathroom. Residents who are now afraid to to out in their yards, let alone let their kids play in their own yards.

Just blocks away is a homeless "resource center" that opened up last year and has basically become a beacon for all the homeless in surrounding communities. The neighboring businesses are losing business. There is a grade school and a junior high school within blocks between the center and where a lot of them camp, that some children have to walk past to get to school/home. One mother told of things her jr. high child has had to see and deal with just trying to walk home from school. Why is there discarded clothing? one homeless person was asked and his reply was "we get free clothes from the resource center, so then we don't have to do laundry - we can just throw our dirty clothes out".

I have driven by this resource center quite a few times on my commute home (sometimes my traffic app routes me through town) and was wondering what the huge group of what looked like homeless people were all over outside the front of a building, that I couldn't read the sign for. 

City residents are very mad. They can't use the library or the park out front of the library any more. The homeless use the library restrooms as washrooms and hang out in the park area in front of the library (we have a nice newer library) all day and scare and intimidate people. They can no longer use the nice walking/bike riding trail that the city spent over 3 million to put in for residents. It's filled with homeless camping along the trail, needles, garbage, etc.

I watched the meeting on video. There were a handful that got up in support of the homeless...mostly those who make a living off of helping the homeless. Director of this or assistant to that position. Though one teary eyed resident got up and cried that if everyone was just nice to these people, like she is, they wouldn't get robbed. Good grief!

As many said - these people don't even want help. One guy said he asked one of them if they'd rather have a home to live in or drugs. He said his drugs. As one lady said "they don't want a hand UP, they all want a hand OUT". And another said "there is a big difference between helping someone and enabling someone".  A majority of the addicts aren't even from our town, they come because they know they can camp there and get free stuff. The guy that made the video said "why don't they just set up the camp over at the landfill? they'd fit right in". No kidding.

The neighborhood near us (that we have gotten friends with several of them) has to do almost a weekly check of the heavily wooded 10 acre lot in their neighborhood. The owner of the property will do nothing to help curb it and the county won't make him. Here's what they found yesterday morning.

what appeared to be for making meth. They got a hold of the Lt. at the precinct and a couple hours later a meth clean up team did come out. Yep that's what it was, they even found a little bit of meth.
These neighbors are so fed up and furious too.

How's this epidemic going in your neck of the woods? It's gotten quite insane and out of hand here.