So, we have had a dialogue in the Bon Air Neighborhood for several months about the homeless encampments. They used to be in secluded places. In 2020, they have been for lack of a better word "brash." They have been out in the open in the state "right of way" areas in the Bardstown Road/Watterson Expressway exchange.
Dealing with them has been a cat and mouse game. They were first on the entrance ramp to the eastbound Watterson. Then they were on the exit ramp from the eastbound Watterson, and that got cleared by either Metro Government or other agency. Then they put some tents in the bushes in front of Boys and Girls Haven. Then there was another encampment on the westbound ramp in front of the Sullivan Bakery. Then there was this morning.
In front of the PLS/old Thorntons there was an encampment . . . right at the corner of Bardstown Rd and Goldsmith Lane. It was still there when I came home. This is a new level of brashness for the homeless in this area. It is right out in the middle of everything and gives new meaning to the "elephant in the middle of the room."
There is what has been called the "plight" of the homeless. Homelessness, as a rule, is a difficult, dangerous, and unfortunate situation. As I have written before, I have talked with numerous homeless clients who get things stolen from them and have gotten beaten up on the street. I have talked with a number of women patients who told me that they had to have sex with "ex-boyfriends" as the price to stay one night in their places.
The guy in front of the tent at the corner of Bardstown and Goldsmith points out that the homeless are a diverse population. There are truly individuals who have lost their jobs and were one paycheck away from homelessness. It seems to me that this is the image that pulls at our heartstrings. There are truly people who are in need.
Then there are the mentally ill . . .
- Who have poor medication compliance and do not keep it together to maintain a household.
- Who are too paranoid to be in the shelters/missions
- The co-occurring disordered individuals
- who have mental illness and drug addiction,
- who would rather spend their disability checks on tobacco, marijuana, meth and spice rather than rent,.and food.
Getting Psychotherapist On You
Then there is the category that this picture represents. Over the past several months they have persisted in panhandling from the high traffic volume on Bardstown Road. They do appear to be getting alms from many well-meaning people on a given day/. My logic says that it is lucrative enough for them to keep doing it, and the current set of laws allow it.
On the other hand, I keep going back to the idea of healthy shame that the late John Bradshaw talked about. We all need a sense of healthy shame that tells us that there are limits. The healthy shame tells most of us that there are certain things that are embarrassing and inappropriate and that we need to be careful about things.
There are people who are in genuine need and it is embarrassing for them to ask for help. They have pride and would rather die than ask you for help. They have a strong sense of personal responsibility and they want to build things with their own hands and drink from their own wells. At times they will break down and take the late Bill Wither's advice and swallow their pride, ask for what they need, and lean on someone else. In the end, they do not want handouts, and they do not want to be a burden on society.
Speaking of society, we have a firm belief in the social order. We have the belief that we will all stop at stop signs and red lights. We will stay in the lanes of traffic. We will pay our taxes. We will obey laws. We will live where we are meant to live (it is called "zoning"). Our homes will meet certain standards that we call "housing codes" so that things are sanitary and safe. The social order speaks to what is appropriate, and the vast majority of us successfully abide by the social order.
This brings me back to the homeless camp out in the open at Goldsmith Lane and Bardstown Road. There are just so many dysfunctional messages that it screams. I see the same people openly showing that they do not have healthy shame and appear to be openly conning well-meaning motorists.
At face value, the homeless in these encampments have been a nuisance and I think that they have been able to keep being nuisances because LMPD has had limited staff and has scaled back responding to many non-emergent calls due to the COVID-19 risk. However, their encampments are public health risks because of the lack of sanitary facilities. Their appearance may also detract from housing values and sales in the area (but that is another topic).
We plan on discussing the homeless encampments at the Bon Air General Membership meeting on January 11, 2021, at 6:30 pm. We will learn what LMPD and Metro Government is doing, and might be planning to do about this issue. We also will seek to understand what kinds of roadblocks they have faced in handling the homeless encampments in the area. If you like the Bon Air Neighborhood Association Facebook Page you can get to the Zoom link and join the meeting.
Otherwise, I will be curious to see if the encampment is still at the Bardstown Road/Goldsmith Lane intersection tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment