Drop-In Center for the homeless: Poll

[iluvolives]

While I hate the thought of another service like this in the urban core- i tend to agree that if it's not in downtown- they won't use it. I occasionally run in the mornings along the riverwalk and have seen vans from Sulzbacher trying to load up homeless people to bring them to the center and usually 1 of the 10+ that are sleeping on the sidewalk that crosses the train bridge (where there are both public restrooms and water fountains) actually leave to receive help. So I doubt they will take the initiative to ride a bus or any other form of transportation.

While it doesn't solve the problem, I would rather them have a place to go to shower and use the restrooms other than our beautiful riverwalk.

[Springfield Girl]

I haven't gotten an answer regarding showers or bathrooms. I understand that the shelters don't have enough beds for every homeless person but are the people who stay there allowed to take showers AM/PM? What are those numbers vs numbers of people sleeping on the street. Where are the people on the street sleeping? It seems that many of them must be sleeping somewhere other than the streets of Downtown, so if that is the case they are traveling, walking? to get meals at the facilities there? Someone just stated that IC serves 500-1000 meals daily. We know there are multiple facilities serving meals Downtown. Are people allowed to use the restroom at these sites where they are being fed breakfast, lunch and dinner?

[sheclown]

And I have never met a homeless person who was for closing up the shops, running away the customers or using Chris Farley's celebrated garden as a public toilet.

But when you overlay the three groups, a natural antipathy starts up, and you end up with some of the lunatic opinions that have recently gone from the stuff of jokes to the every day reality of our lives.  You get a guy who should be spending all his time thinking about how to appropriately price pasta out of the budgets of the middle class having to make public rants about 'rounding up the homeless'.

You get otherwise well meaning women ready to throw chairs at each other, get drunk and call names over the possibility of having a canned goods and used clothing donation closet.

You get developers wheeling around corners in SUVs with open beer cans trying to run down people in shabby clothing.

In short, the locals descend into madness.

Which is what has happened.

A drop in center is needed just to get everyone (not just the homeless) back in their right minds, because at present they are all running around doing the craziest ass hat things you would have ever heard of if you read it in a book.

perfection

[sheclown]

I haven't gotten an answer regarding showers or bathrooms. I understand that the shelters don't have enough beds for every homeless person but are the people who stay there allowed to take showers AM/PM? What are those numbers vs numbers of people sleeping on the street. Where are the people on the street sleeping? It seems that many of them must be sleeping somewhere other than the streets of Downtown, so if that is the case they are traveling, walking? to get meals at the facilities there? Someone just stated that IC serves 500-1000 meals daily. We know there are multiple facilities serving meals Downtown. Are people allowed to use the restroom at these sites where they are being fed breakfast, lunch and dinner?

SG, I don't have the answer to these questions, but I'll see if I can get some answers for you.  They are great questions.

[Sportmotor]

Ship em all to NY

[fsu813]

I haven't gotten an answer regarding showers or bathrooms. I understand that the shelters don't have enough beds for every homeless person but are the people who stay there allowed to take showers AM/PM? What are those numbers vs numbers of people sleeping on the street. Where are the people on the street sleeping? It seems that many of them must be sleeping somewhere other than the streets of Downtown, so if that is the case they are traveling, walking? to get meals at the facilities there? Someone just stated that IC serves 500-1000 meals daily. We know there are multiple facilities serving meals Downtown. Are people allowed to use the restroom at these sites where they are being fed breakfast, lunch and dinner?

I responded earlier that people do have access to showers and restrooms if they are staying the night. A shower can be provided during the day, as well, if requested by the medical staff.

[sheclown]

The numbers I have heard are approx 800 shelter beds and 3000 homeless. 

[fsu813]

and as I remarked earlier, you really don't know what you are talking about and should stick to gardening and proton issues.

I don't know what i'm talking about? I called them and asked.

to talk as much shit as the two of you do about these filthy poors, you sure do ask some basic questions from literal ignorance of your subject matter.


Also, I haven't talked bad about any "filthy poors" at all. Please cite any examples you think you have.

...instead of fomenting these bizarre little ideas in your head and then assuming they are true, why dont you go spend a day getting tours of the facilities and/or volunteering for one of the institutions and find out for yourself.

I'm pretty familar with homeless shelters Downtown actually. My mother has worked at one for quite a while. And a close friend of mine was homeless for a few months. I spent some time with him at Sulzbacher, VIM, Health Dept, etc.


This would be an opprotune time to dig up what i told you the last time you were taking guesses as to who i am, how i live etc. Like i said then, you shouldn't make wild guesses about people you don't know anything about...

[sheclown]

I think finding out about the basic services for the homeless which are available downtown is a great place to start.  It will help bring some understanding to this discussion.  

If there are 800 shelter beds and 3000 unsheltered, then even if all who sleep in a shelter in the evening are allowed showers, we still have 2200 people without access to shower facilities.

As far as the restroom facilities available at the places which serve food, I think that is a great question.  But still, no doubt, inadequate.

If I remember correctly from OSHA standards, on a job site, a contractor needs to have one port-a-let for each 15 workers.  That being said, the city of Jacksonville ought to have 200 toilets and hand washing facilities available for the homeless.

If we agree that downtown is swamped with needy people, and that the constant needs of these people are destroying the morale (and not to mention causing a financial burden to businesses) of people who must go about the business of living their lives, day by day.

Then we must do something for everyone concerned.

And not just for the homeless. but for the city.

[Springfield Girl]

I haven't gotten an answer regarding showers or bathrooms. I understand that the shelters don't have enough beds for every homeless person but are the people who stay there allowed to take showers AM/PM? What are those numbers vs numbers of people sleeping on the street. Where are the people on the street sleeping? It seems that many of them must be sleeping somewhere other than the streets of Downtown, so if that is the case they are traveling, walking? to get meals at the facilities there? Someone just stated that IC serves 500-1000 meals daily. We know there are multiple facilities serving meals Downtown. Are people allowed to use the restroom at these sites where they are being fed breakfast, lunch and dinner?

I responded earlier that people do have access to showers and restrooms if they are staying the night. A shower can be provided during the day, as well, if requested by the medical staff.

and as I remarked earlier, you really don't know what you are talking about and should stick to gardening and proton issues.

Springfield Girl, FSU813:  to talk as much shit as the two of you do about these filthy poors, you sure do ask some basic questions from literal ignorance of your subject matter.

I sincerely suggest that instead of fomenting these bizarre little ideas in your head and then assuming they are true, why dont you go spend a day getting tours of the facilities and/or volunteering for one of the institutions and find out for yourself.

You keep asking questions whose answers you ignore because it doesnt jibe with your experience.

Well fine.

Go out and get your own experiences and report back to us.

Thanks for the reply Stephen but still no answer to my question. I guess you just want to throw stuff out there with nothing to back it up and expect people to take your word for it. You keep spouting off that homeless people have nowhere to shower or use the restroom so I'm trying to get details. The numbers that have been quoted keep changing so really it just raises more questions. It was quoted that there were 800 beds but 3000 homeless which would leave 2200 unsheltered. Is the 3000 number for downtown or the whole of Jacksonville? I see a lot of people who might be homeless downtown but it doesn't look anywhere near 3000. I was hoping to get more info here as some of you seem to be more knowledgable on the subject but I will try to find some of this info on my own.

[fsu813]

This would be an opprotune time to dig up what i told you the last time you were taking guesses as to who i am, how i live etc. Like i said then, you shouldn't make wild guesses about people you don't know anything about...

Actually I think this is a marvelous time to point out that you are exactly the person that I thought you were after chatting with you a while online.

They are who we thought they were! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_N1OjGhIFc

[ESHC]

Full disclosure and a few facts for the discussion. 

Disclosure - ESHC = Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville. I am the person who reports to HUD and DCF on the number of homeless and available beds for Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties. 

Facts - every January we do a homeless census & survey.  From January 2009: 20 percent of the homeless said they were employed; 50 percent reported less than $1 in income for the previous month.  Approximately 25 percent had served in the U.S. military. My guess is that the percentage employed will go down due to the economy and the percentage who have served their country will go up due to the number of over seas deployments in this years report. 

As of January 2010 Duval County public schools knows of more than 800 homeless school children, Clay County has over 700 and Nassau County has more than 100.  I am adding this fact to remind people when you talk about THE HOMELESS you are talking about many different kinds of people. Some are downtown, many are not, and a number you pass by every day and have no idea that they are homeless.

Now the Drop in Center/Resource Center questions.  Can't people use bathroom/showers/laundry/phone/insert service here at the shelters? Yes but there is not enough space for everyone and some people are "service resistant" for a variety of reasons. The idea of a resource center is a place that is seen as safe and non threatening where people who are homeless can go during the day and take care of their basic human needs.  It is also another place where they can be engaged and have access to other services: health, mental health, basic literacy, job training, housing, SSI/SSDI.....This is not to enable people but to give them the tools necessary to break the cycle of homelessness. 

[urbanlibertarian]

Thanks for posting, ESHC.

[sheclown]

To ESCH:  

Regarding the 800 homeless children in Duval County, are they included in the 3000 count, or in addition to it?  If they are included, that means that roughly 1/4 of the homeless are children?  

[NotNow]

Your context seemed to indicate that hanging out during the day, using the bathroom, taking a shower was just available for the asking.

Its not that simple.  I really do suggest that you spend a day going through the entire system, if you are going to weigh in on the subject.

As an employer of a number of people who worked in the shelters at Boomtown, I can tell you from a birds eye view the failings of the downtown system.  I can also tell you that without that experience and then ending up touring the actual facilities, I also wouldnt have known what I was talking about either.

So, without actual experience, one would not know what one is talking about?