Columbia, South Carolina Criminalizes Homelessness

reply to post by RedCairo
So one night a couple months after that period, I decided to park in the business-industrial district.

I'd worked in one of those buildings many years before and I knew nobody was around between late afternoon and early morning, so it seemed an ideal place. This section of town was built with 'planning' -- much of that city is -- so they are all the same, block after block after block, a sort of strip-mall-mfg type area. When you stand in the alley, the same alley is on every other block, so you can actually see many blocks in both directions, the alleys that have parking.

It was a muggy night, and I got up at about 3am and went out of my van, waiting for the 6am when my health club opened so I could go take a shower. There were vehicles on each side of me, which seemed odd, and I walked into the middle of the parking alley and, in the dim light of the lights all the way in both directions, I could see that there were cars *everywhere*. Block after block after block.

And it was muggy as I mentioned so many people couldn't sleep and were out of their cars, and I talked to them.

There were families of 5 living in Subaru's. There were all kinds of guys, often with girlfriend or friend, sometimes with baby, sleeping in the back of their old El Camino or pickup trucks (often no cabs). Every truck (sport utility vehicles weren't so common then) was clearly also a home, but many cars were too.

What was the story? Same as the others.

They couldn't afford to pay rent, sometimes even with one person working full time and one part time, eventually falling behind, after paying for food, kid expenses, car insurance and so on. Their credit was ruined. They couldn't get into a place without decent credit. But they'd never have the money to get into a place anyway. What they made, they used to live -- in their vehicle. They desperately tried to keep the kids in school so nobody would know and take their children away.

There was an entire subculture, an "invisible population" literally hidden in the city. Not even counting all the more obviously openly homeless people in the riverbed or streets etc.

The cops would come around and bash the crap out of my van with their clubs, I had velcro and black outdoor carpet stuck to it, around the windows, so it was pitch black from the outside even if I was in there with a camping lantern. I don't mean they were wrong in doing so; officially it was not acceptable to be living in your car and not acceptable to be parking in places that weren't probably licensed to charge you for staying there for the night, like a campground or the Rincon was. (Law enforcement officers were surprisingly kind to me a couple of times, when looking into the van and apparently realizing I was staying in it. They would not have been kind if I'd shown sign of being in it parked where they didn't want, though.)

I sometimes had people in neighborhoods be utterly horrible to me. Like once I was in Carpenteria where I often stayed with a friend, and had some older couple nearly attack me because in walking past where my van was parked by the beach, it was apparent it was a sort of hippy hang-out potential living space. The woman started yelling at me about being homeless and getting out of her neighborhood. I waited until she finally ran down and then explained that in fact I was not homeless, I had a very respectable job, the van was merely for fun, I understood her point of view, I was at that-friends-house and I would likely be gone by the next day, and I was sorry to have bothered her. She was still a jerk even after that. And I wondered, you know, why I should have to say all that -- so what if I HAD been homeless by accident not design?? -- was it actually hurting her? No.

But the homeless population was out of control. A friend of mind worked for the city as a counselor and helped with homeless, and he said he went to this National meeting (I forget the detail) and he had people from other states tell him that they way THEY dealt with homeless is -- I am not making this up -- they bought them a bus ticket to Ventura. Seriously! It was way cheaper and faster for them, and they'd tell them how it's a beautiful beach city, the weather is mostly warm, nothing like the misery in the (check nearly any other state).

So perhaps cities all over the nation also have their homeless resource workers providing bus tickets to places like South Carolina, the opposite coast from CA, where it's pretty unlikely most of the year that anybody's going to freeze to death. There is a certain point, I agree, where the homeless population becomes almost like a bug invasion, I mean it's just so everywhere and people hassling everyone who walks in or out of any store, it's ridiculous.

Anyway. Ventura had a whole hidden population. Even of the EMPLOYED.

It's a bigger issue than anyone realizes.

reply to post by RedCairo


I actually read a story about that a couple months ago. States were buying bus tickets and sending their homeless to Los Angles I think it was. Often times people needing medical attention, the state however realized that it was cheaper for them to simply ship them elsewhere (often times with the person having no money, no identification, and no medication) and let someone else deal with it, so that's exactly what was done.

reply to post by Kali74


how the hell do municipalities think they have these rights of unlawful detention. this is truly an unconstitutional law if i ever heard one detention with out due process. no miranda rights wth sc have you been dipping into the wacky pills or what.

soon we'll all be jobless and in homeless shelters.

Originally posted by biggmoneyme
soon we'll all be jobless and in homeless shelters.

