What to Do, What to Do

I was reading Gothamist today and there was a question in the "Ask a Native New Yorker" column about how someone should feel when faced with the possibility of having a homeless shelter in your community. I'm conflicted about how to deal with the homeless myself. I don't want to see anyone sleeping on the street but I don't want a shelter on my block either. I remember when I lived in Brooklyn, some guy (briefly) decided to make a home for himself under a cardboard box outside of the Ft. Hamilton Parkway subway station. I hated seeing this guy and, thankfully, he wasn't there for long. I don't know if the cops got him or if he just moved on. Even worse than someone sleeping at your subway station is someone begging at your subway station. Panhandlers drive me crazy. I just can't stand being asked for money while I'm walking down the street or going to the grocery store or just minding my own damn business. Go shake your cup at someone else! I say all of this to say that I understand some folks need help. People end up homeless for a variety of reasons and shelters provide needs housing for some of these people. But living next to a transient hotel isn't ideal either. There's a place in Evanston that houses a lot of people with clear mental problems and when some of the residents are free to leave the facility during the day, they start panhandling. They invade the laundromat down the street and harass every single person in the place, trying to shake them down for cash. That kind of stuff works your nerves.