City of Des Moines Removes Homeless Shacks

[Doughboy71]

Source: KCCI- TV (CBS Affiliate)



Crews went into the woods and tore down makeshift huts in a homeless camp near the Des Moines River Thursday morning.

First, workers cleared a path, and then they tore down the huts using construction equipment.

“We had warmth. We had it all. We had it all. This is unbelievable,” said John Newsome, who used to call one of the huts his home.


Read more: http://www.kcci.com/news/18255235/detail.html

---

I'm originally from Des Moines, and I think this is sickening. I understand WHY it was done. But WHY wasn't there more help for the homeless men above and beyond saving a few of their possessions? Why didn't the City make sure they made it into shelters? Where were case workers from the VA to help the Veterans? I guess in this time of helping our fellow man, some forgot how to help our fellow man. Big deal a new shelter was fast tracked, how many times will the budget be cut or frozen before it is ever built.

[Freddie Stubbs]

1. We had something like this in Miami a year or so ago

The city decided to let it be rather than take the flack of evicting the people and tearing it down, despite the fact that it was a fire hazard. The issue resolved itself as the 'village' burned down. Fortunately there were no injuries.

[WI_DEM]

2. It looks like one of the huts had a fire a month ago and somebody was killed

but still very sad to see that people are being displaced at this time with nowhere to go. I do note the article says a new homeless shelter is being speeded up:

City leaders said plans for a new homeless shelter downtown are on the fast track.

Monday, the Des Moines city council voted to speed up the process for a $7 million shelter on Keo Way just south of I-235.

[rsdsharp]

4. There was a fire a couple of weeks ago

but the man in the hut was injured, not killed. That prompted the city to act. The original intent was to tear down the shacks the next day. An injunction was issued, and the city delayed beyond the limit the court set. As for shelters, space has been made available, but not all of the people involved are willing to go to a shelter.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. "new homeless shelter is being speeded up"

Well goodie. Maybe it will be done by spring. Only 3 months of an Iowa winter to make it through. Just suck it up :sarcasm:

[Baby Snooks]

20. So?

There was probably a fire at an apartment in Des Moines that also killed someone in the past month. Did they tear down the apartment complex?

As for the new shelter, where are these people supposed to go while the new shelter is being built? Or did anyone really care?

Once again, "out of sight, out of mind" and "not in or near my neighborhood" prevailed. People don't want to be reminded of how many are losing everything and ending up homeless.

[PatSeg]

23. I was thinking along the same lines

If a house on my blocks catches on fire, are they going to bulldoze my house?

Surely there are better ways to deal with homelessness than just sweeping it under the rug.

[WriteDown]

36. If its not up to code....

Yes.

[CC]

3. So how many will die of

hypothermia while waiting for a shelter to be built? I give these guys a lot of credit for building something to help themselves and shame on the city for tearing them down without providing shelter for them.

[acmavm]

5. Thank you. That's exactly what i wanted to say. And that is what a caring

society WOULD do.

[Waiting For Everyman]

7. Why can't trailers be provided on government land,

like for a hurricane (only without the asbestos, etc., doing it the right way)? This is a widespread emergency.

[chrisa]

54. Because they don't care about human life. [n/t]

[DU9598]

9. Shelter is being provided

There are numerous shelters here in central IOwa. The men involved preferred these huts where they could keep their alcohol. Des Moines' homeless shelters and food banks are providing services to those who want them ... and our local churches and charities have been seeing record donations despite the downturn in the economy. I support the city's action in this instance. With the weather in the 20's today, I hope the men forgo their alcohol and choose a warm shelter until they can get on their feet again.

[Vincardog]

21. Keep on judging up on you high horse. The higher the horse the further the fall.

If these people are self medicating with alcohol may be they should have been hospitalized and treated for their condition instead of having their shelter destroyed.

[DU9598]

35. I am not judging, I am providing context

Homelessness is a problem in our nation. I am merely pointing out that the city has tried to help these particular men and women and they chose to refuse shelter services.