Yes you will. Eventually those Homeless Shelters will be surrounded with chain mail and barbed wire 'to keep the homeless safe'. Then a major corporation will come along with a big hearted gesture and give everyone a job. Of course all sorts of things will get deducted from your minimum wage. But because the corporation is being so civic minded they will get all sorts of tax breaks.

Those who object will be relocated to the rather pleasant FEMA camps where you can learn a new life shill such as "how to be a good citizen and do as you are told."

But it is all not gloomy. It is estimated that it will take about half a century before tugging at one's forelock becomes the political correct method of showing compliance.

Well, I won't live to see that!

Thank the Lord!

P

Originally posted by zetaM7
It starts with the homeless. I hope these citizens that wanted that law realize that eventually it could be them.

Exactly.

The banks now have the power to do this to most people.

I guess we just need to do the "right thing" and serve the system harder...

This "law" is so stupid, that it will be overturned, thankfully, by the first legitimate court that hears a case. Next, they'll try to outlaw people that don't make $100,000 a year! Dumb, dumb, and dumber!

I was homeless and not by choice for more than a year. I am not a social person and I have no family to lean on and the one relation I had was estranged and so that was of no help. I never stayed in shelters either. I never slept in parks etc. I never once urinated in public. I would usually sleep int he woods outside of town which was a helk of a walk. About 6 miles to be exact. I went months without state aid for food assistance. I usually went to the local temp agency each morning looking for work and I stretched a dollar that way. I quit smoking when I became homeless as well. I would rather eat. The shelters were all 20 miles or more away as well as free health clinics.

When I signed up for food assistance finally, the case worker asked if I was staying in a shelter and I said no. He asked why not. So explained to him that the shelters were very far away and also in urban areas surrounded by gangs, drugs, violence and theft. The shelters themselves were filed with dangerous and mentaly unstable people who would steal from you or hurt you more times than not. The security in those places were notorious for shaking homeless people down for whatever they could get as well. I am a white male and was in my early 20s at the time and I didn't look homeless either. I bathed everyday 10 minutes or so in a McDonalds or QuickTrip bathroom. I would go to Christian charities for toothpaste and soap and deodorant. I would always make sure I had change that I earned from temp work which was scarce so I could do my laundry at the 24-hour laundromat as well. So most times when I sought assistance I was profiled right away as not in need as much as others because I was clean, shaved and not stinky. I suffer from no mental issues and am not disabled. I was left to the wolves more times than not.

I know from experience that many people are mean or take advantage of the homeless. I had been hired to do yard work, gather trash and all kinds of stuff and even agreed to work for half of minimum wage without complaint and then they would not pay me and threaten to cal the cops and say some made up stuff. I stopped taking work from individuals after a few of those experiences. Shelters are filled with parasites like lice and crabs etc as well. So I avoided them. I survived by being the best I could be under extreme circumstances. There were not that many like me and I did not congregate with the homeless either because I didn't want to be categorized or observed as one of them by businesses or law enforcement.

It took me almost two years to get on my feet and I lived in year round weather outside. I kept clean, sober and as healthy and motivated as I could. Not many homeless do and there are a large number who have suffered from abuse by people and do not trust easily or even ever at all. Many Mentally ill people are homeless or become mentally ill from the experiences and a fair share have no education. The ones who were struggling to get there lives in order became victims of there surroundings or violence more times than not as well.

Originally posted by Kali74
Councilman Cameron Runyan (D), proposed an initiative in which homeless people are barred from entering the city. Any homeless person caught by special police patrols will be arrested and brought to a specific, remote homeless shelter in which they cannot leave. Police will also patrol the end of the road the shelter is on, any person caught trying to leave will be arrested and brought to jail. The initiative passed unanimously and is now law.

Police officers will now be assigned to patrol the city center and keep homeless people out. They will also be instructed to strictly enforce the city’s “quality of life” laws, including bans on loitering, public urination, and other violations. And just to ensure that no one slips through, the city will set up a hotline so local businesses and residents can report the presence of a homeless person to police.
In order to accommodate all the homeless people who will now be banned from downtown, the city will partner with a local charity to keep an emergency shelter on the outskirts of town open 24 hours a day. However, it’s unlikely the shelter, which can handle 240 guests, will be enough to handle the local homeless population, which numbers more than six times the available beds.
Homeless people can stay at the shelter, but they’re not permitted to walk off the premises. In fact, Columbia will even post a police officer on the road leading to the shelter to ensure that homeless people don’t walk towards downtown. If they want to leave, they need to set up an appointment and be shuttled by a van.
In other words, the 1,518 homeless people in the Columbia-area now have a choice: get arrested downtown or be confined to a far-away shelter that you can’t readily leave. Jail or pseudo-jail.

