Homeless at Masins Furniture
410
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-410,single-format-standard,bridge-core-1.0.6,qode-page-transition-enabled,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode-theme-ver-25.7,qode-theme-bridge,disabled_footer_bottom,qode_header_in_grid,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.0.5,vc_responsive

Homeless at Masins Furniture

Ever since we moved in to P2, we have had a problem with the line of homeless people sleeping next to Masins Furniture. And I’ve always wondered why it hasn’t been a problem for them. For a store like Masins with prices what they are — don’t they realize it’s a deterrent for anyone going to their store when the homeless sleep in their doorways and make them smell and then sleep all along their building? Ever night?

I can also imagine how nerve-wracking it would be for anyone getting off of a bus or waiting for a bus right there.

IMG_6578

(sorry for the image quality — I always take these through the window while I’m waiting for the elevator)

I understand why this happens, though — location, location, location! Isn’t that what realtors always tell us? It’s a strip that has no retailer entryways, it’s right across the street from the Union Gospel Mission, and it has cover overhead. What makes this situation worse, however, is their disregard for cleaning up the space. Every single morning, I watch out the window as they just get up and leave their free city blankets (that are handed out like candy by the city) and their cardboard boxes for someone else to clean up.

File 003

I think it’s the MID workers who pick up after them most mornings. They even attempt to clear them out after they’ve had a nice long rest there.

File 017a

This is what I’m talking about when I talk about the different types of homeless people. The homeless that sleep next to Masins have a total disregard for the neighborhood and the other people who live here. When I was having a conversation about this with Sgt Gracy (community police sergeant for P2), he said that Mr. Masins has actually written quite a few letters of complaint, but that nothing has worked. Every time they clear out the current homeless there, 15 new ones take their place.

I was trying to brainstorm possible solutions that might help keep them away, but none of them seem feasible. There are already lights there all night, and even the nightly construction noise didn’t keep them away. I thought maybe if cones were placed all along the wall with signs warning them to stay off the sidewalk that it might work, but I’m sure they would just move them.

Any ideas? I’m thinking about contacting the developers that are working on the building there to see if they might be interested in teaming up to help make some changes on the block there.

In the meantime, I’ve decided to vent my frustrations by renaming it:  Annoying Homeless Sidewalk.

No Comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.