Apartments In The Visitor Parking Lot Of 2016 Main St.

[Triton]

It looked like just a plumbing job which included repairs to the old pipes.

[Avossos]

It looked like just a plumbing job which included repairs to the old pipes.

 

LOL

 

everyone in an uproar over pipe repairs

[infinite_jim]

It was soil remediation and removal of the underground tanks. Now it's going to sit tight until the developer closes on another parcel on the block.

[phillip_white]

I feel like they're really showing their hand by doing the remediation before purchasing the other lots.

[H-Town Man]

I feel like they're really showing their hand by doing the remediation before purchasing the other lots.

 

I'm guessing the other part is under contract and just hasn't closed?

[toxtethogrady]

Churches just seem to be magnets for those pesky poor people, and vice versa.

On the other hand, I hear the oil industry and the chemicals people are trying to fill almost 300,000 job vacancies in the next three years, and they're not sure they have people with the skills to take them. Why not teach these street people welding and stick them out on a rig for $80K a year?

[BigFootsSocks]

On the other hand, I hear the oil industry and the chemicals people are trying to fill almost 300,000 job vacancies in the next three years, and they're not sure they have people with the skills to take them. Why not teach these street people welding and stick them out on a rig for $80K a year?

Because that takes a lot of money to teach them let alone provide housing, food, etc. and most of them have some sort of addiction or mental illness. It sucks, but that's just the reality of it. Had we stuck with our state sponsored psychiatry facilities then the homeless situation wouldn't be as bad, but that's another topic for a later day.

[UtterlyUrban]

Because that takes a lot of money to teach them let alone provide housing, food, etc. and most of them have some sort of addiction or mental illness. It sucks, but that's just the reality of it. Had we stuck with our state sponsored psychiatry facilities then the homeless situation wouldn't be as bad, but that's another topic for a later day.

Correct on all counts.

[Ross]

Because that takes a lot of money to teach them let alone provide housing, food, etc. and most of them have some sort of addiction or mental illness. It sucks, but that's just the reality of it. Had we stuck with our state sponsored psychiatry facilities then the homeless situation wouldn't be as bad, but that's another topic for a later day.

 

True,. except for that pesky Supreme Court ruling that said we can't keep people who not a danger to themselves or  others confined against their will. That pretty much shut down the state institutions.

 

[BigFootsSocks]

True,. except for that pesky Supreme Court ruling that said we can't keep people who not a danger to themselves or others confined against their will. That pretty much shut down the state institutions.

I'm generally curious, which SC ruling are you referring to? My understanding with this situation at a basic level is due to Lyndon Johnson's decision to close them.

[Ross]

I'm generally curious, which SC ruling are you referring to? My understanding with this situation at a basic level is due to Lyndon Johnson's decision to close them.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Connor_v._Donaldson and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addington_v._Texas are a couple of cases on the topic

 

Johnson did not have the power to close state facilities.

 

[toxtethogrady]

Because that takes a lot of money to teach them let alone provide housing, food, etc. and most of them have some sort of addiction or mental illness. It sucks, but that's just the reality of it. Had we stuck with our state sponsored psychiatry facilities then the homeless situation wouldn't be as bad, but that's another topic for a later day.

The latest HBJ says the community colleges are offering training courses for $10K or less. Compared to the salaries being paid to welders and roustabouts, it seems like it the trainees could pay back the cost of training pretty quickly - if the employers themselves weren't paying to train them. And anyone making a welder's salary can afford something reasonable. The rehab's the tricky part. But it takes care of two problems - unemployed homeless persons and companies looking for people to work on the oil rigs.

[cloud713]

The latest HBJ says the community colleges are offering training courses for $10K or less. Compared to the salaries being paid to welders and roustabouts, it seems like it the trainees could pay back the cost of training pretty quickly - if the employers themselves weren't paying to train them. And anyone making a welder's salary can afford something reasonable. The rehab's the tricky part. But it takes care of two problems - unemployed homeless persons and companies looking for people to work on the oil rigs.

i hate to keep side tracking this thread, but its an interesting side discussion. as for the rehab, just give them a dose of ibogaine and tell them its "really good stuff". ibogaine does wonders to cure addiction.

[TBooze]

On the other hand, I hear the oil industry and the chemicals people are trying to fill almost 300,000 job vacancies in the next three years, and they're not sure they have people with the skills to take them. Why not teach these street people welding and stick them out on a rig for $80K a year?

 

 

Why would an oil company, or any company for that matter, want to spend the money required for homeless people to learn the skills needed to get one of these jobs. Assuming the homeless person wants a job is risky by any measure, especially when you consider the various reasons why they became homeless. There are a number of studies who's research place the percentage of homeless people with some form of mental illness between 20-30%. Already you're playing against a stacked deck. But if you believe the remaining 70-80% all have normal mental capacities, then the question becomes what percentage of them can be dependable. Given that "addicts constitute a higher proportion of the homeless than do the mentally ill or other identifiable subgroups" as reported in a New York Times article some time ago, it would seem as though the problem with the homeless couldn't easily be solved by trying to get them jobs. That article went on to claim that 75% of all homeless people are addicted to drugs, as well as 70% of all homeless held jobs within the past year. Only 1% of the homeless had never had a job. This brings me back as to why it wouldn't be feasible for any company to tackle this problem, but it would be nice.

