Tim Bruer doesn’t want them.
Residents around the Truman Olson site on Park Street don’t want them.
We know Fred Mohs doesn’t want them.
Where should they go? I’m afraid the answer will be, Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) everywhere they go. What happened to Madison? Have we really grown so fearful that we are running people who are down on their luck out of our city? It sure sounds that way from reading articles in the Chicago Tribune and L.A. Times newspapers.
Here’s an interesting comment on the current debate. Check out the opinions here. Steve Schooler says this about the Truman Olson site:
The site’s location on a bus line, with nearby grocery, post office, medical and other services, is ideal for people in the Safe Haven program, Schooler said. “I can’t think of a better location.”
Larry Palm is saying this about the Milwaukee Street location:
Palm said the property is near two current “flashpoints” – Metro Transit’s East Transfer Point and Woodman’s grocery store – where violence, theft and other crimes have been a concern. “I would rather not create another flashpoint” or add to the existing ones, Palm said.
But Palm, who was scheduled to meet with Schooler on Monday, said he did not know enough about Porchlight’s proposal to say whether he thought it would pose any such risks.
When did it become that we assume homeless = crime? Where is the data to prove this is true? I can’t find it. Want to learn more, come and get the facts. The Community Forum on Homelessness will provide you with facts, figures and solutions from the homeless and people who work with the homeless. The Forum is Thursday night at 5:00 at the First United Methodist Church on Wisconsin Ave.
