Influx of Homeless Individuals
max_weisenfeld said:
The lack of public toilet facilities is also a well documented problem
And yet nothing gets done. I like @Jaytee’s idea of putting this operation in the center of town, perhaps in the old Arturo’s space. Then we can really see how compassionate everyone here is. Potentially mentally ill or drunken homeless men wandering up and down Maplewood Ave. They can harass the middle school kids as they walk to MMS in the mornings, the commuters, and the families walking through the village.
prisoners_dilemma said:
max_weisenfeld said:
The lack of public toilet facilities is also a well documented problem
And yet nothing gets done. I like @Jaytee’s idea of putting this operation in the center of town, perhaps in the old Arturo’s space. Then we can really see how compassionate everyone here is. Potentially mentally ill or drunken homeless men wandering up and down Maplewood Ave. They can harass the middle school kids as they walk to MMS in the mornings, the commuters, and the families walking through the village.
The Township could negotiate that developers pay for public restrooms (or include them in their buildings) when we hand out PILOTs like candy to little kids at Halloween.
The Maplewood Seniors Advisory Committee spoke with SAM about having some of the businesses on the Avenue open their restrooms to the public. Nicole is looking into the feasibility of doing this. A similar approach could be taken in other commercial areas in town.
joan_crystal said:
The Maplewood Seniors Advisory Committee spoke with SAM about having some of the businesses on the Avenue open their restrooms to the public. Nicole is looking into the feasibility of doing this. A similar approach could be taken in other commercial areas in town.
I drive all over the state for work and often find myself hunting for public restrooms. Wawa has saved me many times.
The Wawa on Springfield Ave in Maplewood is the only one I’ve ever been into which has one of those keypad locks for the restrooms. I’m not sure why they chose to do that.
Speaking as the father of children who were recently small, EVERYONE would benefit from more public restrooms.
One of the things that makes me sad about this thread is the persistent othering. I guarantee you that there are kids who grew up in MAPSO only to fall on hard times either through bad luck, bad choices or bad genetics (addiction). Homeless people aren’t invaders from some nebulous otherwhere, many of them are children of people like us, children of a society that doesn’t consider health care and housing to be human rights.
This topic came up at a meeting I attended last evening. Hope is to find a not for profit to manage the community fridge. Social workers are definitely part of the plan. After hours drop off is being explored. Most of this is still influx.
Is it possible for the town to reach out to the Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) of Essex county? They put out a needs assessment in 2020 which confirmed these needs and proposed some next steps. Identifying county resources and approaches may be more long term than relying solely on volunteers.
https://www.nj.gov/dcf/about/divisions/opma/hsac_needs_assessment.html
(ETA: From Joan's post, it sounds like some professional resources, like social workers, are also being considered).
Maplewood Township has a social worker. Her name is Martha and she is wonderful. Super friendly and very proactive.
Having said that, government resources are spread thin. There are long waits for everything. If communities depend solely on these organizations to handle the entire load, the response is sadly insufficient. What we need are caring individuals making up caring communities, united to help people in their area of need.
Certainly leave the aspects requiring professional intervention to the professionals, but at the very least we can offer kindness and food. There's no reason to put up with bad behavior from people in need. AND ... There's no need to put up with bad behavior from people of means who have their pants in a bunch because they thought they bought a house in the no problem zone.
I had to stop in to Riccardi paint today on Springfield Avenue. There was a van parked at the community pantry. It was from an organization called the United Community Corporation in Newark. I could not tell if they were there to distribute food or if they were getting food from the pantry. Or maybe they were providing transportation for people who wanted to use the pantry.
It looks like they’re nonprofit based in Newark offering assistance to low income individuals.
mrincredible said:
I had to stop in to Riccardi paint today on Springfield Avenue. There was a van parked at the community pantry. It was from an organization called the United Community Corporation in Newark. I could not tell if they were there to distribute food or if they were getting food from the pantry. Or maybe they were providing transportation for people who wanted to use the pantry.
It looks like they’re nonprofit based in Newark offering assistance to low income individuals.
United Community Corporation in Newark is the not for profit the town has partnered with to manage food distribution at the Community Fridge. They will (or by now have) meet with local groups that have been stocking the fridge to coordination food supply.
joan_crystal said:
United Community Corporation in Newark is the not for profit the town has partnered with to manage food distribution at the Community Fridge. They will (or by now have) meet with local groups that have been stocking the fridge to coordination food supply.
Thank you Joan. I apologize if this was stated before. It’s the first time I’ve been in the neighborhood in a little while.
Moammar said:
I live around the corner from the pantry. It ain't no big deal. Never seen a fight or a hassle there and I walk or run by frequently. Happy to help people who need help.
You should take someone in then. If everyone advocating for fridge did then no one would be in need.
Kimberlyd said:
Moammar said:
I live around the corner from the pantry. It ain't no big deal. Never seen a fight or a hassle there and I walk or run by frequently. Happy to help people who need help.
You should take someone in then. If everyone advocating for fridge did then no one would be in need.
Then you people would just be complaining about all the poor folks hanging around Moammars's. Reading this thread, it is pretty clear that its not the fridge per-se that people object to, its all the poor people scuzzing up your perfect streets and driving down your sacred property value.
If y'all wanted to live in a gated community, you should have bought into one.
Sheesh
Kimberlyd said:
Moammar said:
I live around the corner from the pantry. It ain't no big deal. Never seen a fight or a hassle there and I walk or run by frequently. Happy to help people who need help.
You should take someone in then. If everyone advocating for fridge did then no one would be in need.
The lack of public toilet facilities is also a well documented problem