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September 14, 2006

Holcombe Hopes to Host Hobo Mitigation Bunk

hobo.jpg
My son asked me today why there are so many "hobos" downtown. He told me that the bathroom at Ringel Park was a hobo home (there was a guy sleeping there). I told him it was more like a hobo-haven, because they can't really live there. I'm not sure where he picked up the term "hobo". I can't recall using it, and I'm sure the speech police have changed the term to something like domocile-challenged-Americans. Anyway, he recognizes the problem because we're always approached by pan-handlers, and at least he's not calling them bums.

There are a myriad of homeless shelters, half-way houses, Church groups, and others that help the homeless in Chico. With limited resources they rightfully help those that can do the most with a hand up. My hat goes off to all those people that help our less fortunate.

But there are many in our community that cannot be helped. Sometimes there's a reason for that. Some of them are mean, dishonest, and fueled by drugs and alcohol. And local homeless shelters won't take them in. That's why we have a homeless problem. That's one reason why parks will be closed at night.
Andy Holcombe's suggestion that Chico create it's own version of Dignity Village is not a good one. In addition to acting as a magnet for out-of-town transients it just doesn't make any sense. This is more of the "new-age" social engineering that "progressives" seem to focus on. There are repercussions to thinking outside this particular cardboard box. Chico can live without being the soup kitchen for the North State.

Questions include...who will clean up the camp? Where will we put it? Who will pay for the property? Who will manage it? Where do the homeless go when not camping? Who will protect the homeless from West Nile virus? What if they start disc golfing?

It just seems naive and, to be honest, a little too "bleeding heart" for my liking. If there were a long term discussion and the community support for this endeavor blossomed, then maybe I'd feel differently. Here are some comments about Dignity Village that might not show up in the "Homeless Trade Journals"...

Dignity's vision has led to donations of money, mountain bikes, a bus, and seeds, and the community is now hoping to secure a permanent location to establish itself. Yet, despite its achievements, the problems persist. Drug use and drinking continue, as does some physical altercations, and there have been difficulties maintaining fair leadership. Some feel that the community should be restricted to those in most desperate need, and others worry that the residents are "stagnating." The computers are used to play solitaire and cribbage instead of for job searches. "I was naive," says Bryan Pollard, who helped create Dignity. "People who are housed and have reasonably stable lives are not able to live in a healthy communal way - so how dare we expect society's most traumatized, most abused and most injured to do it?"

By Nick Budnick, Willamette Week
December 18, 2002 Issue

While the article is dated it does refer to the kinds of problems this homeless population is likely to bring. Dignity Village can draw from the resources of Portland OR, a sizable urban area. Little Chico in Butte County with its meth problems should avoid this concept like the plague. We do not have the resources to take in the migration of homeless that would find their way to us if this camp were built. We can't even deal with the problem we have now.

But if we're going to talk about this facility, let's consider putting it in Bidwell Ranch. I have a feeling that love of plants will supercede love of our most downtrodden neighbors. I've already seen that love of plants has superceded support for low-cost healthy recreation in one part of our park.

In an effort to be open-minded on this topic I have a proposition for supporters of this idea. Open your backyards and front yards to the homeless. Run hot and cold water, electricity, and provide port a-potties on your property. After a few years we'll get together and see how it's worked out. If everything is fine then the city can purchase your property and we can have "micro-camps" that dot the city.

If that doesn't work out I suggest we fund buses and drive our homeless-that-are-beyond-help up to Dignity Village in Oregon. Then they can take part in the flourishing hobo renaissance that Dignity Village represents.

Posted by Lon at September 14, 2006 05:17 PM

Comments

"Build it and they will come". And they surely will if we create a ghetto for them. There is no easy answer to the problem because there are a thousand reasons why people are homeless. Some just choose the lifestyle, some are victims of society but more likely just victims of bad choices. There was a letter to the editor in todays ER blaming it on the lack of "affordable housing". These people can't afford their next meal, leastwise rent. Even free housing whether in a camp or at the Diamon Hotel will not solve the "problem". Bless the people who work with them because it isn't pretty. Patience to the rest of us who put up with the panhandling. Consternation to those who try to exploit the issue, pretendng to be "humanitarians".

Posted by: Ron Acevedo at September 15, 2006 12:19 PM

So what was the point of throwing all the bums off the newly purchased city property at Comanche Creek? That's where the bums have been living. But then what was the point of spending $1.2 million of our tax dollars to buy that homeless encampment to begin with? Are people that contribute to and volunteer for the liberals' campaigns living near by? :-P

Posted by: pypr at September 15, 2006 01:49 PM

"...lack of affordable housing.."

yea.... same ole commentary coming from the same group of people who work the hardest to restrain, delay, burden, oppose, and drive-up the production costs on housing creation.

They continuously assail those who actually PRODUCE housing, and the places where we all shop and work.

But, to make it all better, after they've crippled the creation of housing and driven the prices thru the roof, they show their compassion by talking about all kinds of neat ways to subsidize housing costs with tax dollars, or by shifting housing costs to other people.

The same group opposes infrastructure creation to 'allow' economic development in our area. But, they talk the most about economic development. Though, their version of 'economic development' involves government programs and subsidies.

I don’t have any bewilderment about why Chico housing received dubious national recognition for being UN-affordable, or why Butte County is known as an economic dud. But, it is time to change it by implementing solid economic solutions, not with bureaucratic red-tape band-aids.

Interesting recent Thomas Sowell on the housing subject:
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4775

Posted by: Mark Sorensen at September 16, 2006 10:20 AM

I'll add an additional point here as well.

When Chief Hagerty was discussing the park curfew a few weeks back he made a point of noting the communication path between transients. Apparently word travels fast in this population.

He said that they come to Chico now because it's well known in our region that we're easy on the homeless and there are a lot of parks for them to live in.

His point was made regarding the park curfew. If we made homeless camps more difficult to maintain, the word would spread and fewer transients would make the trip here.

The reverse is true. If we make it easy they will come in droves.

This idea is just so bad it is stunning.

Posted by: Lon at September 17, 2006 10:02 AM

I had to read the article in the ER several times before I was convinced that it wasn't a joke or a misprint. I agree that this is a terrible idea. A camp of this type would be totally unmanageable and, as was already stated, would attract more transients to our community.

Now, lets look at it from a humanitarian view point. Some people want to create this camp as a way of helping the transients. If they really believe this is helping, they really need to reevaulate their values. Would they want one of their friends or relatives to live in this camp. I wouldn't. Granted I would not want them to live in the camps the transients live in now, but this whole idea misses all the problems. The problems are substance abuse and mental illness.

The way I look at it is this is kind of like discovering a person stuck in a hole. Rather than figure out a way to get them out of the hole we decide the best solution is to have the hole nicely furnished. If you are going to try to solve the problem then solve the problem. Pardon my language but a gold plated turd is still a turd.

Posted by: Tom Hall at September 17, 2006 12:18 PM