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SnortingCoffee OP t1_j9h46lk wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says by SnortingCoffee

Ok, but we're going to be doing this again with another park in 6 months. I'm tired of this total waste of tax dollars.

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FkDavidTyreeBot_2000 t1_j9hbzsu wrote

Tax dollars used to improve public safety, put 1/3 of that group in better and more sustainable conditions, allow access to public resources and pay district residents for their labor? Sounds like a four way success to me

DC makes it almost impossible to be involuntarily homeless (or at least to go without a roof over your head at little or no cost). Maybe this is callous of me but I don't have much tolerance for those who turn that down, pollute the city with drugs and needles, turn sidewalks into no-go zones and relieve themselves in public parks.

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Feisty_Law_3321 t1_j9h4ned wrote

Agree, but park clearing must continue to be done, vigorously and relentlessly. If it’s not so easy for them to post up somewhere else, they will be more likely to accept help. I’m encouraged to hear that 33% of those at McPherson did accept, and hope the other 2/3 come around to not living on the streets of DC.

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SnortingCoffee OP t1_j9h5nx1 wrote

>If it’s not so easy for them to post up somewhere else, they will be more likely to accept help.

Is there any evidence of this approach actually working anywhere? I've seen it suggested a lot--just make being homeless even more awful then no one will choose to do it--but I have yet to see any study show that it's an effective approach.

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Feisty_Law_3321 t1_j9huio5 wrote

The evidence is in the 1/3 of people at McPherson who finally decided enough was enough.

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Sluzhbenik t1_j9htwju wrote

It doesn’t get much worse than living in a tent in McPherson Square Park. I would say try a lot of different things. We can’t just let anyone post up anywhere, it makes the whole city more dangerous for everyone. And not to mention the economic impact. Your employer wants to drag employees back to in-person work in their McPherson Square office, as the Mayor wants? Surrounded by drug use and danger? No fucking way.

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Mad-Dawg t1_j9hx6oh wrote

If the encampment hadn’t been cleared, the number of people in housing would likely be zero. You can’t count housing as the only measure of success here when there’s a stubbornly resistant group refusing help and an entire community’s well being to consider.

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frappeyourmom t1_j9h9832 wrote

Agreed. There’s been reports that the money that’s supposed to be going towards housing the folx in the parks people on this sub are clutching their pearls about is actually being spent clearing them instead. Color any of us surprised.

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