Homeless In Houston

[debmartin]

recently we discussed a law taking effect to move the homeless out of midtown. since it passed, i have noticed many of these unfortunates moving further along, but not entirely out of midtown. for example, i visit my nephew often at hcc central campus and find the corner of holman & san jacinto a major hang-out. also on my daily travels on the metrorail i've started noticing more hobos moving past the musuem station and into the med center area.

this morning, riding the rail from hermann hospital into downtown, i was shocked to see how many were sleeping in the park. it was around 6:30am and still dark, which convinced me that the people sleeping all over the place were there from the night before and not merely stopping to rest. there were also many shopping carts, make-shift tents and a quite a few boxes. i could not help but wonder where all of this is stashed during the day, maybe further into the park?

this saddens me and angers me at the same time. obviously moving the homeless out of midtown was just as important as moving them out of downtown, but simply putting an ordinance into place does not qualify as a solution. many of you reside downtown/midtown and i would be interested to learn if this new law has provided any relief to your particular situation.

homeless is a multi-faceted issue that i am not even addressing in this post. obviously there are moral, ethical and legal implications, but i speak specifically right now about the issue of public health. our local parks are not designed for camping, and the image of people using them for their personal kitchen, bedroom and toilet will be burned into my memory the next time i feel like taking a blanket out there to relax.

debmartin

[dbigtex56]

On the subject of the homeless - late yesterday afternoon I decided to stroll around downtown, just to see the sights. Went to Allen's Landing and saw the ducks (the ducklings are nearly grown-ups!), and a beautiful white egret, regal and slim as a fashion model. It walked like a fashion model, too - away from me...

Anyway, I was walking down Main Street, and at the corner of McKinney saw a man lying on the sidewalk. I've grown pretty blase' about seeing people sleeping on the sidewalk, but this one seemed different, somehow; the location was too open. I walked up to him and said "Sir? Sir, are you OK?". His eyes were open, but he gave no sign of recognition. Aside from the fact he was breathing, he could easily been mistaken for a corpse. Funny...people had been walking past him, but the moment I showed a bit of concern, they'd stop and ask "Is he all right?". I asked if anyone had seen a policeman in the area; not recently.

I finally tracked one down on Fannin, and waved at him like a madman. He quickly responded by ducking around the corner. Fortunately, he was caught in traffic, so I told him about the man and his exact location. He said he'd send someone. Fifteen minutes later, no response. I tried to flag down two other police cars, but they ignored me. "Bet he woulda stopped if I'd flipped him the bird", I said to a woman standing next to me, and she giggled.

Eventually, an officer showed up, and managed to rouse the man. I approached her and asked if he was OK. "Well" she said, "he's been drinking but I found this in his pocket." and waved a pill bottle. "He's diabetic. We're sending for an ambulance." As I caught the train home, I saw an ambulance pull up.

I wonder how long he would have laid there if I hadn't stopped. I wonder if he would have died, and how long it would have taken someone to notice that there was a corpse on Main Street.

[midtown_resident]

Deb...I live in midtown and haven't really seen any difference. Nor do i think that simply moving them around is going to address the true issues at hand. Unfortunately, our leaders constantly look for band-aids when we really need a systemic change.

In any case, I've noted no new changes in the midtown area. Further, dbigtex56, you'll likely concur with me when i say that Main Street is a haven for many of these dwellers...there has been no real change along Main Street as well.

Sure, there has been change over the years in general...so relatively speaking, one could make the case that the problem has seen some reduction. However, the ordinances are not responsible for that change...nor will they make a difference.

[ricco67]

I DID notice that they're jumping on the rail so they can get to the church on Main @ McGregor. So at least they're getting a bit mobile in regards to making it easier for them to get help.

Sometimes it's the small things like getting mobile that will help them.

In regards to solving a problem, it all simply goes back to NIMBY's, no one wants a homeless shelter near their area or anything that would in some indirect way, reduce the number of homeless out there.

Ricco

[dbigtex56]

I heartily concur, midtown. Ordinances, however well-meaning, are useless without enforcement. Is the city even trying?

A prime example is that horrid cruddy little store at the southeast corner of Main and Rusk (?) - you know, across the street from the West Building. There's always a knot of panhandlers there, throwing trash on the sidewalk and harrassing passersby. I wouldn't even necessarily classify them as homeless; just bums. The store owner does nothing about it, nor do the police. Other than organizing a lynch mob, I'm stymied. Why is this allowed to continue?

This is a terrible thing to say about fellow human beings, but these people literally are pollution. They litter and excrete, and someone has to pick up after them. Some combination of incentive (somewhere else to go) and discouragement (get the hell away from here) is called for. In some cases, the problem is that of mental illness, and until that's addressed it seems as heartless to ignore the problem as it would be to dump off an unwanted pet in a strange neighborhood. In other cases, I believe that there are those who simply are not trying.

If we could enforce the laws we currently have on the books, that would be a start. I am not confident that we have the best police department for the money we're spending. There are many fine, hardworking police officers out there; there are also some lazy bastards, and they need to be weeded out.

[editor]

On the subject of the homeless - late yesterday afternoon I decided to stroll around downtown, just to see the sights. Went to Allen's Landing and saw the ducks (the ducklings are nearly grown-ups!), and a beautiful white egret, regal and slim as a fashion model. It walked like a fashion model, too - away from me...

Anyway, I was walking down Main Street, and at the corner of McKinney saw a man lying on the sidewalk. I've grown pretty blase' about seeing people sleeping on the sidewalk, but this one seemed different, somehow; the location was too open. I walked up to him and said "Sir? Sir, are you OK?". His eyes were open, but he gave no sign of recognition. Aside from the fact he was breathing, he could easily been mistaken for a corpse. Funny...people had been walking past him, but the moment I showed a bit of concern, they'd stop and ask "Is he all right?". I asked if anyone had seen a policeman in the area; not recently.

