Local Life - Bring Some Love
Reno, like many other cities, is facing a homeless situation. More and more encampments popping up along the river, and therefore complaints about the trash and sanitation issues.
Across the street from my work is Pickett Park. Over the summer, more camps showed up in the exercise area, under the trees...not really in the playground area, but obviously it's been seen as a detriment to many.
A local group has organized a citizens arrest sort of event to basically come harass the homeless people. They present as wanting to help them seek assistance, but the tone of their posts have made many question that. One person in particular has been inciting outrage and possibly using a fake story to do so.
So in response, some folks I know organized to "Bring Some Love to Pickett Park" this Saturday. The community response has been huge - donations are pouring in for supplies to hand out, and it's clear many more people would prefer to actually help the homeless rather than be angry at them.
No one likes to see these camps set up in town - and people are understandably angry with a lack of response from the city - but most people also understand you can't just keep raiding them. They come back. They have nowhere else to go. Our shelters fill up and many would just rather camp than deal with the conditions.
I'm no city planner or community organizer, but I don't see why we don't just set up trash cans/dumpsters and maybe some Sani-Huts in the areas they gather. Would that be any more of an expense than the constant raids? The cleanup effort afterwards?
I don't know the solution to the homeless situation, but I know that reaching out to them with compassion is better than chasing them away with pitchforks.
So tell me about your town - is there a homeless problem? Have you seen any approaches that seem to help?
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