[toxtethogrady]

Why would an oil company, or any company for that matter, want to spend the money required for homeless people to learn the skills needed to get one of these jobs. 

Acute labor shortages. It's already a given that you have to clean up their addictions, but that would be true whether you put them on a rig or left them on the street. Getting them a steady income and a skill makes it worth their while to go straight. And maybe they'll become reliable tenants, which is what anyone who owns apartments wants.

[BigFootsSocks]

Acute labor shortages. It's already a given that you have to clean up their addictions, but that would be true whether you put them on a rig or left them on the street. Getting them a steady income and a skill makes it worth their while to go straight. And maybe they'll become reliable tenants, which is what anyone who owns apartments wants.

All great ideas but an oil company isn't going to take on that responsibility unless there's a serious labor shortage.

[jgriff]

Acute labor shortages. It's already a given that you have to clean up their addictions, but that would be true whether you put them on a rig or left them on the street. Getting them a steady income and a skill makes it worth their while to go straight. And maybe they'll become reliable tenants, which is what anyone who owns apartments wants.

 

Very few of them have the life skills to handle having a job that requires showing up everyday on time, not doing drugs and getting along with others. If they had these skills there is a good chance they wouldn't be homeless. Putting them through some class isn't going to solve these problems. It's very difficult finding dependable people even among the population that isn't homeless.

[TBooze]

Very few of them have the life skills to handle having a job that requires showing up everyday on time, not doing drugs and getting along with others. If they had these skills there is a good chance they wouldn't be homeless. Putting them through some class isn't going to solve these problems. It's very difficult finding dependable people even among the population that isn't homeless.

 

 

I couldn't have said this any better.

[Specwriter]

Very few of them have the life skills to handle having a job that requires showing up everyday on time, not doing drugs and getting along with others. If they had these skills there is a good chance they wouldn't be homeless. Putting them through some class isn't going to solve these problems. It's very difficult finding dependable people even among the population that isn't homeless.

 

I believe you are correct, griff, and that is the shame of our society. I admit I don't know the answer to the homeless problem either. I think the homeless would be safer and better cared for if we put them all in a facility where their basic needs could be met. Alas, this sounds too much like an internment camp and would undoubtedly bring up questions of civil liberties, etc.

 

Despite their economic, emotional, and social issues most of the homeless do possess a drive to survive. I believe that is why the gravitate to places where the have the best chance of getting some form of sustenance and shelter no matter how inadequate it may be.

[Urbannizer]

Today by me:

[infinite_jim]

I noticed that the back fence for this lot is now gone so it looks like one contiguous lot with the 1/2 block parking lot adjacent south of it.

Edited August 14, 2014 by infinite_jim

[DrLan34]

Some fencing

 

Edited August 10, 2016 by DrLan34

[H-Town Man]

Why would an oil company, or any company for that matter, want to spend the money required for homeless people to learn the skills needed to get one of these jobs. Assuming the homeless person wants a job is risky by any measure, especially when you consider the various reasons why they became homeless. There are a number of studies who's research place the percentage of homeless people with some form of mental illness between 20-30%. Already you're playing against a stacked deck. But if you believe the remaining 70-80% all have normal mental capacities, then the question becomes what percentage of them can be dependable. Given that "addicts constitute a higher proportion of the homeless than do the mentally ill or other identifiable subgroups" as reported in a New York Times article some time ago, it would seem as though the problem with the homeless couldn't easily be solved by trying to get them jobs. That article went on to claim that 75% of all homeless people are addicted to drugs, as well as 70% of all homeless held jobs within the past year. Only 1% of the homeless had never had a job. This brings me back as to why it wouldn't be feasible for any company to tackle this problem, but it would be nice.

 

When I worked in the forest service in California they had former homeless guys employed as campground hosts. I believe they found them in Los Angeles, about two hours south of where we were. Each one basically just lived out of an RV on a campground and saw to it that things were okay and that someone didn't use the restrooms for target practice (common occurrence), etc. I got to know one of them a little and he struck me as a person trying to do his job well, who didn't complain (very rare in the forest service) and didn't mind rough jobs.

 

Similarly, I remember when the Downtown District in Houston first started having the guys dressed up in yellow and green, they employed a few homeless guys. About 10 years ago I think. There was a story about it in the Chronicle, and they talked to one of them who had personally pulled several snakes out of the water at Main Street Square. He came off kind of like the honey badger... just didn't care. If they wanted him to pull snakes, he'd pull snakes. Better than just being homeless.

 

Moral of the story, it's worth not giving up on them. Part of the reason why more of them aren't violent criminals is that they haven't given up on you.

[Lestat]

So is the fencing new or is that the same fencing that was put up when they were doing the plumping thing a few months ago?

[cloud713]

I was trying to figure that out when I drove by yesterday and saw the fencing

[Triton]

So is the fencing new or is that the same fencing that was put up when they were doing the plumping thing a few months ago?

Definitely new fencing.