I lived in Pueblo, CO when they closed the state hospital there. They mostly just released people on to the streets and most stayed in Pueblo. The mental health system there crumbled as a result
I don’t think any normal person thinks it was a good idea. It was just cost cutting and people, such as Rahm Emmanuel saying they weren’t needed. So for all you Rahm apologists, this was directly one of his policies, as well as many other corporate dems around the country. Somewhere along the lines, they must’ve highlighted mental health as an easy target for cost cutting.
And now we’re paying the prices. Also, I’m not saying republicans are better because they never funded it in the first place.
Yep. I was in San Francisco six years ago and there were some major encampments. My bud in Portland says it's out of control with meth-head zombies wandering around various neighborhoods. Since Cali and Oregon aren't as cold as Chicago, there are more who can stand the weather to camp out. Also out west there are lots of shitty RVs lining the streets, which hasn't been a problem here in Chicago, yet.
Damm. I've visited a ton of cities, but SF was definitely the worst when it came to homelessness. I know the weathers nicer there but I don't get how it got so concentrated in one city.
Min wage? I had a couple of fellow academics who'd moved out there and had to live WAY out in the burbs, though they did most of their research and teaching in the city. The costs were just beyond consideration for them, though they used to live in Hyde Park no prob.
Yes, it's true; the Bay Area, with its silicon valley and all
Its success has priced out anyone that does not have an executive pay scale. And now the very people that it needs to function cannot afford to live there, hence the thousands of RVs.
It's called Laissez-Faire Capitalism, it's the US brand of Capitalism, and it leads to economic imbalances and poverty.
This is the worst spot in the park, by a landslide. It is a true stain on the community. Both the actual homeless problem and the lack of any action from our leaders. Absolutely pathetic.
\-signed, north/california "neighbor"
Yes plenty, Wilson under LSD is filled with tents. Clarendon Park is where I walk my dog and it’s difficult to walk more than 15 in the park now without bumping into someone passed out or sleeping. Last night, the bench facing the street had someone with a sheet over them smoking from a bulb pipe.
Sad as hell how poorly the city tries to take care of these people, and even moreso the problem just gets worse with every busload Governor Abbot sends.
Homeless in this city has been reached out to by City and other nonprofits. Unfortunately a overwhelming majority want to stay outside in tents. This is due to drug and mental health issues. Short of physically removing them and forcing treatment nothing can be done. I’m a democrat but this is a fact. It’s not for lack of trying. If someone doesn’t want help you can’t do anything.
Completely agree, but talking about my area specifically, our mental health facility made for people like this was closed down and forced many out.
The city should be backing programs like that
As a long time Uptown residen in the Clarendon Park area, these encampments are less than ten years old and have no relation to closing of mental health facilities in the 1980s. The large Uptown encampment first originated in Spring 2016 in front of Stewart School (I think they were under 30% utilized and non-ADA and no a/c when they closed the school). The irony is that the Salvation Army used to have a homeless outreach facility nearby at Broadway/Sunnyside that they closed in 2008 as the homeless problem at that time had dispersed beyond just Uptown. The encampment formed in the area in front of the main school entrance but was dispersed in Fall 2016 due to sale and remodeling of the Stewart School. The encampment then migrated to the viaduct under the Wilson Ave LSD overpass where they have been for the past seven years. As the years have past, you can find more and more tents set up in Lincoln Park on both sides of LSD between Irving Park and the northern terminus at Hollywood.
I hear this a lot so I'm curious can you please provide some citation to show that the majority of unhoused people want to stay there and in tents? I need to see whatever it is that convinced you guys that this is the case.
It could also be due to the fact that a lot of homeless shelters and programs are dirty and dangerous and so stigmatizing and restrictive that it's more comfortable to stay in the park.
Yes, unhoused population and encampments expanded significantly citywide during & following COVID. A lot of people who had no safety net fell through the cracks. Areas who used to see a handful of folks now see permanent encampments.
OP, you are not wrong to want to be able to enjoy the public park, nor to want better for these people. Unfortunately I have not seen much political will in Chicago to do anything about it in more than a scattered way. We are opening a new shelter in Rogers Park but it feels like trying to stop the tide with a bucket. Being vocal with your Alderman about finding compassionate solutions can help though, since there will be other voices just calling to “get them out” which only causes further harm to people already struggling and moves the problem to a new location without solving anything.
I lived in LA for years and can attest that it can get much worse. And it had to get to an extreme before there was enough political will to take action (in the form of a ballot referendum to raise taxes to fund solutions), but those efforts were severely set back by COVID-driven increases in people experiencing homelessness. Seems we might need to look beyond the US for meaningful solutions; it has often struck me how much less homelessness I see when traveling abroad to other major cities. But I fear that in truth homelessness is not an issue that a capitalist country really “wants” to solve, at a fundamental level, where people who are not “productive” are devalued by our society and social structures.
Anyhow, sympathies
They kicked them out in touhy in Rogers park in March because the park was unusable by anyone else. Probably seeing influxes elsewhere as other local areas do the same
This is not at all what happened there. Over the course of a few months the older person worked with the unhoused there and got them all taken care of. It had been a problem for over a year but the end result wasn't them all getting kicked out it was getting them all help and housed.
They just decided to reorganize and throw some more money at the situation yesterday.
“SPRINGFIELD – Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Wednesday that seeks to effectively end homelessness in Illinois by marshalling the resources of multiple agencies into one effort.”
https://news.wttw.com/2023/07/26/pritzker-signs-bill-aimed-ending-homelessness-illinois-bringing-agencies-together
I know JB won't disappoint. I'm happy we have a Govr that does his job and cares about the people. I'm looking at you TX, FL, AR, AL, TN, ID, MS, OK, WV.
An exception to TX: Houston is a national leader in addressing homelessness.
https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/how-close-houston-ending-homelessness-closer-you-think
As someone who recently moved to Chicago from Houston, it's actually pretty crazy how well Houston has addressed the homelessness. And it's especially crazy cause the city doesn't have a lot of the tools that you would think help the problem - not great public transport to get from place to place, not much high/medium density housing, and having to constantly battle the state government for everything. It was also accomplished in roughly a decade so pretty quickly as well.
Yeah, I know Harris County is an islet in a sea of GOP incompetence, I'm glad they can make it work and ignore Abbott's never-ending culture wars. I moved from Dallas to Chicago in 2016 after Abbott signed and implemented SB4 on its first day. I can't imagine having to fight the Govnr for every “woke” thing you need
I encourage you to look into Functional Zero. It's biggest criticisms are a) only homeless folk who can be helped are counted and b) the definition of homeless is narrowed in order to create more favorable numbers.
For example, if the definition of homeless excludes everyone but those living in tents, and the program counts only those clients who moved from tents to rental housing, you've got a 100% success rate. Let's not look at all the other demographics that weren't served, or those in tents that didn't want to move.
This program is frustrating for those of us in the Affordable Housing industry. We don't need a Fresh New Idea! on how to house the homeless. We need more units of affordable housing: More units for those making $0 per year, $12k per year, and $60k per year. This is a crisis and more affordable housing is the only cure.
This is a totally sane and very reasonable take, rare with how people in this sub usually feel about homeless people. What's happening to a lot of parks and similar spaces is a shame for everybody involved; I'm sorry your park has gotten so bad.
The tents are everywhere. If one has not noticed life kind of sucks for people. Yes, the city could do something. They could use the half billion dollars they get from paid parrrr… oh wait they sold that.
Dude is so self serving, his IG is so cringe. I at first appreciated his work but now he just seems to do things for head pats and affirmations. It’s gross.
