Dallas: City razes homeless camp downtown (residents vow to return)

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051105dnmetcamp.9635c2cd.html


The large homeless camp downtown under Interstate 45 was one of Dallas' most elaborate, with sprawling cardboard shacks, tents, porta-potties and a microwave powered by electricity tapped from a billboard.

It's gone, for now. The city razed the camp Tuesday after warning residents last week that they were violating an ordinance against sleeping in public.

City officials estimated that 100 adults lived at the I-45 camp. For the first time, the city – accused of not giving fair warning in the past – gave residents written notices last week. Officials also offered residents drug and alcohol treatment along with mental health and housing services.

<snip>

The city has tried to clear out homeless camps for years. City officials evicted about 200 people from a shantytown near the currently razed camp before the 1994 World Cup soccer tournament. Many were placed in temporary housing, but others began sleeping elsewhere downtown.

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

1. Is this a first for Dallas?

It happens monthly in downtown LA.

[rainbow4321]

4. Oh not at all....the city is into hiding them during major events

I remember the 1994 incident...they tried to hide the homeless people cuz they would have been seen <gasp> by the swarms of people coming into that part of town for the World Cup. The "camp" is under the massive bridges of 2 major highways (I-45 and I-30). This article got me wondering what event is due to happen in Dallas to make them level the camp yet AGAIN...

From the original article:

A class-action suit after the World Cup contended the city's ban on sleeping in public was unconstitutional and punished people for being homeless. Although a federal judge agreed, an appeals court decision allowed the city to enforce the ban.

[zann725]

2. ..."offered drug and alcohol treatment"?! Most homeless people these days

are NOT alcoholic or drug addicts. That's an old pre-1980's cliched image of the homeless. Nope...since the Reagan era, a large majority of homeless now are Disabled, elderly, veterans, and families.

After being homeless for a while, without proper sleep and a bath, most anyone looks 'not normal.'

Shame on affluent Dallas! What HAS this heartless Third World country come to?!

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

5. Treatment people

Treat normal levels of use as problematic if the person is homeless. If a construction worker drinks two forties in his trailer, no one complains until he beats his wife. If you're homeless, you can't get services usually--no more than a barracks bed and a plate of beans--unless you admit to being an addict or alcoholic.

[rainbow4321]

6. Survey: Dallas 'mean' to homeless

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/111004dnmetmeancity.1e46b.html

Texas is the fourth "meanest" state in the nation and Dallas, Austin and San Antonio are among the 20 "meanest" cities in how they treat their homeless, according to a national survey released Tuesday.

The National Coalition for the Homeless examined ordinances and activities in 179 communities nationwide that the advocacy group said criminalized homelessness rather than addressed its causes or eased its conditions.

Dallas, ranked 15th among "meanest" cities, made it on the list for the first time because of ordinances banning panhandling, sleeping in public, obstructing sidewalks and loitering or loafing in public places. Rankings also were based on homeless people's experiences and input from local activists.

But Cindy Honey, executive director of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, said the study strikes a cautionary note. The city does not have enough shelter space for its estimated 5,636 homeless residents, and many homeless people cannot afford the $5 to $7 a night charged at some local shelters. "It's important, as we make laws, that we make sure homeless people have options so they aren't forced to break laws just to survive," she said.

[Swamp Rat]

3. Reminds me of a movie...

They Live!