156
Junior MemberJunior Member
156

PostJan 14, 2007#451

Resurrectus wrote:
I took a walk through Hobo Heaven today. It clearly states a closing time of 10:00 p.m.--so that means that the Northwoods police dumper was assisting the dumpee in illegal trespass.


Aiding and abetting.

264
Full MemberFull Member
264

PostJan 14, 2007#452

bsharmastl wrote:Just curious if Rice is the one who gains from all this, and if somehow he has given people an open invitation to drop homeless near his place.
Does NLEC have a curfew? If so, is it before 11:00 p.m. (the time that the bum dump occurred)?



This could explain the high number of car break-ins that happen at night. Only a hobo would smash a car window to retrieve 25¢ off of the seat. My brother's car was broken into three separate times. I currently pay $100.00 per month to park in the Shell parking garage, but I wish that I could park on the street.


phobia wrote:I don't think "free home" and "food" are effective lures.

PostJan 15, 2007#453

I believe that it's called Lucas Park--not Lucas Landfill.







The rear of NLEC could use some TLC. There's no rehab taking place here--so are the temporary toilets even permissible under St. Louis ordinances? Is that their permanent solution in preventing some of the homeless from using Lucas Park and the alley as a toilet?







I challenge anyone to describe the above pictures without using the word dump.

1,137
Expert MemberExpert Member
1,137

PostJan 15, 2007#454

How about Crap, crummy, infested, dirty, eyesore? None of those have the word dump in it 8)



NLEC is a self promotion for Rice. There is no reason for him to make this central place and park his personal dominion. If he really wants to do what he says (faith based helping), he can get millions by selling this building and helping the homeless in a less prominent position.

264
Full MemberFull Member
264

PostJan 27, 2007#455

I just mentioned this under another topic, but what if the homeless were given a one-way bus ticket out of St. Louis City?




[Graphic photo unacceptable]

154
Junior MemberJunior Member
154

PostJan 27, 2007#456

After living in tucson i would say the homeless, and especially the amount of panhandling does not even compare to that in St Louis. Not even close.



I think some people in st louis need to get out of town more.

6,775
Life MemberLife Member
6,775

PostJan 27, 2007#457

Agent009 wrote:After living in tucson i would say the homeless, and especially the amount of panhandling does not even compare to that in St Louis. Not even close.



I think some people in st louis need to get out of town more.


Portland OR is particularly bad.

264
Full MemberFull Member
264

PostJan 27, 2007#458

loftlover wrote:
ThreeOneFour wrote: Since KMOV is already familiar with the area, there's a story for sweeps week in February or May.


314's comment got me thinkin' - this would be a great story for the press to make an issue of. Any members have contacts with local media that may be interested in pursuing? This is too bizarre to let die!
The story is on stltoday.com.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument


Web claim of dumping homeless man is disputed

By D. Paul Harris

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

01/23/2007




A claim that Northwoods police dumped a homeless man on a street corner in St. Louis is posted on the city's website but disputed by an official with the North County suburb.



It was a case of mistaken identity and an erroneous recount of the events of Jan. 11, says Northwoods Police Chief Gregory Moore, that led to the posting.



The posting read: "At around 11 p.m. tonight, at the corner of 14th and Locust, I saw my first 'dumping' of a homeless person. A Northwoods police cruiser pulled up to the corner and deposited a homeless man at Lucas Park (not even NLEC).



Thanks to MayorSlay.com for continuing to point out this outrageous abuse of the city."



Richard Callow, who edits the mayor's Web page, wrote in an e-mail, "From our viewpoint, this whole story makes the Mayor's point: 'there is a serious lack of homeless services outside the city limits, and some other communities and agencies take advantage of what the city is doing.'"



Homelessness in the region is an ongoing issue. In 2005, the city and county received federal funds of $7.3 million, with $1.1 million going directly to emergency shelters. In the same year, the city and county unveiled a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness, typically defined as a person with a disabling condition such as mental illness who has been living on the street for at least a year, or who has been homeless four or more times in the past three years.



Although it is hard to determine the exact number of homeless people in the area, city and county officials agree it's an issue that needs to be addressed — but not by dumping.



However, Moore says the man was not homeless and was dropped off in the city at his own request. Although Moore says it's all a misunderstanding, he will not give the name of the man or the officer involved in the incident.



The unidentified man was picked up from the Justice Center after Northwoods received a report from St. Louis police that they had a man in custody who fit the description of someone they were seeking, Moore said.



A Northwoods police officer went to the city to pick up the man from the Justice Center, whose officials would not comment for this story.