I finally tracked  one down on Fannin, and waved at him like a madman. He quickly responded by ducking around the corner. Fortunately, he was caught in traffic, so I told him about the man and his exact location. He said he'd send someone. Fifteen minutes later, no response. I tried to flag down two other police cars, but they ignored me. "Bet he woulda stopped if I'd flipped him the bird", I said to a woman standing next to me, and she giggled.

Eventually, an officer showed up, and managed to rouse the man. I approached her and asked if he was OK. "Well" she said, "he's been drinking but I found this in his pocket." and waved a pill bottle. "He's diabetic. We're sending for an ambulance." As I caught the train home, I saw an ambulance pull up.

I wonder how long he would have laid there if I hadn't stopped. I wonder if he would have died, and how long it would have taken someone to notice that there was a corpse on Main Street.

This soooooooooooo has to be the first entry if the Midtown blog gets going. Excellent storytelling.

[editor]

I heartily concur, midtown. Ordinances, however well-meaning, are useless without enforcement. Is the city even trying?

A prime example is that horrid cruddy little store at the southeast corner of Main and Rusk (?) - you know, across the street from the West Building. There's always a knot of panhandlers there, throwing trash on the sidewalk and harrassing passersby. I wouldn't even necessarily classify them as homeless; just bums. The store owner does nothing about it, nor do the police. Other than organizing a lynch mob, I'm stymied. Why is this allowed to continue?

This is a terrible thing to say about fellow human beings, but these people literally are pollution. They litter and excrete, and someone has to pick up after them. Some combination of incentive (somewhere else to go) and discouragement (get the hell away from here) is called for. In some cases, the problem is that of mental illness, and until that's addressed it seems as heartless to ignore the problem as it would be to dump off an unwanted pet in a strange neighborhood. In other cases, I believe that there are those who simply are not trying.

If we could enforce the laws we currently have on the books, that would be a start. I am not confident that we have the best police department for the money we're spending. There are many fine, hardworking police officers out there; there are also some lazy bastards, and they need to be weeded out.

I propose a mob made up of people with sweaters tied around their necks holding cups of Starbucks. Someone can park their Excursion nearby and blast Strauss while the rest surround the malcontents and chat loudly about divident reinvestment.

[midtown_resident]

That location of Main Street (Main/Rusk) is the last standing block that needs to be cleaned up between Main Street plaza and NoDo...

It's happening...and I suspect over the next year, as development continues, much of the riff raff will be eliminated...

[ricco67]

I totally agree with that statement, either that, or the crush of people from a couple of office developments and once the construction on West Towers is done, then everything will be flushed way (for the lack of a better term)

any news on what they are going to do on the lot where they demo'ed the building on main a few months back? Someone said what it was going to be, but that was back in the "Old-HAIF" section.

Ricco

[midtown_resident]

I recall reading on old HAIF that it was going to become a parking garage with street level retail. Perhaps it was Houston_Retail that was the source...that's usually the one!

[musicman]

this morning, riding the rail from hermann hospital into downtown, i was shocked to see how many were sleeping in the park.  it was around 6:30am and still dark, which convinced me that the people sleeping all over the place were there from the night before and not merely stopping to rest.  there were also many shopping carts, make-shift tents and a quite a few boxes. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I used to skate regularly through Hermann Park. The last time i went was last fall. I was very startled to find so many homeless sleeping on the benches in the park. Areas that used to be empty at night are now filled with homeless. A similar situation exists in the park that is on the spot of the old Shamrock Hilton.

I sent an email to City Council who seemed to be unaware of the problem. Yes some of the homeless have moved from Midtown and now they are in other areas where there wasn't a problem.

Enforcement of the law has always been a sticky issue. Most people have the "better in your neighborhood than mine" mentality. This is another one of those laws that quite frankly is not enforceable cause we have bigger problems than where the homeless are staying. Go to NoDo, many are regular fixtures in various institutions (bars) where everyone knows their names.

[largeTEXAS]

Hines is building a parking garage with retail on the 1st floor. I haven't seen the renderings myslef, but

I've heard the design is pretty spectacular. In any case, they are supposed to break ground in January.

[torvald]

This soooooooooooo has to be the first entry if the Midtown blog gets going. Excellent storytelling.

where do we sign up for that? i have nothing but little stories about things... would be interesting. have lived in montrose for sometime and mostly go round here and downtown... small town living in the big city.

[brucesw]

I propose a mob made up of people with sweaters tied around their necks holding cups of Starbucks. Someone can park their Excursion nearby and blast Strauss while the rest surround the malcontents and chat loudly about divident reinvestment.

Absolutely brilliant. Society has been searching for the solution to this problem for ages and I think you've hit upon it.

It might work better than forcing them to listen to a HellFire-and-Brimstone sermon before they can get a bowl of soup.

[GoAtomic]

I finally tracked one down on Fannin, and waved at him like a madman. He quickly responded by ducking around the corner. Fortunately, he was caught in traffic, so I told him about the man and his exact location. He said he'd send someone. Fifteen minutes later, no response. I tried to flag down two other police cars, but they ignored me. "Bet he woulda stopped if I'd flipped him the bird", I said to a woman standing next to me, and she giggled.

What's the deal with HPD lately? I keep hearing that a bunch of officers either left or were retired early (or both), presumably because they're not happy with the way things are going downtown. I've also noticed that some of the cops that work security in my office building seem to often be bitching about work stuff when talking on their cell phones.

All I know is I called in noise complaints two different times a few weeks back (at about 5:00 am, well within the city's 10-7 quiet time), but nobody showed up either time. I know it's not a life or death crime, but still ...