ENCAMPMENT, YES. HOW
TO MAKE IT WORK, THAT’S THE TOUGH PART.
The attention that some of my recent rants have received, a
few people have suggested that I address some of the current issues facing San Jose and it’s homeless community. I have also been asked by a friend, via a FB
message what I think, so here goes.
San Jose made big news a number of months ago when the infamous ‘Jungle’ was shut down. I for one never set foot there, though I did
see the videos later on, documenting the conditions that were found there. I found them absolutely deplorable, and I
for one endorse and applaud the city for closing down the jungle.
The idea of having a city endorsed homeless encampment is
nothing new. I think it would be a grand
idea, but there are so many snares and
pitfalls to doing so, that I see any attempt would likely turn into
another ‘Jungle’ scenario.
If I may be so bold, let me walk the reader through what I
see as some of the problems, and in a few cases, possible solutions.
Location. I’ve seen
areas in San Jose that are virtually un-used, that would make far better
locations that what some would prefer.
St. James park is an absolute ‘No’ in my book. Behind city hall I think is a bad idea also. What would work best would be an open area,
away from the areas where families with young children should be free to run
and play. No well manicured parks should be used for this
(read St James Park). My suggestion would be, there are a number of
areas to the west of downtown, under the freeway overpasses, that are in general use now, and could very
well be good choices.
Sanitation: Keeping
the place clean, plain and simply. This
includes policing the area for trash, debri, and other items that belong in a
dumpster. If you have seen the videos of
the jungle, that is precisely what should not be avoided. More importantly than trash, debri, and ‘what
have you’ is human waste issues. If you
have an encampment, that is being littered with human urine and feces, this is
just begging for the breakout of disease and plague. Solution: This one is fairly easy, portable
toilets. Sure, you can expect them to
stink, and to be absolutely horrible to go in to after no more than a day or
so. This is where the portable toilets
would best be placed near the closest possible road access, so a ‘sugar truck’
could have easy access to them, for their daily (or semi daily) cleaning.
Security: This is the
tough one. You know for certain that
these encampments are going to attract a certain criminal element. Gang bangers, drug dealers, the mentally ill,
and just the general belligerent and hostile members of the community. Would I suggest a constant police presence,
No. I think one of the solutions is to
have appointed ‘keepers of the peace’. How exactly?
Don’t know. I do believe
that I think there should be a very low
tolerance for infractions of the peace.
Zero tolerance? No, not in most cases, I don’t believe. What would be tolerated, would need to be
addressed, and how ? Legal substances I would think would need to
be tolerated, as long as it’s only in the direct vicinity of the users immediate area (read: inside their tent(s) or within arms
reach of the area they’re inhabiting.
Therefore, no keggers, no standing about passing the bottle around, no
smoke outs. Simply, use what you like, as long as it’s legal, and
you keep it to yourself. Illegal drug
use I think should have a much lower tolerance.
Crack, meth, etc…. I believe the
tolerance level for this should be absolutely zero. How to enforce this ? Don’t know.
There are just so many variables in this scenario that I
think it would be an issue that would need to be addressed in a case by case basis.
I also believe, that as soon as any encampment becomes
another ‘Jungle’, that it needs to be
shut down immediately.
I’m certain that this subject should be open for
debate, for refinement, but should
definitely be addressed soon, so that
the homeless community would have a place to go, with no fear of being rousted
on any given night at 3 AM.
I do speak from first hand knowledge. I am one of the member of the San Jose
homeless. I consider myself ‘comfortably homeless’, and in general I don’t ‘camp’ with others, as I have space issues,
so I don’t really know that I’d join a
homeless encampment, but it would be nice to have that option. I have often thought I would be best served
by having a Yuka tree out in the middle
of the Mojave, where my nearest neighbors would be the occasional snake or
rabbit.
If you wish to email me and tell me that I’ve got my head
planted firmly up my south side, feel
free. If you with to email me and debate
these issues, I’m open to that also. If
you wish to email me and tell me I suck as a writer, save your time, I already
know that.
Walt Hansen
San Jose, CA
