Tony Alter / CC
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Do you know what hostile architecture is?
It’s design features within a city’s public space to keep the homeless out. Why does a bench at a bus stop have armrests? To keep the homeless from sleeping there. Why does the grating on a steam vent now have small spikes on it? So it can’t be used by the homeless to keep warm. Some cities are putting rocks underneath bridges and overpasses, so they don’t become homeless encampments.
Advocates for the homeless held a demonstration in Stevens Point last weekend. Many people say the demonstrators were assertive and rude.
I appreciate the balancing act. I don’t want city parks or public spaces to be taken over by the homeless. Parks are for everyone to enjoy, and families and children won’t go there if vagrants are living there. On the other hand, where are the homeless to go? Are some people so unwanted that they can’t even live on the streets?
Some weekends I see a man with a sign, begging, outside the WalMart in Rib Mountain. That makes me furious. Just a few feet away, WalMart is hiring people at $18/hr to do other people’s shopping. I consider begging below human dignity. And yet someone who is homeless – who hasn’t bathed or shaved or changed clothes in days – may not be hirable. There are some people who fall so low that they need someone to be their champions, to clean them up, before things will get better.
There was an item in the news last week that was infuriating. A charity group in Stevens Point called One Big Tent offered showers to the homeless. Those who used the service got soap, a towel, and use of a shower stall to get cleaned up. And the charity received a cease-and-desist order from the county. Apparently, something at their facility isn’t up to code. I find this infuriating. This is the situation where strict code enforcement is needed? How about the county’s social service office partnering with the charity to fix the situation?
This really is a two-way street. We need those who are down-and-out to make every effort to improve their situations. I know that doesn’t always happen. And you and I, the do-gooders, need to make it as easy as possible for the homeless to lift themselves up.
Chris Conley
Comments