Wal-mart ok with homeless in parking lot at night

[Liberal_in_LA]

Man homeless by choice has 'a great life'

Jon Nelson spends nearly every day in the Downtown Chandler Library, reading and solving crossword puzzles. He has a college degree in fine art, and likes history and museums.

Nelson, 71, is homeless. He's missing several teeth and usually tucks his long hair beneath a baseball cap. A mattress in the back of a 1994 Dodge van that he parks in the Walmart parking lot on south Arizona Avenue is his sleeping quarters.

"I'm homeless by choice," Nelson said, pulling the van key from his pocket. "I used to have 10 keys; now there's just one . . . it's a good feeling."

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Walmart spokeswoman Delia Garcia said the company allows overnight stays in store parking lots as long as that doesn't conflict with city regulations.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2011/03/18/20110318chandler-homeless-man-by-choice.html#ixzz1H19fgTwP

[wundermaus]

1. The irony... that it's ok with Walmart if the homeless use their parking lot...

to stay overnight as long as it doesn't conflict with city regulations...

check out http://www.walmartatlas.com/no-park-walmarts

what a pathetic joke.

[WhiteTara]

8. I used to live in a town that banned

people sleeping in their vehicles. The Walmart was outside city limits and so it became the defacto homeless camp.

[Thunderstruck]

2. I went to the Orlando area a few years ago for a job...

When I got there to apply for the job I was nearly broke but I had my truck and I had supplies. I got the job but it was a week before it started and I had to live in my truck until I got my first pay check. I mostly found safe places to park but one night I parked in a lot at a public jogging trail. Next thing I knew I was being woke up by police knocking on my truck window.

After they ran my ID, they explained that I couldn't sleep there overnight per city ordinance but that I could move to the Wal-Mart parking lot and that no one would bother me there as long as I didn't cause any trouble. That was a really useful thing to know and I was able to use that Wal-Mart parking lot whenever I needed to until I got that first paycheck.

[patrick t. cakes]

3. see, corporations are good citizens.

:sarcasm:

[emilyg]

4. Thanks for sharing.

[DAMANgoldberg]

5. Used to be that way with OTR truckers...

However, most Wal-Marts, especially urban and suburban locations do not allow overnight parking for Trucks, RVs, and Cars. The rural locations generally do not mind, especially in the South and Midwest.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. glad there are nice cops out there - giving out tips to help the homeless

[MattSh]

6. Well how nice of them...

Especially since a lot of the homeless are homeless because of Wal-Mart.

[LooseWilly]

7. Small favors...