Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Homeless People Wandering Arbor Heights……
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April 21, 2010 at 8:50 pm #594577
luckymom30ParticipantIn the last week or so we have noticed several homeless people wandering our neigborhood. What gives us the idea of them being homeless is because we see these people wandering around with what looks like most if not all their belongings and sometimes they have a shopping cart full of items. Their clothing is ditry and their appearance is unkept. And just last night a man made himself at home on our neighbors front yard and apparently thought he could sleep there against his fence.
April 21, 2010 at 9:18 pm #692921
WSBKeymasterYou can call your Community Police Team officer about this if you haven’t already – Adonis Topacio and Jill Vanskike are handling western West Seattle currently – their numbers are on the CPT page of the SW Precinct website. They handle potential trouble, nuisances, outside of the standard “this is happening now/send a cop” type of troube.
April 21, 2010 at 10:05 pm #692922
MargLMemberOh creepiness too close for comfort! I think I’d call 911 if I saw someone camping on my lawn.
April 22, 2010 at 12:04 am #692923
luckymom30ParticipantThank you WSB for providing me with the names of our community police team! I did call 911 non-emergency and reported this.
I wanted to know if others have been noticing this happening as well, it seems to be a problem near the church and between 35th & just before Marine View Drive SW. I keep seeing homeless people camping in the neighborhood.
April 22, 2010 at 1:02 am #692924
anonymeParticipantI’ve noticed some strange people wandering the neighborhood lately as well. Couldn’t figure out where they might be camping until Marine View Dr. was mentioned. Little Seola Park on MVD is kind of a creepy little place with paths leading off into the underbrush. Seems like a potentially likely spot. Fauntleroy Park is another possibility. Trust your gut, and let’s all keep an eye out for each other.
April 22, 2010 at 1:20 am #692925
alki_2008ParticipantHhmmm…I wonder how long it will take before the “bleeding hearts” dive into this thread and chastise us for being uncomfortable about sharing our space with homeless folks. I recall a thread a while back where someone was criticized for calling the police about someone living in a car behind their house…after all, with the bad economy and poor mental health system, then it’s not their fault that they don’t have a proper place to live.
April 22, 2010 at 2:31 am #692926
JiggersMemberIsn’t it illegal to be homeless in King County?
April 22, 2010 at 2:40 am #692927
jissyParticipantluckymom30 — as alki mentioned above, I think I remember a previous thread with a discussion of a homeless encampment down Seola Beach Drive. I don’t live in your area but drive 106th between MVD and 16th to go to Burien a lot and have noticed several folks wandering as well.
April 22, 2010 at 3:41 am #692928
luckymom30ParticipantPart of why I posted this was to get people in the area to work together and watch out for one another. I try to do my part to support the homeless by volunteering my time and money, especially to the food banks which in this bad economy we are in supports the working poor as well.
April 22, 2010 at 4:22 am #692929
BonnieParticipantHmmm..I don’t live in AH but drive through there a lot. I haven’t noticed anything. Will keep an eye out.
April 22, 2010 at 4:27 am #692930
MargLMemberI haven’t noticed anyone sketchy on 34th but I do appreciate the ‘virtual block watch’ that goes on here!
April 22, 2010 at 4:48 am #692931
hammerheadParticipantAlki_2008 some times the homeless don’t want the help. you are right “we” may not provide them a proper place to live but again they may not want to stay in a shelter.
I appreciate luckymom30 telling us about it. as far as I am concerned if they don’t steal or destroy anything let them live.
April 22, 2010 at 5:46 pm #692932
alki_2008Participant@hammerhead – my last sentence was a bit sarcastic, as I am definitely not a “bleeding heart” and don’t feel it’s necessary for society to provide everything to everybody. I agree with you that some homeless folks don’t want a “proper” place to live, or don’t want to abide by rules that come along with having housing provided to them.
It is unfortunate that homelessness exists, but some cases are more sympathetic than others.
