Tent City Youngstown

[jay]

I was actually thinking of the ten acre site where the Wean Building used to be.  It would only be a short distance from the existing tent cities close to slow moving trains, close to WRTA bus routes and would be close to the St. Vincent DePaul Dining Hall.

[Towntalk]

These might just be the ticket, and the perfect place to locate them is in Mill Creek Park.

[jay]

Here is another approach to housing the homeless.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d351ndbkJxY

[jay]

Some communities are actually considering tent cities as a way to more easily provide services to the homeless.

[jay]

This might be warmer than a tent.

[Peggy Gurney]

None that I can see.

[Billy Mumphrey]

Ok...I have not been up to speed on this and was trying to figure out what the problem or concern was. What's the difference between them camping under a bridge or somewhere out in the woods say down in Columbiana County?

[Peggy Gurney]

Billy, no, they are bothering no one. They keep to themselves, take care of themselves, wash in the river, cook on small camp stoves, and most of them keep their camp sites very neat.  The problem is that rumor has it that City Council, is threatening to run them out.   So a group of volunteers is trying to help them find at least temporary housing, jobs (yes most of them DO want to work and are where they're at because of layoffs and foreclosures or evictions).

From what I understand,. the most pressing need atm is bottled water.

[Towntalk]

Billy, it's not a case of these folks bothering anyone, it's a case of our concern for their well being. There are only limited facilities where they can go to get out of the weather, get a nurishing meal, take care of their medical needs, and provide for their safety. There use to be three agencies here that fulfilled this task ... The Volunteers of America; The Salvation Army Men's Center; The Rescue Mission, but today only the Rescue Mission provides a shelter, and it is less oriented to men, and more oriented to families.

I'm sure that you would never want to be in the position that these people are in, nor would I, yet there are those who would fight anyone who dares to help them, saying that it's a violation of the U. S. Constitution to shelter them. The ACLU has fought cities who would not allow these people to sleep on park benches, or over gratings arould buildings where warm air is expelled, in the dead of winter.

[Billy Mumphrey]

Are these tent city people actually bothering anyone?

[Peggy Gurney]

I'm not sure which of the tent city residents you are talking about but the ones that I have been working with are not doing this.
And there is more than one tent city.

[YoungstownBiker]

Most of the people who live under the bridge sell the supplies they're given so they can go buy drinks at the Draught House. This has been an on-going problem.

[jay]

Thanks to the state legislature, our city school system was almost forced to demolish school buildings rather than have to sell them to charter schools.

I still think we should look at former churches such as Bethlehem Lutheran or any other churches that have empty classroom buildings.

[Towntalk]

Does anyone know of what former school buildings that have not been recycled or demolished are still available to concert to shelters for the homeless?

[Peggy Gurney]

Agreed.

Along with vacant houses.