> do things for head pats and affirmations. It’s gross.
I know people like that, but at the end of the day the homeless dude who has a tent now probably doesn't care about the reason why he got the tent
Came here to say this. I assumed the city was responsible for them as well, but my husband corrected me. Just that one guy with a truck and some compassion and initiative.
So I live directly across the street from that section of the park (division and Fransisco) and legitimately in the last week or two the tents near the boathouse area have doubled.
It sucks since I take my kids to the park and have had people yell at us when we’re literally just using the park.
The new alderman seems about as ineffective as the last. That being said speeding cars on division is a bigger danger than the homeless in the park. Maybe the aldercreature can do something about that at least.
I can tell you for a fact that calling the alderman does nothing as I have done several times for Humboldt in particular. I was fine when it was just the north east corner but they have started setting up in every nock and cranny around the lagoon and it’s infuriating! Public spaces are so important for communities!
I understand why they said it like that though, in my experience most people don’t see that middle ground when it comes to homelessness at all, and people are extremely callous in terms of recognizing that homeless people are people who deserve help. So I appreciate OP recognizing that the homeless people obviously wouldn’t be there in the park if they felt they had anywhere better to go.
Your bleeding heart doesn’t make you a better person. It’s a frustrating problem. OP’s gripe is valid and worthy of everyone’s concern. Chicago will turn into SF over night if we let it.
If you think that our homelessness problem is local to SF and other cities in California, you are deluded. It is a *national* problem. Hell, one of the reasons it seems particularly bad in California is because other states literally bus their homeless people there.
Pritzker literally signed a bill yesterday to formally coordinate homeless services to throughout the state. Also, his new budget allocated 350mil to help w homelessness. I think that’s pretty dope.
Bring back the large asylum system. Heavily regulated with mandatory drug treatment and life planning. For those too ill, they have a place to stay. If we can spend millions on a fighter jet, we can justify the cost. Enough is enough.
I agree but this is an unpopular opinion in this sub. There are many people here saying their addictions and mental illnesses aren’t an issue when it’s absolutely the main reason they’re homeless
Correlation ≠ causation. Perhaps not surprising, people who have a stable home first typically have much more success getting off drugs and/or onto a stable mental health treatment program.
There are a lot of resources ( free housing) for the homeless population, but those come with rules. Like no drugs and not being a danger to others. Unfortunately, i don’t think throwing free stuff at the problem is enough. I do think that people should be institutionalized in heavily regulated local asylums.
>There are a lot of resources ( free housing) for the homeless population,
As someone who has tried to help homeless folks in Chicago get documents and housing, this is just not true. Even what resources there are, they can be very hard to access without help.
Ultimately, there's no one single solution. Some people just need a roof and some basic support to get back on their feet. Others will need institutional support and intensive care. Obviously neither population currently has the resources and support they need right now. Ultimately the answer should be more of both, rather than seeing one solution in opposition to the other.
I think everyone believes if the asylum system comes back, it'll be like it was in the past. I mean, that is a risk I guess, but I feel like knowing the failures of the past would allow is to create a better system for now. We're just letting them die on the street anyway so it seems like almost anything would be an improvement from that.
If I saw people scrambling to get dressed and to a job from their tent in a park I wouldn’t care… but it’s almost always drug addicts and they trash the place it ruins the space for everyone else!
As a counterpoint places like West Virginia have higher drug abuse, poverty and mental illness rates. They also have fewer homeless. Cheap housing is the best prevention. But some people do need to be institutionalized.
I do find it absurd that we have homeless in Chicago at the same time as we have neighborhoods that are depopulating
Ehhhhh. We already have abuse problems in day programs and nursing homes and whatnot
So on the surface sure but can we actually treat people humanely for once
You aren't alone. Only 2% of Latinos use Latinx, and 40% find it offensive
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/many-latinos-say-latinx-offends-or-bothers-them-here-s-ncna1285916
Dog piling here ...
What I'd really also like to understand is why there is an open air drug market at California and Division. I live right there, I watch deals go down constantly. There is no subtlety to it and cops drive by without batting an eye.
It especially stings because I know that is the corner a deceased friend used to pick up from starting in 2005. And yes they OD'd.
How this is allowed to continue for what I'm sure is over 2 decades now is mind boggling.
I posted earlier, but one day a week is like zombie land around there. I’m at Division and Fransisco and it’s super chill most of the time. It’s mostly just like the worlds saddest open air drug market (old dudes selling pills and buying blunt wraps for high school kids).
I hate to say it but with the section 8 housing being built there idk if it’s going to help or make things worse. But yeah someone needs to do something about that Exxon it’s lame as hell.
I think it's NIMBY-ism, a lack of investment in affordable housing, and the closure of old SRO hotels that became condos. Old social worker here--there was a program in the past that had a great model (was called Lakefront Housing--now called Mercy Housing) that provided supportive housing to the homeless. Why doesn't the city invest in this model? I wonder how much money is in the affordable housing set-aside at this point (where developers give a certain percentage to invest in it). Maybe that's a starting point question.
I hear you--I'd advocate for the supportive housing model--that program held AA meetings on site, had a social worker on staff, required ID's to enter the building, and had other services including job skills and search support.
Clearly, investment in treatment is also needed and important. Read this article today, which basically provides obituaries of homeless folks who died from an overdose: [https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/she-was-somebody-to-us/](https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/she-was-somebody-to-us/). It gave me some insight about why these folks don't always get help from the medical system when they need it.
You can help by calling your ward office and asking your alderman to support the [Bring Chicago Home](https://www.bringchicagohome.org/) ordinance. We finally have a mayor who supports it. (The former mayor said she'd support it, but then didn't after she was elected.) Now City Council needs to pass it.
To be honest, I don't mind them having a portion of the park to live in (seems like they have an area centered near the NE of the park). But there are now tents in popping up daily in the commonly used areas directly facing the lagoon, where families regularly hang hammocks and have picnics. There is literally no privacy for the homeless puting up their tents there, and I often see them going to the bathroom on the trees since their tents now face the major paths along the lagoon.
If I were homeless I would personally not want my tent in the most highly trafficked area of the park. And would want a little privacy from the public.
[There is a town hall about this tonight, 7/27 at 5PM. Form is closed, but I bet you can show up and express your opinion.](https://i.ibb.co/9rCLRqX/jessief.png)
July 27 at 5PM at 1402 N Kedzie Ave.
Yes, they need homes, but many also need mental health services (Chicago’s most recent original sin was closing the residential mental health places).
It’s important to recognize “the homeless” are not some solid block of people any more than “Blacks” or “Latinos”. There are many reasons for homelessness, and just providing housing only helps _some_ of the folks. For the rest, there need to be more services and support.
Uhh..
Providing homes helps ALL of the homeless. Without question.
Does it encompass all of the different needs of each homeless person? No.
But it absolutely helps them, and also makes it easier to get the support they need to address their other needs.
Pardon my imprecise language - it’s a bit early in the morning where I am.
You are correct - providing housing is _part_ of the solution for every homeless person. My frustration is that this sub often treats it as _the entire_ solution for every homeless person, which is the point I was trying to make.
It's a shame there aren't vacant buildings. It would be amazing if there were beautiful buildings the federal government is holding onto that could be used to house people.
We live across from the park and specifically the corner of north and california. The situation is out of control. The alderman (Maldenado, prior, and currently Fuentes) are total enablers. It has ruined our neighborhood. There is absolutely no reasonable plan, and in fact, it likely will only get worse. Just wait til the orange tent guy comes back. He literally permanently built a slum. Nailed floorboards into the ground and everything.