April 22, 2010 at 5:59 pm #692933
JiggersMemberIn a nutshell: Seattle is sorely lacking shelters for homeless people/families to find safe haven for the night. A lot of those shelters have a gimmick. Some of them force God upon you for an hour, some of them require for you to be a certain age to qualify, some of them require you to have a certain illness.. Then there is SHARE/WHEEL who rely’s on nightly mat counts to maximize their nightly shelter capacity across the county to collect tax-dollars and depends on you being homeless to continue operate. They don’t care about you. They are a scam. They will pull the wool over your eyes and tell you that they are broke, then after having exhausted all other options, they go into what is called “Direct Action” mode. That is to sleep in front of whatever congressman’s house until they gain monies from the City. The other rule is that if you don’t participate in D.A., you are not permitted back into any of their shelters. “You have been barred”. The funny thing is that SHARE gets a check from the City, but it says they are required to purchase bus tickets for you to get to one of their shelters. If they run out of tickets, those shelters have to close. I guess if you have a job, you’re not in a recession. Just what I know.
April 22, 2010 at 6:12 pm #692934
JoBParticipantThat is the more pressing question isn’t it…
how do we as a society provide for those who are for whatever reason not able to provide for themselves.
in some cases.. it is a matter of choice. but increasingly.. the homeless are not homeless out of choice.
April 22, 2010 at 6:21 pm #692935
JiggersMemberA human being does not want to live outside by choice. I don’t believe that. Yes..some of they might want everything for free, but not to live like a fire hydrant.
April 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm #692936
JoBParticipantwe have abandoned and empty public buildings and homeless people. somehow this doesn’t make sense to me.
April 23, 2010 at 2:37 am #692937
HunterGParticipantShelter is not a home, JoB. Shelter is shelter, a home is somewhere someone can build a life and have safe haven from the “outside world”.
Many homeless people live a nomadic lifestyle where they *have* to go out and hunt for food and supplies and maybe that empty building has been inhabited by someone who isn’t exactly friendly when they get back.
I am not a bleeding heart, I don’t like seeing homeless at my place either, even though countless ones camp in Linclon Park…my backyard. The homeless and displaced person issue here in Seattle is a major problem and one that the city tries to ignore and sweep under the rug.
To put my last statement into perspective; nameless well to do individuals and Seattle based companies are willing to shell out $500K for a fireworks display that will last 40+ minutes which will kill countless amounts of wildlife but wouldn’t dream of putting up that same money to house the homeless. Its sad. human beings are the only mammals on this planet that seem to have no concern for the protection and evolution of the species.
April 23, 2010 at 4:07 am #692938
JiggersMemberThe police have other more important issues to deal with than a paranoid neighbor complaining about a unlucky soul wandering thru their neighborhood.
April 23, 2010 at 1:48 pm #692939
anonymeParticipantI used to live on Queen Anne, where one of these unlucky souls decapitated a woman with a hatchet as she slept. The unfortunate truth is that a large proportion of transients are homeless due to issues with crime, drugs, alcohol, or severe untreated mental illness. Homelessness is the result of an entire spectrum of issues, with no single solution – or easy dismissal.
April 23, 2010 at 2:45 pm #692940
JiggersMember9:30 am 9/11 call: Mr.Policeman, there’s a stranger walking down my street can you come and make me feel safe. 9:46 am to 9/11 Mr. policeman, the strangers sitting on the curb with their shopping cart full of personals, 9:57am Mr.Policeman, why haven’t you shown up to arrest the bad homeless man..lol
April 23, 2010 at 3:09 pm #692941
JoBParticipanthunterG..
i know the difference.. but shelters are a start.
i couldn’t agree with you more. i think our priorities are wacked when we value fireworks more than people..
in a perfect world we would do both.
we could do both in our imperfect world.. but we don’t. We label people who need help lazy or crazy or dangerous or all three. We call homelessness a lifestyle choice.
what a crock!
anonyme..
statistically.. you are at far greater danger from the people who live in your home or who come and go regularly than from a homeless person.
think about that next time you see a headline… family murders rarely make much of a splash on the news.
April 23, 2010 at 3:44 pm #692942
JiggersMemberGood point JoB. Most violence happens from within the family or someone very close to the family. Not from someone who is just trying to get from one place to the other.
April 23, 2010 at 3:51 pm #692943
MargLMemberBack to the original point and the one I’d take issue with and call 911 about
“And just last night a man made himself at home on our neighbors front yard and apparently thought he could sleep there against his fence. “
If someone tries to camp on my lawn I’m gonna call 911.
If he’s just pushing a cart down the street with stuff in it I’m not going to call, unless he pulls out a spray paint can or looks like he’s casing houses and cars.
But I still appreciate -knowing- what’s going on in the neighborhood.
April 23, 2010 at 4:03 pm #692944
SmittyParticipantIt’s Bush’s fault.
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