Neighbors Are Frustrated, Concerned, and Angry

 

Neighbors are concerned that more homeless allowed to camp near existing neighborhoods will create more blight, lowered property values, more crime, and more trash including shopping carts full of feces and trash dumped in yards...How does such a plan make neighborhoods and communities better?

My phone has been blowing up about the city's proposed homeless campsite in the County, in District 1 on Houston Avenue.

Anger, frustration, concern.  Those are the adjectives I'd use to describe what I am hearing.  I'd also add hopeless and dejected to those three words.

They don't want the camp 15 feet from their homes.

In short, they feel that if this happens, they are being used to shoulder a problem the city has right now under the  I-110 bridge.  

Thankfully--the city council put this plan on the back burner by a 5-2 vote last night.  That was a smart vote.  And they all know I am vocally and actively opposing any such plan.

Some individuals who are familiar with the issues of the existing camp in the city say a lot of the problems of the existing camp are not being shared with the public.  According to one source who is intimately familiar:  "The PPD have been called out to the camp dozens and dozens of times.  There are drug users, there have been sexual assaults, and all kind of other criminal activities in this camp.  If they get put in the county--all those calls for service will now fall on the Escambia County Sheriff's Office to handle.  Do we really need to do this?  was the rhetorical question this individual asked.

The answer is NO we don't have to.  Take them to the woods--not to suburbia.

Meanwhile--the residents in the general area of the proposed county site, with whom I have communicated, express real concern for the homeless who are down on their luck.  I've not heard one of them say anything disparaging about these folks.  They simply don't believe putting this camp right next to their neighborhood is prudent.  The below email sums up the feelings of these neighbors, perfectly.

"Commissioner Bergosh,

 My name is XXXXXXXX  XXXXXXXX and my family and I live at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Pensacola, FL 32526 on the corner of XXXXXXXX  and  XXXXXXXXXX Avenues.

 Our property is across Houston Avenue and a few dozen feet from the proposed location to set up a homeless camp. We have serious concerns with this proposal.

 In the four years we have lived here, we have seen several unnerving activities on Houston Ave., including an abandoned car set on fire, a motorist driving on the grass attempting to run over her significant other, homeless individuals smoking what appeared to be illegal narcotics, intoxicated individuals screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs while dancing down the middle of Houston Ave., and countless tons of littering. All of these instances occured with 15 feet of our property.

 Since several homeless individuals already live at times in the proposed camp location off Houston, we have found needles and drug baggies in our lawn and have had a shopping cart full of human feces, rotten food, clothes, and trash dumped in our yard. This has occurred with only a few people living there, let alone hundreds of individuals.

 Since purchasing the house, we have worked hard to improve the neighborhood and build strong

relationships with our neighbors. We text and talk regularly with our neighbors, work together on house improvements, and keep an eye out for and report illegal activities to local law enforcement. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars and put in hundreds of hours working on improving our property and making it more appealing to others and safer for our children. Unfortunately, the irresponsible activities off Houston continue to degrade the neighborhood. Creating a homeless camp would only degrade it further due to the problems that would exacerbate.

 My wife and kids are approached frequently by homeless individuals while I'm away at work. Although not all homeless individuals are a threat and we have helped many of them with free food, water, and at times paid work, some of the ones we have encountered--particularly the ones who set up temporary camp off Houston--appear to have limited standards. They often yell, scream, fight, curse, and litter. It has come to the point that my family typically leaves chores in the front yard to when I am at home.

 Although I am in favor of solutions to help those who desire to improve themselves (complete with strong accountability), moving a tent village from the city to the county only shifts the problem while introducing additional issues.

 For these reasons, I am strongly opposed to this proposed homeless site. I would appreciate your support in preventing this from occuring.

 Thank you for your time and consideration."