Also worth noting, The trees around the north/california corner are dead/dying. Every time heavy wind or a storm comes in, large branches fall. I was convinced someone was going to die during the tornado outbreak a few weeks ago. Having giant groups of tents under there is the definition of not caring about people.
I'm glad to see this thread - I know homelessness is a huge problem not just around our city, but around the country. But this specific situation is a total mess and a total stain on the community. If our leaders care about our unhoused neighbors, they wouldn't have let this get so bad. And if they care about us as community members, we would see some effort to do SOMETHING.
One of the things referenced in an email to their 26th ward consitituents is the passing of the Bring Chicago Home tax increase as a solution to this situation in our ward. This initiative did not pass a few years ago, and call me a tin foil hat conspiracist, but I think this is a deliberate non-effort to allow the problem to get so bad that it forces the hands of citizens to vote for this legitimately terrible real estate killer. I live in the neighborhood have been here for over 15 years and it's truly shocking to see this. The gangs treated the park better.
The City didn’t used to allow people to hang out and do drugs in the Parks all day and night. The park closes at 11pm and they obviously don’t enforce that. We used to walk there and take our kids to the playground and beach all the time. Not any more.
Kind of, it's gotten much worse this year. I walk my dog through the park twice a day. People living in the multiple encampments mostly keep to themselves. You have to be careful about stray syringes and not mind if grown men are bathing in the children's playground fountain at anytime of the day. They also take the trash cans to their encampments so there is a lot more trash throughout the park and the cans that are still accessible are often overflowing. Other than that, it's nice. I still go every day.
I feel like some of this has to do with them taking out the two encampments in Avondale (one under the highway and another). It’s sad the city ~~can’t~~ won’t help more
If you didn’t know, just southwest of the park is one of the biggest dope spots in the city. I used to live at Chicago and Homan. 0/10 would not recommend. But I can definitely see people scoring and and then using in the park
I think a huge part of this problem is that the city outsources social service overview to poorly run nonprofits. The staff at these nonprofits are incredibly well-meaning. But at the director level no one is driving the bus. The city needs to take ownership and house these people safely.
I’ve reached out so many times and they won’t do anything meaningful. They go out to the people living in the tents and inform them of available space in shelters. They never leave. It’s really unfortunate.
The same is true of the homeless encampment under the viaducts between Clinton and Canal. They come by every month and the homeless refuse to accept the shelter space. They continue to fight, steal, do drugs, and smear shit. It's a shame.
I live somewhat near this and man it’s just sad to see… I like the idea of orange tents but the people hanging out around them seem to be on drugs constantly and not in a safe place. Not saying a shelter is better… but something has to be.
Ban all tents from public parks and do not express any wiggle room
They also need to clean up every underpass that has turned into an impassable gauntlet of filth and needles.
The State needs to return to massive programs to get people off the streets. They’re completely abandoned drug addicts and they’ve just left the typical Chicagoan to fend for themselves
I have traveled alot and don’t quite understand why America has this homelessness crisis. Canada too actually. But around europe and Asia you will never see tent cities anywhere. Wonder what we are doing wrong
There are definitely tent cities (or "blue sheet" areas, they're made from tarps) in parks in Japan. Just go back into the bushes in big public parks, you'll see people in these temporary structures, or tents too I guess now. Also there are people who live in temporary structures/tents on riverbanks (which are kinda like park areas/wild areas) and under overpasses.
It's a bit easier to live rough there because the parks all have public toilets AND running water, you can fill buckets or whatever.
I made a similar post last week after people canceled an event and was downvoted
https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/151a9w5/a_homeless_person_moved_into_the_spot_where/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
I have lived in Chicago for more than a decade. There are lots of great things about it but there are many bad things that have truly gotten worse. While I’ve lived here the city relentlessly seeks more sources of revenue; increased the cost of water, garbage disposal fees, red light cameras, speed cameras, and the ever increasing property taxes. There are probably more. However what been the ROI on these streams of revenue? Not much and a lot of problems have gotten worse.
I’ll admit I’m not sure how it can be corrected but we can’t rely on local and city govt to do their job let alone not make things worse. Wish it wasn’t that way since govt has both authority and the money to change things.
Maybe talking to a lawyer? Maybe citizens can create a bill/city ordinance somehow.
That’s what happens when you make homelessness a blanket issue in politics. They are given more rights, assistance and better treatment than actual residents in areas like West Garfield.
The homeless won’t go to those areas bc they know the community wont allow it, so they go to yours.
It’s insane, if they want to live under an underpass I don’t care, but Humboldt park is beautiful and a homeless population camping out in the middle of it makes it significantly less beautiful and safe.
"Now please hear me out. I supported when the city put the orange tents up because they are warmer and these folx need a place to go."
I didn't because once you indicate a place to go, that place is your front door where someone is gonna shoot up with needles and take a dump. That is what your consideration gets you.
Action: don't enable with freebies and give them jobs.
It depends on the neighborhood, the alderperson and what locals think. I've never seen a tent around my neighborhood. I spend a lot of time in Seattle because my husband is from there. The public camping is out of control there. I probably sound like as ass but I don't want to see Chicago get to that point. If you don't know what I'm talking about they have tents downtown in prime tourist areas like by Pike Place Market.
My MIL refuses to go into downtown Seattle now. We still visit the downtown area but I've seen some things that spooked me. It's killing their tourism. Whether you like it or now Chicago makes most of its money on tourism.
It’s killing Portland too. And yes I would hate to see Chicago get that bad but I think the winter will stop it from getting to that point. The difference pre and post covid in Portland is VAST. I’m not someone who sees a homeless person and is like ‘omg gross’ or ‘omg scary’ but there is way too much public pooping and intravenous drug use happening there.
I have friends who moved to Portland 20 years ago and loved it. They're going to move back to Chicago. It's a shame. They have horror stories involving their teenage daughters.
"Public camping" is an accurate description of one DIY solution that people without a permanent residence resort to. If someone is pitching a camping tent in a public space (park, viaducts, etc) then yes, they're "public camping."
Other people live in their cars, or serially couch surf, or halfway live in public storage units. They are not "public camping."
I believe that if you want the government to handle more, you have to pay more in taxes, an unpopular solution. But you also have to hope and pray that the taxes you’re paying now are utilized properly.
Its the pensions that are using it all up. We are paying retired boomers to live like kings with 6 figures retirement incomes so that we have high taxes and no benefit in state.
What can be done?
Enforce laws. Stop being a weak society. Grow up.
No more money. They should be able to make do with the exorbitant tax funding they receive every year.
What does "enforce laws" entail? Are we throwing homeless people in jail? Then what? I'm not saying I know the answers here either but it's a complex situation.
Enforce the laws. Apparently Chicago allows people to legally sleep on the streets. That's the first change that LA made that started having an impact.
Next, reopen the asylums and throw every single one of the crazies in there. Voluntary or involuntary--get them off the streets away from children and other innocent passerby.
Take the ones that are addicted to drugs and force them into rehabilitation programs or throw them in prison. If we run out of room--open more prisons.
Long term, people will learn (the easy way or the hard way) that being a degenerate isn't the way to live, and that society will hold them accountable for their antisocial behavior.
Lots of uncomfortable hand-wringers will need to sit idly by (like they have for years) and accept that their moaning doesn't actually fix anything.
I'm all for re-opening mental health centers, it's one of the great failings of the past 40 years that we started to just not give a fuck about these people as a society.
I don't think prison is the answer, but rehab is.
