Maybe it could work
No fluff. No beating around the bush. Let’s just keep it 100. There appears to be more people experiencing homelessness than ever before. I did some research (Google) and the 1980s may have been worse, but this is the highest level in at least the last 18 years. But solving homelessness is a mission for someone else. I do trash! One thing I do know is that there are more homeless encampments in Raleigh than ever before. And many are HEAVILY LITTERED. Is homelessness the only reason Raleigh is as littered as it is? HELL NO. Does homelessness contribute greatly to the issue? HELL YES. Both things can be true but what conclusion do you come to in your head? Shut them all down? Let people live?
I was recently sent a Reddit post about an encampment near Triangle Towne Center that was being shut down. I know that authorities attempt to connect these folks to resources when displacing them, but I don’t know to what extent. The person who wrote the Reddit post was a member of this encampment and wrote that he had nowhere to go, and those being forced out will get more and more desperate. He mentioned that those being displaced may have to turn to unlawful means as a way of survival.
The person who sent me the Reddit article does similar environmental work as I do. I asked how she felt about the article and how homeless encampments affect the environment. This question is difficult to answer if you have the tiniest bit of empathy. She responded “The same way I feel about a lot of things - conflicted. I understand the issues with why some people wouldn’t want to be in a shelter, as well how hard it is to get into programs that can help get them off the street. But big camps… and the trash and bad conditions they create aren’t good for anyone. I wonder if any cities provide trash collection for encampments like that.”
Her last question got me thinking, Do cities provide trash collection for encampments? If the encampments weren’t so littered, how would you feel about them?
If we treated homeless encampments like state campsites, with rules and regulations around cleanliness, would public feelings around them change? Could I just roll up and say ‘hey, clean this sh*t up’, and folks would be able to stay? Would the public outcry be as great? Would our general opinion on homelessness change, if even slightly? Maybe we then bring in portable toilets and hand washing stations. Would the language change from HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT to just, a campsite?
You know about our Wørkforce program, right? What if it expanded to provide ‘trash services’ for areas used by the unhoused. We would need collaboration on rule enforcement, but I’d have no issue picking up and disposing of trash. I actually would very much want to do so if that meant folks could stay. My opinion on encampments is that they are only a problem when the litter, trash and debris starts to get out of hand and leak out into the road. There are so many that we don’t even know exist because they aren’t heavily littered and I personally, take no issue with those. Homelessness is a national issue. I don’t have the resources or knowledge to solve it, but I do have the ability to change this small part of the problem.
But this is just a thought. My opinion. What are your thoughts? Do encampments bother you? If they were less littered would your opinion on them change or do they still have to go? If you’re a donor, how would you feel about your donations going toward this program? So many questions. Let’s work together to figure out some answers. - Written by Preston. Edited by Sam
