Story about Homeless people in a major city in the U.S.A.-- Phoenix

[Stuart G]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/08/us/phoenix-homeless-encampment-the-zone/index.html


Phoenix
CNN
—
The young widow watched as the helpers wended through the Zone at sunrise, offering what they could: water, a bus ticket or a shelter bed – if one was open.

Standing beside her tent, Rayann Denny sized up the sprawling camp of 900 or so people improvised along sidewalks in downtown Phoenix:

“It’s a whole another world.”

The soft-spoken 37-year-old ended up homeless last year after her husband died and she couldn’t pay the bills alone. This camp, she said, can be “a lot of drama,” with flares of violence. But Denny won’t stay in a shelter, with its rules and a curfew, as she relies on drugs to get through her days.

“I just try to keep myself high,” she said, “so I don’t have to deal with the pain.”

Her home base here, though – however scant – soon will vanish.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

comment by Stuart: How the hell do we treat homeless in the U.S.A? Very sad, but not necessary. In certain parts of
the U.S. homeless people are treated far better. (Yes there are ..."State Programs" to treat very poor people. I don't know
about Phoenix, but some cities offer very cheap housing, or free places to live for the homeless. Well...I guess Texas is
not one of those places. Look at the picture at the link above. How do you explain this in a very rich country like the
U.S.A. and a very rich state like Arizonia.? I got no answer. Do you?

[jimfields33]

1. She refuses to go to a shelter due to rules and curfew

I don’t want to see people forced to go there. She has decided that the tent area is best for her with freedom to come and go.

[haele]

3. She self medicates. There are few options available to her unless she goes cold turkey.

And unless you've been there, you don't know how soul crushingly frightening her options are.
Give her a grief counselor, a rehab program, and a social worker with a plan to get her back on her feet. Give her a single room where she can curl up with her problems, and not deal with the jail like confusion other people bring into a shelter situation.
The problem in this country is that we as a society view poverty as a moral hazard, a moral failing in that person, just as morally reprehensible as getting drunk and driving into a school bus, or abusing kids and animals. So, we stick them in a zoo-like situation, and if they can't better themselves, they can just stay in the zoo and rot.
She may fail. She may not be a strong person, probably isn't as strong as those who don't self-medicate to get through self-loathing or depression.

Our society treats our poor, damaged or weak people worse than they treat themselves.

Haele

[kelly1mm]

2. All the pictures in the linked article are of Phoenix Arizona, not Texas. nt

[Stuart G]

7. Change has been made to Arizonia

[former9thward]

4. What does Texas have to do with the link?

[Stuart G]

6. Change has been made to Arizonia..(sorry for mistake)

[Mosby]

5. The "zone" is destroying the neighborhood.

Phoenix restaurant owner speaks about turmoil surrounding homeless encampment


PHOENIX — As homelessness in downtown Phoenix continues to create hindrances for locals, the owners of one restaurant are counting on change from officials to revitalize the heart of the city.

Joe and Debbie Faillace have been restaurant owners of Old Station Subs, located at Jefferson Street and 13th Avenue, for more than 37 years.

The couple started noticing a rise in homelessness problems in November of 2019 and they have only continued to worsen, Joe Faillace told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Gaydos and Chad Show on Tuesday.

.....

As years have passed with little to no solutions, a group of Phoenix residents and business owners filed a lawsuit last August in an effort to force the city to take action on curbing the encampment they say is ruining their neighborhood.

“They haven’t helped us, and that’s why we’re suing the city. We’re not asking for any monetary assistance, we just want our neighborhood back. We want to be like everybody else, we want to run a business without people peeing and pooping,” Faillace said.

https://ktar.com/story/5475170/phoenix-restaurant-owner-on-turmoil-surrounding-homeless-encampment/

[Stuart G]

8. Many cities suffer with the same problem of homeless people. Very difficult problem to solve.

[Mosby]

9. Phoenix begins clearing 'The Zone' block by block

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/city-to-begin-clearing-the-zone-block-by-block