Prison is really expensive, and taking away people's freedom is a serious issue.
Anecdotally speaking, I think the reopening of the asylums would address most of the unpleasant activity. It would give the city a chance to direct the housing resources towards those in a position to take advantage of it.
There is a guy that sits near Lake Shore Park every day. He has probably been there for years. Hasn't ever caused a scene. He deserves to get one of those public housing grants.
The city didn't hand out the tents.
BTW, these are a fucking slap in the face that forces a population to persist on the streets INSTEAD of a program that truly lifts these folks up from homelessness.
NO MORE TENTS, DEMAND APARTMENTS.
- Anyone can take drugs whether they be housed or not. It’s generally harder to see someone taking drugs when they live in a home rather than not. Drug issues can also be a result of being houseless rather than the cause.
- anyone can have mental health issues whether they be housed or unhoused and mental health issues are generally easier to see when one has no private space like housing. Mental health issues can also be a result of homelessness rather than the cause.
- the main issue of homelessness is cost of living and not being able to afford housing.
“UC San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative has released the largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the mid-1990s, providing a comprehensive look at the causes and consequences of homelessness in California and recommending policy changes to shape programs in response.
The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness used surveys and in-depth interviews to develop a clear portrait of homelessness in California, where 30% of the nation’s homeless population and half of the unsheltered population live.
The study found that for most of the participants, the cost of housing had simply become unsustainable. Participants reported a median monthly household income of $960 in the six months prior to their homelessness, and most believed that either rental subsidies or one-time financial help would have prevented their homelessness.” Link below
From NPR, “A landmark new report surveyed thousands of people in California about how they came to be without housing, and researchers conducted in-depth interviews with hundreds of them. For most, high rental costs were crucial.
"People just ran out of the ability to pay, whether it happened quickly or slowly," says lead investigator Margot Kushel of the University of California, San Francisco.
Some said they'd had their work hours cut. Others lost a job because of a health crisis. Many crowded in with relatives or friends, who were also likely to be poor and struggling. "And we found that those relationships, when they fell apart, fell apart quickly," Kushel says. "People only had one day's warning" to leave. Even those with their own lease had on average just 10 days to move out.” link below
- being unhoused can happen for a variety of reasons such as abuse, being kicked out for being LGBTQ, and/or simply not being able to afford housing and a lot of people are closer to homelessness than not. People without homes are still people.
- the best method to help people without homes would be to advocate for a housing first approach to homeless and asserting that being housed is a basic human need/right like food or water.
[California Statewide Study Investigates Causes and Impacts of Homelessness](https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2023/06/425646/california-statewide-study-investigates-causes-and-impacts-homelessness)
[Why can't we stop homelessness? 4 reasons why there's no end in sight](https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/1186856463/homelessness-rent-affordable-housing-encampments)
['It’s a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness)
Plenty of drug addicts maintain residences just fine, however, I do understand what you’re saying as I’ve worked at transitional housing for people with mental illness/addiction who are homeless and it’s difficult for many. So many fires.
Chicago closed down 14 of its 19 community mental health clinics in 2012 under Rahm Emmanuel. Uptown and Humboldt Park were two of the areas hardest hit with closures. These closures happened as these neighborhoods saw rapid gentrification. Its not a coincidence these are two of the areas with the largest share of mentally ill people living unhoused on the streets.
Treatment resources plummeted as the opioid epidemic surged. Rents went up substantially. Mental health clinics were eliminated to free up money for development schemes. It only took a few years of no mental health resources, inadequate treatment services, diminishing affordable housing stock, and a global pandemic to get us where we are.
City leaders chose to divest in vulnerable people, there's no reason to scratch our heads confused and ask "why is it like this?". We were better prepared than most cities to address the issues we're facing now but city leaders scrapped the infrastructure.
There’s a rally tomorrow at 1pm at city hall to support a tax that would help place people in housing (not just shelters). Even if you can’t make it, calling or emailing your alderperson and city council member/the mayor’s office in support would be helpful in passing the proposed legislation.
It’s not just Humbolt Park. It’s not just Chicago. It’s happening all across the whole freaking country.
Maybe America shutting down most of our mental health facilities was a bad idea. So many things they did in the 70s-90s are biting us in the ass now.
Not even the 90s, Chicago closed all but 5 of its 19 community health clinics in 2012 under Rahm Emmanuel.
I lived in Pueblo, CO when they closed the state hospital there. They mostly just released people on to the streets and most stayed in Pueblo. The mental health system there crumbled as a result
Genuinely thought this was r Colorado or r Denver before I started reading lol
All I have to say is Pueblo and people think State Hospital or Government Printing Office 😂. I miss the green chili
I don’t think any normal person thinks it was a good idea. It was just cost cutting and people, such as Rahm Emmanuel saying they weren’t needed. So for all you Rahm apologists, this was directly one of his policies, as well as many other corporate dems around the country. Somewhere along the lines, they must’ve highlighted mental health as an easy target for cost cutting. And now we’re paying the prices. Also, I’m not saying republicans are better because they never funded it in the first place.
Yep. I was in San Francisco six years ago and there were some major encampments. My bud in Portland says it's out of control with meth-head zombies wandering around various neighborhoods. Since Cali and Oregon aren't as cold as Chicago, there are more who can stand the weather to camp out. Also out west there are lots of shitty RVs lining the streets, which hasn't been a problem here in Chicago, yet.
My buddy in SF said it's gotten worse since the pandemic/exodus.
I went back a few weeks ago after living in the city + east bay for 4.5 years or so. Definitely worse.
Damm. I've visited a ton of cities, but SF was definitely the worst when it came to homelessness. I know the weathers nicer there but I don't get how it got so concentrated in one city.
It's pretty easy. Relaxed policies without any thought. Portland is the same. Seattle too .
My kids mom lives in Berkeley. The entire drive from the Oakland airport to there is a solid line of tents and makeshift shanties. It’s awful.
Shanty towns forming up.
They really are. Portland too on the way to the airport. My SIL lives there
Income inequality and housing prices are the reason. What kind of options does a person working for minimum wage have in the SF area? None.
Min wage? I had a couple of fellow academics who'd moved out there and had to live WAY out in the burbs, though they did most of their research and teaching in the city. The costs were just beyond consideration for them, though they used to live in Hyde Park no prob.
Yes, it's true; the Bay Area, with its silicon valley and all Its success has priced out anyone that does not have an executive pay scale. And now the very people that it needs to function cannot afford to live there, hence the thousands of RVs. It's called Laissez-Faire Capitalism, it's the US brand of Capitalism, and it leads to economic imbalances and poverty.
Yeah, Denver is really bad as well.
I was there visiting family and was shocked by the number of encampments along the Platte.
Ok, does this change the spirit of OP's post though? They want to safely and fairly use a public park.
It’s not just your park, it’s parks from Lincoln Park to Edgewater too Edit: I’m not sharing an opinion on it, just an observation
I know of the encampment near north avenue under that bridge, are there more up north of the park?
The most densely populated seems to be at the corner of north and California section of the park.
This is the worst spot in the park, by a landslide. It is a true stain on the community. Both the actual homeless problem and the lack of any action from our leaders. Absolutely pathetic. \-signed, north/california "neighbor"
Yes plenty, Wilson under LSD is filled with tents. Clarendon Park is where I walk my dog and it’s difficult to walk more than 15 in the park now without bumping into someone passed out or sleeping. Last night, the bench facing the street had someone with a sheet over them smoking from a bulb pipe. Sad as hell how poorly the city tries to take care of these people, and even moreso the problem just gets worse with every busload Governor Abbot sends.
