Allentown activist Lewis Shupe took the photo above, and wonders aloud how we can have homelessness surrounded by a $Billion dollars of new development? While mental illness is certainly an explanation, it doesn't make the sidewalk any softer or warmer for the poor person shown.
We have raised the flag for numerous republics in the Caribbean, perhaps it's time to raise one for the homeless? While such an effort to help done quietly would be more dignified, if political fanfare gets the job done, raise a flag and give a speech!
I do acknowledge that local efforts to help homelessness have occurred. Both the Fountain Park pool house and the YMCA have recently operated shelters.
Allentown is concerned with its image. Both 7th and Hamilton Street gateways get dress-up grants...That's nice, but it's time to concern ourselves with the people sleeping on those new sidewalks.
photocredit: Lewis Shupe
Do you remember the Reagan and Bush years, when homelessness was a major issue. No media outrage today, because it is all in Democrat cities with democrat politicians in power.
ReplyDeleteThe hypocrisy is just so transparent and disgusting.
Unfortunately, homelessness is a growing problem all across America, particularly urban centers larger than Allentown. San Francisco, New York, and a few others have allowed themselves to be destroyed by filth, drug use, and crime.
ReplyDeleteSo, who is REALLY to blame for the decline in America standards of living? Easy answer . . . actions/inactions of politicians presently in office.
I believe recent election results in America were tampered with, and will be again. But, when voting, I’ll be selecting different people for office. The current group is failing all of us. America is being squandered away. Reject them!
“…and wonders aloud how we can have homelessness surrounded by a $Billion dollars of new development?”
ReplyDeleteYou can have it when your (usually democrat) politicians refuse to deal with it.
While the photo of one person on the sidewalk is heart-wrenching, travel a little further west and you can find plenty more on the benches of West Park.
Travel even further to some of the larger nearby cites (like Philly or NY), and see what those same politicians have in mind for Allentown’s future: large encampments of the homeless on public and private property with little effort to solve (or even acknowledge) the problem.
I don’t know what the homeless flag would look like, but if it’s being raised by our democrat elected leaders it should start with the white flag of surrender and then add a large doormat on it to represent how the rest of us will be treated if we want a real solution.
The only real concern that democrats have for the homeless is whether they are registered to vote and need help in filling out their mail-in ballots.
This blog will accept NO MORE comments, loud or subtle, with a political agenda.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hot button for me. The homeless problem is not really being addressed in Allentown. It's being shoved out of sight and further away from the restaurants on Hamilton Street into the residential area of 15th Street. As a dues paying YMCA member of 35 years I'm angry that an annual "Anonymous" grant has turned the local family Y into a flophouse that exposes families to the dangers experienced by those living on the streets. I 'm angry that the YMCA's recent change in management has left the Allentown Y as a forgotten child in the range of the Greater Valley YMCAs. I realize that the homeless problem needs to be addressed but the YMCA is not the group to do it. There are other charitable groups that by the nature of their stated mission could better handle the problem, but they are too close to Hamilton Street. I suspect that this large "Anonymous" grant comes not from some benevolent donor but from the same person/people who benefit from NOT having the homeless people be visible on Hamilton Street. The Fountain Park Pool House was a terrible idea, but it was isolated and got some homeless people out of view. In the winter the Y's lower parking lot has become a scary place with people loitering in cars, litter, and sometimes shopping carts. The poor Allentown Y is still not open due to the fire many months ago. Members can go to Quakertown, Bethlehem, or some other Y, but the warming center will be fully staffed and up and running soon. So the restaurants on Hamilton Street won't have to worry about patrons being accosted by panhandlers, or used syringes on the street. This isn't dealing with the homeless- it's just getting them out of sight and putting them in someone else's neighborhood.
ReplyDelete8:30 - I couldn’t agree with you more about the YMCA’s misuse as homeless shelter being to the the detriment of the residential neighborhood that surrounds it. I also agree that the anonymous donation is designed to keep people off of Hamilton Street.
DeleteBut what those same people don’t seem to realize is that 15th Street is a major corridor for visitors coming into the city, and the throngs of homeless walking to and from the YMCA (and lined up before the shelter opens at night) leaves a lasting impression on those driving by.
That impression OF THE CITY sticks with those who see it, and that perception doesn’t change just because you’ve built a taxpayer-subsidized oasis a few blocks further in.
As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a good first impression, and the city (and the Y’s anonymous donor) is blowing theirs by using the very-visible YMCA as a homeless shelter.
I drive and walk by numerous homeless people in center city every work day. The numbers have increased over the last few years. Some sleep in the pocket parks when the weather is nice. Combined with silly quality of life issues, like rampant double parking, illegal motor bike posses, it sends a bad message. The mayor likes to jog along Hamilton, and I have seen him stare at the morning homeless gathering at the library while passing on his bike on the way to City Hall. Nothing is done. And, Allentown wonders why its center lacks the vibrancy of Bethlehem and Easton. It is not due to a lack of money.
ReplyDeleteIt is so common now, that this would be unbelievable years ago. When you land at Boston's Logan Airport, you notice once after you disembark, all the temporary cots in the waiting areas. These are for the homeless; not for tired paying customers. You wouldn't imagine what paying customers are subjected to in this airport. Never flying out of Boston again. Providence's airport is cheaper, cleaner, and friendlier. It is not that much further from where I live. Amazing what paying customers / taxpayers have been subjected to in this craZy world.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad, and has been since the 80's. That's when I first heard the word "homeless" used as a common phrase and not just for people who had been burned or flooded out of their homes. I believe it started with people being kicked out of mental facilities to save a buck, including many vets. Once that precedent was set things went increasingly down hill.
ReplyDeleteNonsense.
ReplyDeleteLisa Pawlowski, First Lady of Allentown, ended homelessness.