The ongoing difficulty local governments have in dealing with the homeless is well summarized in this article; and a key point turns up near the end when it’s noted how difficult it is to build a data base all agree with on, with basic homeless facts locally available.
Turlock fighting fear, myths in shelter quest
Publisher: The Modesto Bee (California)
By: Michael R. Shea
First published: January 09, 2007
People who live and work downtown know firsthand what happens when the homeless problem is ignored.
Before downtown redevelopment started in 1998, business owners routinely complained about homeless people sleeping in their doorways, sex acts in park shrubbery, the mentally ill panhandling shoppers and human waste littering their back doors.
It got so bad in Central Park, near the Chamber of Commerce building, the chamber discussed buying the open space in order to regulate it as property owners. When that fell through, there were talks about turning half the park into a parking lot. Eventually, city bus routes were changed -- no longer do they converge downtown -- and with the city's help, the sprinkler system was turned on and off randomly throughout the day.
"We even turned off the electricity at one point," said Sharon Silva, chief executive officer of the chamber. "They were using our outdoor outlets, plugging in TVs and cell phones, all types of things."
The concentrated focus on Central Park worked, sort of. The homeless left Central Park. They moved a few blocks north to Broadway Park.
"Nobody got any particular satisfaction chasing homeless people around, but from the council perspective, something had to be done," said Charlie Woods, Turlock's director of community development.