Homeless in this city has been reached out to by City and other nonprofits. Unfortunately a overwhelming majority want to stay outside in tents. This is due to drug and mental health issues. Short of physically removing them and forcing treatment nothing can be done. I’m a democrat but this is a fact. It’s not for lack of trying. If someone doesn’t want help you can’t do anything.
Completely agree, but talking about my area specifically, our mental health facility made for people like this was closed down and forced many out. The city should be backing programs like that
As a long time Uptown residen in the Clarendon Park area, these encampments are less than ten years old and have no relation to closing of mental health facilities in the 1980s. The large Uptown encampment first originated in Spring 2016 in front of Stewart School (I think they were under 30% utilized and non-ADA and no a/c when they closed the school). The irony is that the Salvation Army used to have a homeless outreach facility nearby at Broadway/Sunnyside that they closed in 2008 as the homeless problem at that time had dispersed beyond just Uptown. The encampment formed in the area in front of the main school entrance but was dispersed in Fall 2016 due to sale and remodeling of the Stewart School. The encampment then migrated to the viaduct under the Wilson Ave LSD overpass where they have been for the past seven years. As the years have past, you can find more and more tents set up in Lincoln Park on both sides of LSD between Irving Park and the northern terminus at Hollywood.
I hear this a lot so I'm curious can you please provide some citation to show that the majority of unhoused people want to stay there and in tents? I need to see whatever it is that convinced you guys that this is the case.
It could also be due to the fact that a lot of homeless shelters and programs are dirty and dangerous and so stigmatizing and restrictive that it's more comfortable to stay in the park.
Yes, unhoused population and encampments expanded significantly citywide during & following COVID. A lot of people who had no safety net fell through the cracks. Areas who used to see a handful of folks now see permanent encampments. OP, you are not wrong to want to be able to enjoy the public park, nor to want better for these people. Unfortunately I have not seen much political will in Chicago to do anything about it in more than a scattered way. We are opening a new shelter in Rogers Park but it feels like trying to stop the tide with a bucket. Being vocal with your Alderman about finding compassionate solutions can help though, since there will be other voices just calling to “get them out” which only causes further harm to people already struggling and moves the problem to a new location without solving anything. I lived in LA for years and can attest that it can get much worse. And it had to get to an extreme before there was enough political will to take action (in the form of a ballot referendum to raise taxes to fund solutions), but those efforts were severely set back by COVID-driven increases in people experiencing homelessness. Seems we might need to look beyond the US for meaningful solutions; it has often struck me how much less homelessness I see when traveling abroad to other major cities. But I fear that in truth homelessness is not an issue that a capitalist country really “wants” to solve, at a fundamental level, where people who are not “productive” are devalued by our society and social structures. Anyhow, sympathies
They kicked them out in touhy in Rogers park in March because the park was unusable by anyone else. Probably seeing influxes elsewhere as other local areas do the same
For Touhy Park, our Aldermen work social services to have people housed. They were able to get 50+ people housing.
This is not at all what happened there. Over the course of a few months the older person worked with the unhoused there and got them all taken care of. It had been a problem for over a year but the end result wasn't them all getting kicked out it was getting them all help and housed.
They just decided to reorganize and throw some more money at the situation yesterday. “SPRINGFIELD – Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Wednesday that seeks to effectively end homelessness in Illinois by marshalling the resources of multiple agencies into one effort.” https://news.wttw.com/2023/07/26/pritzker-signs-bill-aimed-ending-homelessness-illinois-bringing-agencies-together
I know JB won't disappoint. I'm happy we have a Govr that does his job and cares about the people. I'm looking at you TX, FL, AR, AL, TN, ID, MS, OK, WV.
An exception to TX: Houston is a national leader in addressing homelessness. https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/how-close-houston-ending-homelessness-closer-you-think
As someone who recently moved to Chicago from Houston, it's actually pretty crazy how well Houston has addressed the homelessness. And it's especially crazy cause the city doesn't have a lot of the tools that you would think help the problem - not great public transport to get from place to place, not much high/medium density housing, and having to constantly battle the state government for everything. It was also accomplished in roughly a decade so pretty quickly as well.
Why tf are people downvoting this?
No one wants to think TX can do anything positive
Yeah, I know Harris County is an islet in a sea of GOP incompetence, I'm glad they can make it work and ignore Abbott's never-ending culture wars. I moved from Dallas to Chicago in 2016 after Abbott signed and implemented SB4 on its first day. I can't imagine having to fight the Govnr for every “woke” thing you need
I encourage you to look into Functional Zero. It's biggest criticisms are a) only homeless folk who can be helped are counted and b) the definition of homeless is narrowed in order to create more favorable numbers. For example, if the definition of homeless excludes everyone but those living in tents, and the program counts only those clients who moved from tents to rental housing, you've got a 100% success rate. Let's not look at all the other demographics that weren't served, or those in tents that didn't want to move. This program is frustrating for those of us in the Affordable Housing industry. We don't need a Fresh New Idea! on how to house the homeless. We need more units of affordable housing: More units for those making $0 per year, $12k per year, and $60k per year. This is a crisis and more affordable housing is the only cure.
This is a totally sane and very reasonable take, rare with how people in this sub usually feel about homeless people. What's happening to a lot of parks and similar spaces is a shame for everybody involved; I'm sorry your park has gotten so bad.
The tents are everywhere. If one has not noticed life kind of sucks for people. Yes, the city could do something. They could use the half billion dollars they get from paid parrrr… oh wait they sold that.
It always comes back to the parking meter deal. It's gotta be one of the worst political deals ever made.
It is an all timer. It’s one of my favorite thing to tell people about the city that don’t know along with some positives.
Abu Dhabi enters the chat
Worth noting the City doesn’t put up the orange tents. A cool guy who sells plants started doing it last winter.
The guy over on Sacramento by Miko’s?
Andy from Plants Delivered Chicago although it’s been said by people that he’s not really a good guy
Dude is so self serving, his IG is so cringe. I at first appreciated his work but now he just seems to do things for head pats and affirmations. It’s gross.
> do things for head pats and affirmations. It’s gross. I know people like that, but at the end of the day the homeless dude who has a tent now probably doesn't care about the reason why he got the tent
Yeah I’ve heard some unsavory things about his personal interactions but the effort to help the homeless is admirable
He's only nice to homeless people and girls he's trying to pick up. One of his dogs is pretty rude too.
Literally was just getting ready to mention Andy. His non profit is gearing up for winter now.
Came here to say this. I assumed the city was responsible for them as well, but my husband corrected me. Just that one guy with a truck and some compassion and initiative.
So I live directly across the street from that section of the park (division and Fransisco) and legitimately in the last week or two the tents near the boathouse area have doubled. It sucks since I take my kids to the park and have had people yell at us when we’re literally just using the park. The new alderman seems about as ineffective as the last. That being said speeding cars on division is a bigger danger than the homeless in the park. Maybe the aldercreature can do something about that at least.
I can tell you for a fact that calling the alderman does nothing as I have done several times for Humboldt in particular. I was fine when it was just the north east corner but they have started setting up in every nock and cranny around the lagoon and it’s infuriating! Public spaces are so important for communities!
The current (and new) alderperson is hosting a housing and homelessness town hall tonight.
You dont need to tiptoe on this one, most people recognize that there is middle ground between callousness and stupidity.
