The Paramount End User of Downtown

[Coolyfett]

*disclaimer* overly simplified idealistic statement coming up:

The problem with the homeless and downtown is the ratio of homeless to regulars. If we can't reduce the homeless population, we just need to get more people downtown for more events (more permanent residents would be nice too course) but if you had more people, you can just ignore a bum and let them bother some other poor sap. It works well when I'm visiting nyc!

So for every event you go downtown, bring 5 friends! We just need to outnumber them, yeah thats the ticket!

This guy gets my vote!! I agree with you man......I don't know if you were joking but people getting involved in numbers will make the homeless almost invisible.

[gatorback]

And keep in mind that as business owners, we get the brunt of it.  Its not just some guy walking by,  exuding homelessness as he passes menacingly.  Its also the guys that demand to stand inside your space screaming and then when (in our case, John) has to make him leave because hes doing it in the middle of a performance, the guy comes back with a knife and repeatedly tries to stab you.

That makes about as much sense as a the pope going to a bathhouse to save souls. Stephen, a little clarification there please.  Are you seriously saying that the brunt of your problems is because of the homeless? (Does craig have a home?)  Methed up, drunk and crazed may have something to do with causing people to be homeless, but to say the casual vagabond working toward getting back on track is the problem is insanity itself.  Rape, robbery, and burglary are crimes committed by very housed people after all.  I'd venture to say that most crimes are committed by people that have a place to live.  Come on, the problem there isn't that they are homeless.  

PS I have a problem with people panhandling.  That's your biggest problem with the homeless IMO.

[gatorback]

LOL.  It's 1:00 and I'm acting homeless in the Apple Store.  It's what I do on Sunday.  I've got that picture you wanted about the homeless in Austin.  Here's proof it's not Jacksonville centric.  My heart goes out the homeless and I solute everybody how helps their brother out. I'll post it on the tread once I get caffinated.  I got verbally assaulted by the homeless while taking the picture and I was chased down by the homeless while walking away with the picture. 

[gatorback]

This park is next to the courthouse. (Don't ask how I know where the courthouse is having just moved to Austin  less then 9 months ago suffice it to say it's a special "talent" I have )  Anywho, I walk throught this park sometimes at night on my way to Whole Foods and there's always people there.   I'd say there's less drug use in the park then other areas of town as I hear about bad areas of town on the news.  At night the action isn't in this area, but rather in the warehouse district and 6th street so the panhandlers go there to get their handout and drugs or drug money I guess.  The homeless head to the Salvation Army for a place to stay.  The druggies are on the streets looking for trouble.  We shouldn't confuse the two please.  I think the people in the photo just don't like staying at the Salvation Army but are clean, but I'm just guessing I suppose I've not investigated this park late night but I could.

[obie1]

Hard numbers and statistics on homelessness from a recent survey, for those pulling that stuff out of you-know-where during this debate:
http://www.huduser.org/publications/povsoc/annual_assess.html 

[NEBRASKA]

I COME FROM NEBRASKA AND I ALWAYS BELIVED THAT WE WERE BEHIND TIMES. JACKSONVILLE, IT MAKES SHAKE MY HEAD AT IT. LOOK AND HEAR ME OUT. YOU WANT TO HELP THE HOMELESS AND HELP THE DOWNTOWN. FIRST YOU GO TO HAVE SOMEWHERE FOR THEM 2 GO. A DAY CENTER. 2 HAVE EVENTS JUST FOR THE HOMELESS.  HAVE BINGO NIGHTS WHERE THERE IS A CASH PRIZE. YOU ALSO NEED TO HAVE A GREYHOUND BUS TICKET READY FOR ANY ONE THAT WANTS TO LEAVE. I KNOW OF ABOUT 2 DOZEN THAT WANT TO LEAVE. I SAY WE DO THAT. IF THERE NOT HERE MORE THE BETTER.

[uptowngirl]

This was a blast from the past we could have done without LOL!

[vicupstate]

Columbia SC and Jax seem to have the biggest problems (real or perceived) with the Homeless issue., of the many cities I have lived in or visited. throughout the Southeast. 

I thought this was quite relevant in that regard. 

[url][http://www.thestate.com/2012/07/25/2367164/columbia-police-homeless-commited.html/url]

[UNFurbanist]

Very Interesting article out today. Is there any way we could get more of this type of thing moving in Jax? There are plenty of vacant lots to choose from, especially in LaVilla. http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/05/the-case-for-giving-homes-to-the-homeless/392696/

In Charlotte, North Carolina, people who have a history of homelessness, as well as physical or mental disabilities, can get their own apartment at a non-profit-run, 85-unit complex called Moore Place. The development runs on the "housing-first" approach to homelessness: give people the keys to their own residence, then try to resolve the issues that led them to lose their homes. The model essentially flips a more longstanding approach that many people call the "treatment-first" model, which focuses on fixing the problems before providing the housing.

