Politics Corner October 9th

   

Via Visit Milwaukee 

We have always been at war with the homeless. We kick them out of any place where they visible. We even kick them out when we have to go out of our way to see them. We had a tent city under the freeway downtown. It was unused space that nobody wanted. The excuse to empty it out was that we were going to find housing for the people who lived there and we were going to build something there. We didn't find nearly enough housing and that space is vacant but watched. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Via Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

We have a new tent city developing in the worst park in Milwaukee. It's a flat, desolate space on top of a parking garage. It's only connections are to the fascist looking County building, the forgettable Safety building (more courts) and the brutalist Municipal building (District 1 Police, jail and more courts). No one goes there. No one walks there. No one takes there lunch there. But now there are tents.

It's less protected than the space under the freeway was. Although it might be possible to have easier access to a bathroom - if nothing else the main public library is nearby. But the local Business Improvement District is up in arms because the Street Angels are donating tents and supplies so people don't die on the streets. There aren't even any businesses within two blocks of there. I had no idea the tent city was even there because there is no other reason to go up there.

Like I said, we don't have enough room in the shelters - they are simply not taking any more people in. But also the shelters have rules that some people simply can't follow. Some shelters have religious requirements while almost none will tolerate any kind of drug use which knocks addicts out on the street off the bat - and it's harder to get into rehab than a shelter. And then there's the mentally ill. No. Not all homeless are mentally ill - the vast majority probably aren't - but schizophrenics have a difficult time adjusting to social requirements and shelters are not prepared to deal with them.

We need to find a way of helping people that may not want the kind of help that we want to give. And kicking people out of one place just means that they have to move to some place that's worse.

The Street Angels can use whatever support that you can give. If you look around you can probably find something like them in your town too. https://www.streetangelsmke.org/

Via OnMilwaukee

Political discussion welcome