Think Progress

Great Depression version 2.0 deny it at your own peril

My fear is that many, many people are far less compassionate and lack adequate decency compared to 100 years ago. We may witness utter madness as the few remaining seat holders in this musical chairs economy fear they too may become POOR or HOMELESS. and will shaft everyone to avoid it

Originally posted by pheonix358

Originally posted by biggmoneyme
soon we'll all be jobless and in homeless shelters.

Yes you will. Eventually those Homeless Shelters will be surrounded with chain mail and barbed wire 'to keep the homeless safe'. Then a major corporation will come along with a big hearted gesture and give everyone a job. Of course all sorts of things will get deducted from your minimum wage. But because the corporation is being so civic minded they will get all sorts of tax breaks.

Those who object will be relocated to the rather pleasant FEMA camps where you can learn a new life shill such as "how to be a good citizen and do as you are told."

But it is all not gloomy. It is estimated that it will take about half a century before tugging at one's forelock becomes the political correct method of showing compliance.

Well, I won't live to see that!

Thank the Lord!

P

Spoiler alert.... analogy 'The Prisoner' 1967..

when at the end he escapes his prison, only to return home and discover its ALL A PRISON.. the whole darn nation.

reply to post by HanzHenry

It's too bad it takes until most people are old and ineffective to realize what a raging steaming pile of crap the world really is.

It has been pointed out by the media for years and years, and we are influenced to ignore it, because it's just "Entertainment".

And so it begins...

I for one would like more information on the detainment facilities.

reply to post by HanzHenry


sorry hans henry....but my relatives are from the Midwest, and back during the 30's and 40's, they were just as vile and nasty then, as they are now. children would sell land back then after getting momma to sign the deed to them, and then have the local sheriff throw the parents out of their houses....bank accounts were emptied by nasty relatives who got access to them. people were shot and killed in their own homes back then if they were old and feeble and have enough gold, silver, or cash in the house...and there was no 911 you could call. farm animals (pigs, cattle, chickens, etc) and produce, were stolen right off of someone's property. those people back in the Midwest will smile at you, and act all dumb and friendly, all the while, scheming on how to separate you and your money....Midwestern family values, my ass

america you should be ashamed at your society it made me sad reading that thread thank the lord harry i live in scotland not long ago i read of a woman burying her partner at home because she could not afford the funeral .

i live in a country where nobody is left behind nobody sleeps outside unless they want to down on your luck pick up the phone and get help no food or money pick up the phone we even house foreigners .

it is not perfect but it is a million times better than what you have over there nobody goes sick /hungry / homeless .

did you ever win your freedom i think not

reply to post by Kali74


I find it disturbing that the fact the this person is a democrat has not really been talked about.

The Democrats claim to be looking out for the poor. Yeah right.

The liberal agenda in action get used to it. You voted for it now live with it, or vote that piece of garbage out of office.

This is not the American way.

reply to post by Kali74


When I was a cop I used to buy them a cup a coffee and drive them to the best spots to sleep haha...

reply to post by Diisenchanted


I did find the fact that this was proposed by Democrat bothersome and to me this is further proof of Dems moving away from this so called Liberal agenda (live and let live). Politicians notoriously don't represent an ideology while only talking an ideological game as their pockets are bloated by monied interest to pass laws that favor them. This isn't even a Conservative agenda (don't tread on me) so I wouldn't say this dude is just a conservative democrat either. He's a slime ball with an agenda alright, greed.

reply to post by Kali74


...democracy then degenerates into tyranny...

Plato

Originally posted by biggmoneyme
soon we'll all be jobless and in homeless shelters.

well well,, just wait,, the "shoulda done this" "shouldn't have done that" will chime in.


those that still have a chair (or those wishing for one) in the musical chair economy will HATE you. One day, you could be a drag on their "must be asleep to realize" American Dream. Welfare..?...pfft STARVE...


satire... WELFARE HATER mentality

but please do it somewhere else. Out of my sight, I have a 401k to worry about, and boots to lick!

or, you have kids that are starving?

too bad.. YOU shouldn't have had them... "hey kids, too bad you were born.. Im not paying to help you avoid starvation".. while going off to work for peanuts so others can have caviar and $150 million dollar yachts.

Originally posted by FIFIGI
reply to post by Kali74

 

...democracy then degenerates into tyranny...

Plato

capitalism always leads to imbalance

which leads to debt, then servitude, then slavery..

OH, forgot.. also.. in a free market economy.. Monopolies are FREE to INFEST