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The homelessness problem is a matter of perspective according to some Main Street Merchants. I do wonder whether someone who hasn't been downtown or to any city in eons got all melodramatic about some homeless person. You never know. Perception is reality, though, so I'll be glad if they find a remedy soon, although any city is never going to be completely without homeless people.
I was around Main, Elmwood and Sumter St yesterday (Thursday, 07/18 at 3pm or so). If you have been in that area much it was obvious the police were acting different. For one thing they were keeping the homeless from gathering at the corner of Main and Calhoun where usually 10-25 of them hang around. Police were also keeping them moving/walking about and not allowing them to gather nor sit in any one place.
Not professing to having an answer, but yesterday the homeless were being handled differently.
It's sad that Coble never really provided effective leadership on this issue.
Classic case of kicking the can down the road.. now its on Benji's lap and he has no choice but to deal with it.. especially in light of the Mast General/downtown merchant comments, Bull Street redevelopment which he heavily supports and now this facility. I wonder of the Residents of Elmwood Park and of the historic district around the Robert Mills House/Township (though they are mainly law offices and such) are up in arms over this? The area around the Township, Robert Mills, Hampton Preston, Woodrow Wilson boyhood home and what not used to complain about homeless people sleeping or camping in the yards of these places.. And that was in the 80s and 90s.. When I was a kid.. my mother used to drag me down to the YWCA where she took classes which was in that area... The police were always shooing someone out of there.. So, that area has a history of being a homeless encampment and long time property owners/tenants are very aware of potential issues. They could usually flop out in a backyard or porch because after 5pm that area was a ghost town since it was mostly offices and no residents...I dont know if they are as up in arms about it now as they were then....
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