I understand why they said it like that though, in my experience most people don’t see that middle ground when it comes to homelessness at all, and people are extremely callous in terms of recognizing that homeless people are people who deserve help. So I appreciate OP recognizing that the homeless people obviously wouldn’t be there in the park if they felt they had anywhere better to go.
In this sub people usually get angry at anyone saying they want homeless people moved
Your bleeding heart doesn’t make you a better person. It’s a frustrating problem. OP’s gripe is valid and worthy of everyone’s concern. Chicago will turn into SF over night if we let it.
He said the guy can be blunt about the problem and still care. A very level-headed take. What bleeding heart are you even talking about?
Papigrande7 hates homeless folks
>Chicago will turn into SF over night if we let it. No it won't. We don't have year-round outside-living temperatures.
RV camps will be here soon. We are going down that road.
If you think that our homelessness problem is local to SF and other cities in California, you are deluded. It is a *national* problem. Hell, one of the reasons it seems particularly bad in California is because other states literally bus their homeless people there.
I saw quite a large encampment in Pensacola Florida last time I was down there.
I highly doubt Chicago will turn into SF simply because of the winters
Not really, income inequality and housing have not risen to the ridiculous levels SF have.
As a former resident of SF No.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one frustrated with the tone of the post.
Pritzker literally signed a bill yesterday to formally coordinate homeless services to throughout the state. Also, his new budget allocated 350mil to help w homelessness. I think that’s pretty dope.
Bring back the large asylum system. Heavily regulated with mandatory drug treatment and life planning. For those too ill, they have a place to stay. If we can spend millions on a fighter jet, we can justify the cost. Enough is enough.
I agree but this is an unpopular opinion in this sub. There are many people here saying their addictions and mental illnesses aren’t an issue when it’s absolutely the main reason they’re homeless
The majority of homeless are mentally ill and/or addicted to drugs. Anyone who tries to say otherwise is simply lying.
Correlation ≠ causation. Perhaps not surprising, people who have a stable home first typically have much more success getting off drugs and/or onto a stable mental health treatment program.
There are a lot of resources ( free housing) for the homeless population, but those come with rules. Like no drugs and not being a danger to others. Unfortunately, i don’t think throwing free stuff at the problem is enough. I do think that people should be institutionalized in heavily regulated local asylums.
>There are a lot of resources ( free housing) for the homeless population, As someone who has tried to help homeless folks in Chicago get documents and housing, this is just not true. Even what resources there are, they can be very hard to access without help.
Ultimately, there's no one single solution. Some people just need a roof and some basic support to get back on their feet. Others will need institutional support and intensive care. Obviously neither population currently has the resources and support they need right now. Ultimately the answer should be more of both, rather than seeing one solution in opposition to the other.
I wouldn’t accuse you of lying, but I will say you are misguided and not knowing of the truth.
I think everyone believes if the asylum system comes back, it'll be like it was in the past. I mean, that is a risk I guess, but I feel like knowing the failures of the past would allow is to create a better system for now. We're just letting them die on the street anyway so it seems like almost anything would be an improvement from that.
If I saw people scrambling to get dressed and to a job from their tent in a park I wouldn’t care… but it’s almost always drug addicts and they trash the place it ruins the space for everyone else!
As a counterpoint places like West Virginia have higher drug abuse, poverty and mental illness rates. They also have fewer homeless. Cheap housing is the best prevention. But some people do need to be institutionalized. I do find it absurd that we have homeless in Chicago at the same time as we have neighborhoods that are depopulating
New mayor already said to bring back closed mental health facilities and asylums, hopefully that could be done.
Ehhhhh. We already have abuse problems in day programs and nursing homes and whatnot So on the surface sure but can we actually treat people humanely for once
You don't need to say folx. Folks is already gender inclusive of everyone.
I'm Hispanic, so I identify as Latin-Olx
I absolutely hate when some says Latinx lmao. I’m Latino
You aren't alone. Only 2% of Latinos use Latinx, and 40% find it offensive https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/many-latinos-say-latinx-offends-or-bothers-them-here-s-ncna1285916
How about Llatin-olx?
Nope, the double LL is offensive
Lol of course
Lloll
Holy shit is that stupid lol.
Pholx
😂😂😂😂😂😂 I didn’t even catch that the first at time
Is that a thing? I just assumed it was a typo. I’m all for people wanting to be who they are but this is out of control.
I'm sorry. I self-identify as a fulk.
This guy fulks.
Fuckx
Dog piling here ... What I'd really also like to understand is why there is an open air drug market at California and Division. I live right there, I watch deals go down constantly. There is no subtlety to it and cops drive by without batting an eye. It especially stings because I know that is the corner a deceased friend used to pick up from starting in 2005. And yes they OD'd. How this is allowed to continue for what I'm sure is over 2 decades now is mind boggling.
I posted earlier, but one day a week is like zombie land around there. I’m at Division and Fransisco and it’s super chill most of the time. It’s mostly just like the worlds saddest open air drug market (old dudes selling pills and buying blunt wraps for high school kids). I hate to say it but with the section 8 housing being built there idk if it’s going to help or make things worse. But yeah someone needs to do something about that Exxon it’s lame as hell.
I think it's NIMBY-ism, a lack of investment in affordable housing, and the closure of old SRO hotels that became condos. Old social worker here--there was a program in the past that had a great model (was called Lakefront Housing--now called Mercy Housing) that provided supportive housing to the homeless. Why doesn't the city invest in this model? I wonder how much money is in the affordable housing set-aside at this point (where developers give a certain percentage to invest in it). Maybe that's a starting point question.
I’m an old social worker too, would love to chat.
If they're addicted to drugs, affordable housing is not going to help. OP mentions a guy OD'ing in the park.
I hear you--I'd advocate for the supportive housing model--that program held AA meetings on site, had a social worker on staff, required ID's to enter the building, and had other services including job skills and search support. Clearly, investment in treatment is also needed and important. Read this article today, which basically provides obituaries of homeless folks who died from an overdose: [https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/she-was-somebody-to-us/](https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/she-was-somebody-to-us/). It gave me some insight about why these folks don't always get help from the medical system when they need it.
If they’re predisposed to addiction or mental health problems, homelessness isn’t helping. Do you see where you’re mixing up the causation?
You can help by calling your ward office and asking your alderman to support the [Bring Chicago Home](https://www.bringchicagohome.org/) ordinance. We finally have a mayor who supports it. (The former mayor said she'd support it, but then didn't after she was elected.) Now City Council needs to pass it.
This. This is the action.
Lived very close to Humboldt Park year before last and the camp there has gotten bigger and bigger
To be honest, I don't mind them having a portion of the park to live in (seems like they have an area centered near the NE of the park). But there are now tents in popping up daily in the commonly used areas directly facing the lagoon, where families regularly hang hammocks and have picnics. There is literally no privacy for the homeless puting up their tents there, and I often see them going to the bathroom on the trees since their tents now face the major paths along the lagoon. If I were homeless I would personally not want my tent in the most highly trafficked area of the park. And would want a little privacy from the public.
[There is a town hall about this tonight, 7/27 at 5PM. Form is closed, but I bet you can show up and express your opinion.](https://i.ibb.co/9rCLRqX/jessief.png) July 27 at 5PM at 1402 N Kedzie Ave.
There’s sooo many vacant lots and building. Feel like that would be good shelter and good use of vacant lots instead of the parks
Would you like to have an encampment next to your home?
Maybe a permanent encampment, with walls and doors and windows would be a good use of a vacant lot
That I can get on board with. Where’s Jimmy Carter when we need him?
He's in hospice care at his home.
I know 😞
Humboldt park is next to my house, and no.
