Urban Jacksonville

I’m more in favor of my patented “Bum Barge” whereupon vagrants would congregate on a series of barges that are then set and anchored in the river. I mean really, my tax dollars already support a host of services I cannot use, why not just throw millions more away so instead of the homeless living downtown, they can live just outside of downtown with free motorized transport back downtown? I enjoy John’s blog and I respect him for coming as far as he has but I still say that he is a rare glimmer of light, creating an entire zone for the homeless to populate is not going to help them as the majority are unwilling to help themselves.

Queue insensitive bastard theme music now.

I agree. Gainesville is fight with this very issue right now. I think we need to learn from their mistake.

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705190352&source=email

Also, the homeless problem isnt isolated to just areas that are slightly run down. the Beaches have been dealing with it in a big way also.

As I remember, they successfully fought the opening of a homeless shelter just a few years ago…

I am a proponent of a homeless “camp”. They already do it, so it would be just a city sanctioned site for those who either cannot get into the current shelters due to various reasons or those who do not want to go to a shelter.

I also believe that the state or city should institute a deposit for bottles of any kind. Other states have a deposit for cans and bottles, both plastic and glass and they have a lot less litter than we do. What this does is two fold, give the homeless or jobless a way to make some money and takes care of the litter problem because the bottles and cans would be picked up for cash. So for a few cents extra, two problems are dealt with, which so far have only been given lip service.

If there was a sanctioned homeless “camp” those who are illegally camping would be given the choice, either go to the camp or jail, their choice.

Its a good idea and this city has plenty of industrial, non-residential areas for such a place. And I too have looked at that huge Crowley barge and thought what a great homeless shelter. But to continue to do nothing is not acceptable. Our jail is overcrowded, so they aren’t going in there no matter how much people bitch and the current shelters exclude a large number of people for various reasons. A new plan must be implemented.

Claytonbixy, I agree wholeheartedly. The “homeless problem” isn’t going away any time soon and doing nothing about it accomplishes just that…nothing. The fact is that a lot of other, more progressive cities are making huge strides in their fight against homelessness, and Jax isn’t measuring up. I know most of us don’t want the homeless in our neighborhoods, and it’s understandable, but damn, they have to live somewhere, so why not have a sanctioned campsite with some basic facilities? For people concerned about the “quality of life” and aesthetics of downtown, wouldn’t it be better to have a designated place for the homeless to live rather than to have them squatting all over the downtown area and using the planters as toilets? Methinks so.

As far as Travis’s comment about “creating an entire zone for the homeless to populate is not going to help them as the majority are unwilling to help themselves,” maybe it won’t help them. But it won’t hurt them either. If anything, it will make it easier for them to receive services from outreach workers, which helps us all. More preventive/maintenance-type services means fewer visits to the emergency room, emergency mental health facilities (Baker Act), and the jail, and that’s good for all of us, as all three of those things cost you, as a taxpayer, a lot of money.

CB- There is currently no recycle program downtown. I am going to try to raise awareness of that sad fact in an event on July 15.

Hey! Why don’t we also come up with a cool symbol they have to wear too! Then if they stray from the camp, we’ll know they belong in the camp and bring them back there!

I say we get rid of all the shelters and replace them with transitional/educational housing for those who want to learn how to immerse themselves back into society. The mentally ill who cannot take advantage of this can be treated in hospitals. The criminals and addicts can be given a choice: execution or move to another state.

Oh wait, I also want my property tax bill to disappear. Screw it. Create a camp. What the hell…our awesome homeless services are well known in the Southeast, let’s bring more in.

I personally think they could have a farm & workshop for them out near Palatka or somewhere. Education or therapy in the evenings, work in the day, decent bedding with a wage, all funded with the goods they grow or make. No alcohol or drugs for miles. They put in a certain timeframe, get job assistance when it’s over. Once it’s completed, if they go back to their old ways they have an option to try their luck in another city or they are shot in the face…. ok, i’m kidding about the last part. Not sure what the consequences would be, that would be up to the law makers. But, it couldn’t be just keep doing what you are doing.

