Touchy topic.
va-grant [vey-gruh nt]
noun: a person who wanders about idly and has no permanent home or employment; vagabond; tramp.
There is clearly something driving an increase in idle people loitering in and around downtown this summer. The QT at 15th and Denver was compelled by local authorities to remove the tables in front of the store and thankfully they complied.
Personally I've seen more and more people hanging out in empty lots, behind buildings, in the park at Denver and 7th, Centennial Park at Boston and 7th, or just wandering around.
I've also seen an increase in homeless people in the area (the folks with their belongings with them in carts or baggage)
We've discussed the problem before many years ago:
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=6858.msg31056#msg31056I wonder what is driving this? I have a lot of sympathy for people that are down on their luck or especially for people with untreated mental issues that drive them to the fringes of society. Unfortunately there are also people in this group that either have substance abuse problems or choose not to provide for themselves.
Anecdotally I was told by a police officer that several of the suburbs bring their transient population to downtown...I cannot confirm the veracity of this assertion. I've also been told that Iron Gate is moving out of downtown. For those that aren't familiar, Iron Gate serves around 900 free meals every day in downtown.
San Antonio has recently tackled a similar problem with some create sollutions.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/08/19/338895262/mental-health-cops-help-reweave-social-safety-net-in-san-antonioA couple of highlights:
*They created a mental health squad in their police force
*They sent the entire police force through crisis intervention training
*Opened a restoration center to divert those with mental illness out of the penal system and into a place where they can get assistance
This part of the story really jumped out at me:
The center was the brainchild of Leon Evans, director of San Antonio's mental health department.
When he took over the department 14 years ago, Evans says not one of the county or city agencies and nonprofits that deal with mental illness was talking to another. The jails, hospitals, courts, police and mental health department all worked in separate silos.
"People who fund these services only look at their little, small piece of the pie and whether there is a return on investment," says Evans.
So, with the help of a county judge, Evans worked to get the funders together to talk about the money they were all spending on mental health. Once they stopped looking at mental health as an isolated expense, the groups realized they were spending enormous sums of money and offering poor care. Pooling their resources instead, they found, could offer significant savings.
Everyone contributed funding to create the Restoration Center. It offers a 48-hour inpatient psychiatric unit; outpatient services for psychiatric and primary care; centers for drug or alcohol detox; a 90-day recovery program for substance abuse; plus housing for people with mental illnesses, and even job training.
What can we do to stem the tide here?
What can we do to care for people in their home community?
Should Downtown be a dumping ground for the county's unwanted humans?
How do we train Tulsans not to give handouts to grifters?
How can we care for the people that really need our help?