Despite its limited applications, the housing-first approach has been successful in a number of cities, and a new study suggests Moore Place is no exception. Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte report that not only do housing projects like Moore Place dramatically help the homeless population, but they also help cities save money and free up civic resources.

"Putting a person in housing as an early step in the intervention process actually creates a foundation for health and well-being and for them to actually begin to address the issues that they've struggled with over time," Lori Thomas, a professor of social work in the College of Health and Human Services at UNC-Charlotte, tells CityLab. "It really upends the model that we've used for so long."

[fieldafm]

Very Interesting article out today. Is there any way we could get more of this type of thing moving in Jax? There are plenty of vacant lots to choose from, especially in LaVilla. http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/05/the-case-for-giving-homes-to-the-homeless/392696/

In Charlotte, North Carolina, people who have a history of homelessness, as well as physical or mental disabilities, can get their own apartment at a non-profit-run, 85-unit complex called Moore Place. The development runs on the "housing-first" approach to homelessness: give people the keys to their own residence, then try to resolve the issues that led them to lose their homes. The model essentially flips a more longstanding approach that many people call the "treatment-first" model, which focuses on fixing the problems before providing the housing.

Despite its limited applications, the housing-first approach has been successful in a number of cities, and a new study suggests Moore Place is no exception. Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte report that not only do housing projects like Moore Place dramatically help the homeless population, but they also help cities save money and free up civic resources.

"Putting a person in housing as an early step in the intervention process actually creates a foundation for health and well-being and for them to actually begin to address the issues that they've struggled with over time," Lori Thomas, a professor of social work in the College of Health and Human Services at UNC-Charlotte, tells CityLab. "It really upends the model that we've used for so long."

We do have that in Jax. Ability Housing is one of the agencies that is pushing the 'housing first' model in Jax:

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-12-09/story/one-down-99-go-group-moves-its-first-homeless-client-place-his-own#ixzz1gMKKXbr3

With the help of JP Morgan Chase, Ability Housing is also expanding into Orlando:

http://abilityhousing.org/ability-housing-gets-grants-to-expand-into-central-florida-and-help-alleviate-homelessness/

Unfortunately, they have experienced pushback in their own hometown:

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2014-04-16/story/ability-housing-committed-being-good-neighbor-springfield

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-05-30/story/planning-boss-homeless-apartments-not-allowed-springfield

As has been the case with some City officials lately (like Kim Scott), former Planning Director Calvin Burney's 'interpretation' opens COJ to Fair Housing lawsuits like this similar case in New Orleans:

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/city-new-orleans-agrees-settlement-resolve-housing-discrimination-lawsuit

[Gunnar]

How about La Villa then (as was suggested). There isn't anything there and this could help the neighborhood.

[UNFurbanist]

I've always thought that JaxPort should donate a bunch of used shipping containers to ability housing so they can build something like this in LaVilla.http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/02/26/shipping-container-apartments/24076583/ 

[vicupstate]

For you fans of reusing shipping containers, this project in Greenville SC will incorporate several of them. There will also be an area for Food Truck parking included in addition to renovating and re-purposing two buildings. The buildings are pretty nondescript, but with the changes the project as a whole looks pretty cool. 

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/2795?fileID=7939 

An article with more description:

http://upstatebusinessjournal.com/news/keys-village-planned-for-north-of-broad-district/

Picture a mixed-use village that's edgy, with industrial elements and repurposed shipping containers thrown into the design. Parking for a food truck or two. A brewery and restaurant with roll-up doors to the outside. People gathered at rows of picnic tables with lights strung overhead watching live music or perhaps an indie movie on the outdoor stage and projection screen. That's the vision for Keys Village.

The outdoor area will be called the Court Yard, named for the backdrop views of the Federal Courthouse building, and will feature a 20-foot covered patio and a 20-foot canopy trellis. Navarro says he is expecting the space to be active "five or six nights a week." Audio-visual will be state-of-the-art to comply with city noise ordinances, and they're looking at a mobile app that can provide sound from the movies and bands to a personal headset. "Sort of like a silent rave," he said.

The cargo containers could possibly hold patio furniture by day and then can be used to service patrons in the evening.

The three-story building on the side of the property has 2,200 square feet per floor and can be subdivided, said Navarro. The space is open with lots of windows, and the top floor has great views, he said. This building is expected to house mostly office tenants, with possibly retail on the ground floor. An elevator tower will be built out of two end-to-end cargo containers, and a "very cool mural" is planned for the side of the building facing Church Street.