It was later determined that the man in question had a similar name and address to someone else, so he was released from custody.



According to Moore, the man said, "Well, I'm stuck out here. Can you drop me off downtown, and at least I can eat at Rev. (Larry) Rice's before I go home?"



"And that's what the officer did," Moore said. "That was only right since we had brought him out here and he wasn't the guy (we were looking for)."



City resident Michael Allen, who posted the item, says he thought the man was homeless because of his "general appearance."



"I heard about this sort of thing happening before," Allen said. "That's my only suspicion in that regard."



Allen says the man went into Lucas Park and started walking east, instead of west toward Rice's facility.



"I only know what I saw," Allen said. "I don't know what happened leading up to what I saw."


If the Northwoods Police thought that the man in question was employed and had a home, then why would the Northwoods Police drop him off to abuse NLEC's services? Does the NLEC want working people with homes to take their food for free? If so, then we should all do our free grocery shopping at the NLEC.

995
Super MemberSuper Member
995

PostJan 27, 2007#459

In response, at mayorslay.com:


There is a story in today’s daily newspaper about an item that appeared in this space a week or so ago. If you missed it, MayorSlay.com — not the City website — ran an item from a reader who said that he and some friends saw the Northwoods police drop a homeless person off in downtown’s Lucas Park. Given downtown neighbors’ continuing concerns about such practices, that seemed worth reposting — and, even, worth some real reporting.



Too bad, then, that the newspaper’s reporter left some important loose ends in his story. Here’s some of what the newspaper story did not report:


Read the rest of the response.

4,489
Super ModeratorSuper Moderator
4,489

PostJan 27, 2007#460

Many of the postings are really beginning to get crude. Please be mindful of your postings or this thread will be locked.

264
Full MemberFull Member
264

PostJan 28, 2007#461

publiceye wrote:In response, at mayorslay.com:


There is a story in today’s daily newspaper about an item that appeared in this space a week or so ago. If you missed it, MayorSlay.com — not the City website — ran an item from a reader who said that he and some friends saw the Northwoods police drop a homeless person off in downtown’s Lucas Park. Given downtown neighbors’ continuing concerns about such practices, that seemed worth reposting — and, even, worth some real reporting.



Too bad, then, that the newspaper’s reporter left some important loose ends in his story. Here’s some of what the newspaper story did not report:


Read the rest of the response.




Here's the rest of the response from http://www.mayorslay.com/news/display.asp?prID=569:


  • Too bad, then, that the newspaper’s reporter left some important loose ends in his story. Here’s some of what the newspaper story did not report:
  • Northwoods police dropped a person off at downtown’s Lucas Park just before midnight on a cold night. If he had a home or an apartment, why didn’t the police take him there?
  • The person was homeless — and the Northwoods police had pretty good reason to know it. The address the person gave on his arrest report was a homeless shelter.
  • Northwoods police apparently did not check whether the New Life Evangelistic Center or other downtown facilities were closed for the night by then. If they were closed, why didn’t Northwoods police take the person to a shelter that was open, instead of leaving him in a public park? The City of St. Louis, for instance, operates an emergency shelter at 12th and Park.
It's terrible that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter left out those three important facts. The title of the newspaper article, Web claim of dumping homeless man is disputed, makes it sound like an anonymous (and possibly fabricated) accusation was made--but that's definitely not the case.


Resurrectus wrote:[Graphic photo unacceptable]
Arch City wrote:Many of the postings are really beginning to get crude. Please be mindful of your postings or this thread will be locked.
The photo that I posted of the bus, with a decal of a guy being squashed like a bug against the front, was obviously a joke. I wouldn't exactly label the picture on the decal as graphic since it was actually on an ad that was suitable for a real pedestrian-friendly public bus.



Even if my made-up humor is crude, it's nothing compared to the real-life crude stuff that some of the homeless in the St. Louis area regularly expose us to. My brother's car was broken into three separate times when parked by Lucus Park. I know that it's the homeless bums doing it because only they would risk shattering a car window for loose pocket change. It's costing me $100.00 per month to park in The Shell Building parking garage (plus higher car insurance) because of them.

4,489
Super ModeratorSuper Moderator
4,489

PostJan 28, 2007#462

Resurrectus, save the sob stories, man. Ultimately, you should take your complaints to City Hall.



Again, please watch your postings. It's a simple request.

1,137
Expert MemberExpert Member
1,137

PostJan 29, 2007#463

I heard in the news today, that a homeless man died in this cold wave that we are in. I thought they got shelter in NLEC building (or in some other shelters set up for this). Is this not correct? I am just trying to educate myself on this whole homeless situation and always thought that NLEC gave them food and shelter.