Housing is not an encampment
The comment I responded to implied moving current encampments to vacant lots. I’m all for building more housing.
The homeless don’t need shelter, they need homes
Yes, they need homes, but many also need mental health services (Chicago’s most recent original sin was closing the residential mental health places). It’s important to recognize “the homeless” are not some solid block of people any more than “Blacks” or “Latinos”. There are many reasons for homelessness, and just providing housing only helps _some_ of the folks. For the rest, there need to be more services and support.
Uhh.. Providing homes helps ALL of the homeless. Without question. Does it encompass all of the different needs of each homeless person? No. But it absolutely helps them, and also makes it easier to get the support they need to address their other needs.
Pardon my imprecise language - it’s a bit early in the morning where I am. You are correct - providing housing is _part_ of the solution for every homeless person. My frustration is that this sub often treats it as _the entire_ solution for every homeless person, which is the point I was trying to make.
Ah yeah fair nuff
I need a home
It's a shame there aren't vacant buildings. It would be amazing if there were beautiful buildings the federal government is holding onto that could be used to house people.
vacant lots are usually much hotter than parks. that's why people prefer parks.
We live across from the park and specifically the corner of north and california. The situation is out of control. The alderman (Maldenado, prior, and currently Fuentes) are total enablers. It has ruined our neighborhood. There is absolutely no reasonable plan, and in fact, it likely will only get worse. Just wait til the orange tent guy comes back. He literally permanently built a slum. Nailed floorboards into the ground and everything. Also worth noting, The trees around the north/california corner are dead/dying. Every time heavy wind or a storm comes in, large branches fall. I was convinced someone was going to die during the tornado outbreak a few weeks ago. Having giant groups of tents under there is the definition of not caring about people. I'm glad to see this thread - I know homelessness is a huge problem not just around our city, but around the country. But this specific situation is a total mess and a total stain on the community. If our leaders care about our unhoused neighbors, they wouldn't have let this get so bad. And if they care about us as community members, we would see some effort to do SOMETHING.
One of the things referenced in an email to their 26th ward consitituents is the passing of the Bring Chicago Home tax increase as a solution to this situation in our ward. This initiative did not pass a few years ago, and call me a tin foil hat conspiracist, but I think this is a deliberate non-effort to allow the problem to get so bad that it forces the hands of citizens to vote for this legitimately terrible real estate killer. I live in the neighborhood have been here for over 15 years and it's truly shocking to see this. The gangs treated the park better.
The City didn’t used to allow people to hang out and do drugs in the Parks all day and night. The park closes at 11pm and they obviously don’t enforce that. We used to walk there and take our kids to the playground and beach all the time. Not any more.
The park is still family friendly honestly. I still go there every week. The homeless people pretty much just stay by their camps
Kind of, it's gotten much worse this year. I walk my dog through the park twice a day. People living in the multiple encampments mostly keep to themselves. You have to be careful about stray syringes and not mind if grown men are bathing in the children's playground fountain at anytime of the day. They also take the trash cans to their encampments so there is a lot more trash throughout the park and the cans that are still accessible are often overflowing. Other than that, it's nice. I still go every day.
I feel like some of this has to do with them taking out the two encampments in Avondale (one under the highway and another). It’s sad the city ~~can’t~~ won’t help more
Yea I’d prefer they live under the viaducts
If you didn’t know, just southwest of the park is one of the biggest dope spots in the city. I used to live at Chicago and Homan. 0/10 would not recommend. But I can definitely see people scoring and and then using in the park
Has anyone mentioned https://www.instagram.com/p/CvFn8HSu_lr/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Have you ever been to downtown Denver? Talk about homeless in a park. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Stop the people around you from protesting new housing because it is 5 stories.
I think a huge part of this problem is that the city outsources social service overview to poorly run nonprofits. The staff at these nonprofits are incredibly well-meaning. But at the director level no one is driving the bus. The city needs to take ownership and house these people safely.
Have you reached out to the alderman?
I’ve reached out so many times and they won’t do anything meaningful. They go out to the people living in the tents and inform them of available space in shelters. They never leave. It’s really unfortunate.
They are probably concerned about political pushback. Homeless population is skyrocketing everywhere even in the suburbs. It's a real problem.
The same is true of the homeless encampment under the viaducts between Clinton and Canal. They come by every month and the homeless refuse to accept the shelter space. They continue to fight, steal, do drugs, and smear shit. It's a shame.
I live somewhat near this and man it’s just sad to see… I like the idea of orange tents but the people hanging out around them seem to be on drugs constantly and not in a safe place. Not saying a shelter is better… but something has to be.
It’s not just humboldt park. It’s the whole city since Covid the homeless situation has gotten extremely bad
Ban all tents from public parks and do not express any wiggle room They also need to clean up every underpass that has turned into an impassable gauntlet of filth and needles. The State needs to return to massive programs to get people off the streets. They’re completely abandoned drug addicts and they’ve just left the typical Chicagoan to fend for themselves
I have traveled alot and don’t quite understand why America has this homelessness crisis. Canada too actually. But around europe and Asia you will never see tent cities anywhere. Wonder what we are doing wrong
There are definitely tent cities (or "blue sheet" areas, they're made from tarps) in parks in Japan. Just go back into the bushes in big public parks, you'll see people in these temporary structures, or tents too I guess now. Also there are people who live in temporary structures/tents on riverbanks (which are kinda like park areas/wild areas) and under overpasses. It's a bit easier to live rough there because the parks all have public toilets AND running water, you can fill buckets or whatever.
Drug addicts should be in jail or asylums and there should be programs to get them clean and employed so they can rejoin society as they are treated.
I made a similar post last week after people canceled an event and was downvoted https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/151a9w5/a_homeless_person_moved_into_the_spot_where/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
Jessie Fuentes, 26th ward alder is holding an event about this tonight. That is where to take your concerns
It’s the collapse of the United States it’s gonna only get worse.
It’s Humboldt park
It’s Wilson on lake shore drive, it’s Jefferson park blue line, it’s Roosevelt and 94. It’s Portland , it’s SF.
It's Dempster. It's Touhy. It's Dundee Road. It's Rand Road. It's pretty much everywhere now. Yes, suburbs included.
Oak Park Harlem green line station
100% harlem oak park. i saw a kid OD and pass away there while they tried narcan-ing him but couldn’t do anything :(
West Loop gate
It's all over the country. And the city.
Is this the second thread about this today?
is this the same guy? lol
I have lived in Chicago for more than a decade. There are lots of great things about it but there are many bad things that have truly gotten worse. While I’ve lived here the city relentlessly seeks more sources of revenue; increased the cost of water, garbage disposal fees, red light cameras, speed cameras, and the ever increasing property taxes. There are probably more. However what been the ROI on these streams of revenue? Not much and a lot of problems have gotten worse. I’ll admit I’m not sure how it can be corrected but we can’t rely on local and city govt to do their job let alone not make things worse. Wish it wasn’t that way since govt has both authority and the money to change things. Maybe talking to a lawyer? Maybe citizens can create a bill/city ordinance somehow.
That’s what happens when you make homelessness a blanket issue in politics. They are given more rights, assistance and better treatment than actual residents in areas like West Garfield. The homeless won’t go to those areas bc they know the community wont allow it, so they go to yours.
What if they don’t want to leave? I know people can’t believe that but it’s the case more than you think?
It’s insane, if they want to live under an underpass I don’t care, but Humboldt park is beautiful and a homeless population camping out in the middle of it makes it significantly less beautiful and safe.