I just think a camp is nothing more than a shelter without a roof. Will there be no rules, just anarchy? What a mess. And if there are rules, they will shun the camp just as they do the shelters.

OMG! You are EVIL, Marchy! I thought the camera was off.

Whew! Tough crowd! :) I’ll blog something in a week or so about the camp conversation that came up.

Travis, thanks for the mention.

I think it was good that the four players that showed up DID this first meeting. UJ, MJ, and HF seperately aren’t bad. At one table things came out that wouldn’t otherwise. I came away with some things I hadn’t…and wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been at the table.

What I’d like to see is the next meet at a location that’s larger to be able to give more room, and a chance for anyone having a blog in Jacksonville to feel welcome. Not necessarily for a ‘powerblog’ thing, but to encourage and get to know as many of the creative minds that are providing insight and perspectives that you can’t find anywhere else.

Wish I could have made it there last night. Unfortunately kid schedules conflict so often I rarely get out on the weeknights.

Having never experienced homelessness first hand (and I certainly hope I never do), I defer to John C on courses of action that can best assist people in that kind of situation. Having been all over the political spectrum at various points in life, I’ve held many of the opinions expressed here at one time or another. I don’t know the precise make-up of the homeless population….I do realize there are the mentally-ill, the criminal element, and of course the standard “down and out”….but I do know that regardless what the situation, these folks can benefit from a little kindness.

No, I don’t know what the solution is, but I can tell you what it isn’t: Turning a blind eye to the problem doesn’t make it go away. We can stand behind platitudes of what to do with “my tax dollars” all day long, but that doesn’t take a homeless person off the street. And it certainly doesn’t say much of our community to continually ignore the problem.

I believe there are plenty of creative solutions that can benefit everyone. And they don’t all have to be money sinks. I believe most people inherently want to be self-sufficient. There has to be value to our community to invest in helping the homeless reach that goal.

I agree David K. They don’t have to be money sinks. The ideal situation would be a transitional/educational housing concept that incorporated some type of revenue stream to make it at least 75% self-sufficient. That would take care of the down-and-outs.

The mentally ill need city funding. Where that’s going to come from at this point, who knows…I’m still trying to figure out what’s in store for my property tax bill and how to reconcile my glee for more money vs. my moral desire for social services.

The criminals need more incentive to leave. I am all about bringing back the public stocks, removing appendages for certain crimes, public flogging. We are way too kind…

Tony I applaud the effort, but I also think that the fact that most bottles and cans are tossed into the trash is unbelievable in 2007.

When in other states with deposits you see no bottles or cans littering the streets. The usual trash you see littering Jacksonville’s medians, our downtown and other rights of way are plastic bottles and cans.

I can only wonder how much money our city spends picking this up and then throwing it away where it will sit in a landfill for a lifetime. Makes no sense when this stuff is worth money.

I remember using deposit money on high school to buy the next 6-pack, back when the drinking age was 18.

In Beaufort, SC I knew an old guy who did nothing but collect bottles and the revenue put one of his kids through college (or at least it helped a lot).

How cool would it be to have a deposit on dirty diapers and condoms? That would definitely clean up my alley.

I remember when you got .05 or .10 for clean bottles or cans at the grocery store, and gas was .25 a gallon at the gas station on the other side of the parking lot?

THAT…was recycling! :)

searchin for soda bottles to get myself some dough…

Sure and maybe we could hire some bands to come in and do a Warped Tour for the homeless! Would it be sort of like a make shift party in the park at night? Just imagine, needle sharing, drug dealing, heavy drinking, violence, prostitution, and best of all, creating potential homeless babies. Oh yeah and lets get some rookie police officer and stick him right in the middle of it all. Sounds like a party under the stars to me!