264
Full MemberFull Member
264

PostJan 30, 2007#464

bsharmastl wrote:I heard in the news today, that a homeless man died in this cold wave that we are in. I thought they got shelter in NLEC building (or in some other shelters set up for this). Is this not correct? I am just trying to educate myself on this whole homeless situation and always thought that NLEC gave them food and shelter.
The news article is on stltoday.com:



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument



The article states that he was at Martin Luther King Dr. near Deer St. (the Start point on the map--I think that this is the Central West End area). The nearest place to him that specializes in homelessness was Northside Community Center at 4120 Maffitt Ave. (the End point on the map). Since he was most likely a victim of hypothermia, then he instead needed to get to the nearest payphone to dial 9-1-1.


  • Signs of hypothermia that can be felt or noticed by victim:
  • Fatigue, drowsiness, exhaustion, unwillingness to go on
  • Feeling of deep cold or numbness
  • Poor coordination
  • Stumbling

1,137
Expert MemberExpert Member
1,137

PostJan 30, 2007#465

Thanks for the clarification. I did not hear the location when I heard about this.

923
Super MemberSuper Member
923

PostFeb 13, 2007#466

St. Louis should send all of their homeless to Melbourne. I know I'm changing my profession from 'emplyed' to homesless bum/con artist.



There was a report on the news last night that 'homeless' people begging on the streets in Australia can make AT A MINIMUM AU$20 an hour! In certain lower income areas, they top out at AU$40 an hour! That's a disgrace! I'm never giving another dime to a homeless person again! They make more money than I do!

1,137
Expert MemberExpert Member
1,137

PostFeb 14, 2007#467

I doubt that is true for the bums here, but giving them free money does not give them an incentive to better themselves either.

On the other hand, solving this problem is difficult for society as a whole. In any case, the way it is handled in STL (NLEC) does NOT give them ANY help in trying to get a job. St. Patrick's center idea is the best I have heard of so far.

5,433
Super ModeratorSuper Moderator
5,433

PostFeb 14, 2007#468

bsharmastl wrote: In any case, the way it is handled in STL (NLEC) does NOT give them ANY help in trying to get a job.


And they'll always be entitled to a free pass from city government. Sad.

1,137
Expert MemberExpert Member
1,137

PostFeb 14, 2007#469

Pretty soon, something in this has to give. Tax paying residents (who also elect the political leaders) will not stand up for this for too long. I think the city has started seeing this, but it will take time to change mindsets.

995
Super MemberSuper Member
995

PostFeb 14, 2007#470

I think the city has started seeing this, but it will take time to change mindsets


There are certainly some problems in the city. New Life is one of them. A system that dumps homeless people downtown from almost everywhere else is another.



But there are also some successes. Most homeless services providers (again, minus New Life) are working together to combine resources and facilities to address the issue of chronic homelessness -- and have been for several years.



Since half the calls to the homeless hotline in the city come from the county, where do you think mindsets ought to change next?



BTW, "giving change to homeless people"ranks way below under-funding state mental health facilities" and "too few homeless shelter beds in St. Louis County" as a complaint in my book.

1,137
Expert MemberExpert Member
1,137

PostFeb 14, 2007#471

publiceye wrote:
Since half the calls to the homeless hotline in the city come from the county, where do you think mindsets ought to change next?
All your other points are excellent. Can you elaborate on this one? I am not sure I understand.

10K
AdministratorAdministrator
10K

PostFeb 14, 2007#472

^

The County needs to step up and address its homeless problem instead of relying on the City.

11K
Life MemberLife Member
11K

PostFeb 14, 2007#473

^ Yes, poverty and homelessness are becoming a big issue for St. Louis County. I hope that Mr. Dooley addresses this soon and does not simply rely on the city - downtown is not a dumping ground (or shouldn't be) for the metro area's homeless.

85
New MemberNew Member
85

PostFeb 14, 2007#474

This is the mother of all issues here, and it gets no attention. Surrounding areas are essentially dumping their poor people on St. Louis City, particularly when these people hit rock bottom.



1. The County needs to build affordable housing.

2. The County needs to provide better services for the unemployed, drug-abusers, and the homeless.



Until then, the poorest of the poor will always head downtown.

752
Super MemberSuper Member
752

PostFeb 15, 2007#475

Luftmensch wrote:Until then, the poorest of the poor will always head downtown.


Not much incentive for the county to build all that is there?

Read more posts (912 remaining)