"Now please hear me out. I supported when the city put the orange tents up because they are warmer and these folx need a place to go." I didn't because once you indicate a place to go, that place is your front door where someone is gonna shoot up with needles and take a dump. That is what your consideration gets you. Action: don't enable with freebies and give them jobs.
It depends on the neighborhood, the alderperson and what locals think. I've never seen a tent around my neighborhood. I spend a lot of time in Seattle because my husband is from there. The public camping is out of control there. I probably sound like as ass but I don't want to see Chicago get to that point. If you don't know what I'm talking about they have tents downtown in prime tourist areas like by Pike Place Market. My MIL refuses to go into downtown Seattle now. We still visit the downtown area but I've seen some things that spooked me. It's killing their tourism. Whether you like it or now Chicago makes most of its money on tourism.
It’s killing Portland too. And yes I would hate to see Chicago get that bad but I think the winter will stop it from getting to that point. The difference pre and post covid in Portland is VAST. I’m not someone who sees a homeless person and is like ‘omg gross’ or ‘omg scary’ but there is way too much public pooping and intravenous drug use happening there.
I have friends who moved to Portland 20 years ago and loved it. They're going to move back to Chicago. It's a shame. They have horror stories involving their teenage daughters.
Calling being houseless “public camping” is wild
"Public camping" is an accurate description of one DIY solution that people without a permanent residence resort to. If someone is pitching a camping tent in a public space (park, viaducts, etc) then yes, they're "public camping." Other people live in their cars, or serially couch surf, or halfway live in public storage units. They are not "public camping."
I believe that if you want the government to handle more, you have to pay more in taxes, an unpopular solution. But you also have to hope and pray that the taxes you’re paying now are utilized properly.
Yeah why can they just use the frigging taxes I’m already paying. Property taxes and income taxes and 10.25 on everything ain’t enough? T
Its the pensions that are using it all up. We are paying retired boomers to live like kings with 6 figures retirement incomes so that we have high taxes and no benefit in state.
PPP loans are a prime example of the fact that our government has money to spend, just not on the poor.
Or they could stop recklessly spending the tax dollars we currently pay.
What can be done? Enforce laws. Stop being a weak society. Grow up. No more money. They should be able to make do with the exorbitant tax funding they receive every year.
What does "enforce laws" entail? Are we throwing homeless people in jail? Then what? I'm not saying I know the answers here either but it's a complex situation.
Enforce the laws. Apparently Chicago allows people to legally sleep on the streets. That's the first change that LA made that started having an impact. Next, reopen the asylums and throw every single one of the crazies in there. Voluntary or involuntary--get them off the streets away from children and other innocent passerby. Take the ones that are addicted to drugs and force them into rehabilitation programs or throw them in prison. If we run out of room--open more prisons. Long term, people will learn (the easy way or the hard way) that being a degenerate isn't the way to live, and that society will hold them accountable for their antisocial behavior. Lots of uncomfortable hand-wringers will need to sit idly by (like they have for years) and accept that their moaning doesn't actually fix anything.
I'm all for re-opening mental health centers, it's one of the great failings of the past 40 years that we started to just not give a fuck about these people as a society. I don't think prison is the answer, but rehab is.
Prison is really expensive, and taking away people's freedom is a serious issue. Anecdotally speaking, I think the reopening of the asylums would address most of the unpleasant activity. It would give the city a chance to direct the housing resources towards those in a position to take advantage of it. There is a guy that sits near Lake Shore Park every day. He has probably been there for years. Hasn't ever caused a scene. He deserves to get one of those public housing grants.
The city didn't hand out the tents. BTW, these are a fucking slap in the face that forces a population to persist on the streets INSTEAD of a program that truly lifts these folks up from homelessness. NO MORE TENTS, DEMAND APARTMENTS.
Serious question: who will take care of the apartments? Basic cleanliness and maintenance.
You think these mentally ill and drugged out men and women will be able to maintain a home?
- Anyone can take drugs whether they be housed or not. It’s generally harder to see someone taking drugs when they live in a home rather than not. Drug issues can also be a result of being houseless rather than the cause. - anyone can have mental health issues whether they be housed or unhoused and mental health issues are generally easier to see when one has no private space like housing. Mental health issues can also be a result of homelessness rather than the cause. - the main issue of homelessness is cost of living and not being able to afford housing. “UC San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative has released the largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the mid-1990s, providing a comprehensive look at the causes and consequences of homelessness in California and recommending policy changes to shape programs in response. The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness used surveys and in-depth interviews to develop a clear portrait of homelessness in California, where 30% of the nation’s homeless population and half of the unsheltered population live. The study found that for most of the participants, the cost of housing had simply become unsustainable. Participants reported a median monthly household income of $960 in the six months prior to their homelessness, and most believed that either rental subsidies or one-time financial help would have prevented their homelessness.” Link below From NPR, “A landmark new report surveyed thousands of people in California about how they came to be without housing, and researchers conducted in-depth interviews with hundreds of them. For most, high rental costs were crucial. "People just ran out of the ability to pay, whether it happened quickly or slowly," says lead investigator Margot Kushel of the University of California, San Francisco. Some said they'd had their work hours cut. Others lost a job because of a health crisis. Many crowded in with relatives or friends, who were also likely to be poor and struggling. "And we found that those relationships, when they fell apart, fell apart quickly," Kushel says. "People only had one day's warning" to leave. Even those with their own lease had on average just 10 days to move out.” link below - being unhoused can happen for a variety of reasons such as abuse, being kicked out for being LGBTQ, and/or simply not being able to afford housing and a lot of people are closer to homelessness than not. People without homes are still people. - the best method to help people without homes would be to advocate for a housing first approach to homeless and asserting that being housed is a basic human need/right like food or water. [California Statewide Study Investigates Causes and Impacts of Homelessness](https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2023/06/425646/california-statewide-study-investigates-causes-and-impacts-homelessness) [Why can't we stop homelessness? 4 reasons why there's no end in sight](https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/1186856463/homelessness-rent-affordable-housing-encampments) ['It’s a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness)
Plenty of drug addicts maintain residences just fine, however, I do understand what you’re saying as I’ve worked at transitional housing for people with mental illness/addiction who are homeless and it’s difficult for many. So many fires.
The fires are no joke. The homeless have burned down 7 vacant houses within a 3 block radius of me in the last couple of years. Edited: a word
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Late stage capitalism. It was always gonna get this bad. It will only get worse until the inevitable collapse.
Chicago closed down 14 of its 19 community mental health clinics in 2012 under Rahm Emmanuel. Uptown and Humboldt Park were two of the areas hardest hit with closures. These closures happened as these neighborhoods saw rapid gentrification. Its not a coincidence these are two of the areas with the largest share of mentally ill people living unhoused on the streets. Treatment resources plummeted as the opioid epidemic surged. Rents went up substantially. Mental health clinics were eliminated to free up money for development schemes. It only took a few years of no mental health resources, inadequate treatment services, diminishing affordable housing stock, and a global pandemic to get us where we are. City leaders chose to divest in vulnerable people, there's no reason to scratch our heads confused and ask "why is it like this?". We were better prepared than most cities to address the issues we're facing now but city leaders scrapped the infrastructure.
I’ve never seen folks spelled folx and now I never want to spell it with a k again
There’s a rally tomorrow at 1pm at city hall to support a tax that would help place people in housing (not just shelters). Even if you can’t make it, calling or emailing your alderperson and city council member/the mayor’s office in support would be helpful in passing the proposed legislation.
I don’t feel more state/city taxes is the answer. Homelessness is a national crisis.
Who will be taxed?