Please don't judge me for pointing out facts in this particular case. I have spent the last week volunteering and donating for detained women and their children in Postville, Iowa following the ICE raids on the plant. It is disturbing to come onto DU and be called out for just giving factual information and context to a particular story. I do what I can to make our world better. We can only help those who want help.

Peace

[hamsterjill]

50. Not judging, just asking

Isn't it factual, too, that many homeless people have mental health problems? I mean, they may not have the mental capacity to really KNOW that they need to find shelter, they may not have the ability to locate and get to a shelter, etc.?

I find it very sad that something that may have been comforting and recognizable to some of the homeless has been taken from them - particularly before the new shelter was available.

[struggle4progress]

25. ... There were 10,031 homeless and near-homeless people in Des Moines who sought assistance last

year. There are about 409 emergency shelter beds in the metro area ...

<from "Homeless facts" sidebar to following story:>
Des Moines evicts homeless from huts, cites safety
By JASON PULLIAM • [e-mail] • December 3, 2008
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081203/NEWS/812030381/-1/ENT05

[salbi]

27. I volunteer at a Homeless Shelter

We have about a hundred men sleeping in a room that would comfortly sleep 40. It's wall to wall beds and while in the winter it does fill up, in the spring and summer a lot of the men would rather camp out. They get some privacy and can kind of feel self sufficient. Some do have substance abuse problems, but so do plenty of people with homes. That doesn't make it right but also doesn't mean they should have their shacks torn down. Should we evict all alcoholics and drug addicts from their homes?

[Robbien]

6. All the possessions they saved from their previous non-homeless life, now gone

Everything they used to keep themselves alive, now gone.

Damn.

[PatSeg]

8. How sad

These people were so content with so little, and even that was taken away from them. How is a handmade hut more dangerous than living outside in cold weather.

[WriteDown]

13. So little?

Like a fifth of Jack Daniels? These are the ones that refused to go to the shelters to the restrictions they enforce.

[Sal Minella]

15. So you think it's okay to tear apart the homes because some of the people might be

alcohol-dependent? If you had your druthers, you wouldn't want to stay in a shelter either, friend.

I have a hunch you simply have no idea what you're actually recommending, here.

[PatSeg]

16. I think I would resist staying at a shelter

if I had other alternatives. I've lived in a tent and was quite content. Any social services I've ever had to deal with tended to be demeaning and restrictive. These people need and want so little, and I can really understand that.

[WriteDown]

33. See post 32...NT

[brentspeak]

22. Where's the part in the article where it says the men were alcoholics?

How can you "write" down anything if you can't even read?

[WriteDown]

34. Read the entire thread NT.

[salbi]

28. Alcohol is not the only reason people don't like to go to shelters

Have you ever spent a night in a homeless shelter? To say that alcohol is the only reason that they wouldn't want to stay there shows your ignorance. I volunteer at a shelter, I talk to these people everyday, and there are plenty of reasons most would rather be on their own. Substance abuse can be one of the reasons, but so can trying to feel independent. Having some privacy, and not fearing their things will be stolen while they sleep. Personality conflicts occur as they would anywhere there are too many people sleeping in a small space, and many don't feel like dealing with all the problems. Don't be so judgemental.

[WriteDown]

32. Trying to feel independent does not entitle

one to erect substandard housing. Lets not forget that the black plague was caused by substandard living conditions. And more recently, the fire that prompted Des Moines to tear down the huts to begin with. Let me ask you a question. If a fire causes injury and then the state determines that living conditions are unsafe, what is the state to do? I am curious.

[Sal Minella]

37. Ye Gods. People die in automobile accidents every day. Should "the state" round up all motor

vehicles and shred them to prevent further deaths?

People drown at public beaches -- should all swimming be disallowed as "unsafe?"

I don't understand why a "public safety" pogrom directed at the poor and homeless should be allowed to stand.

[WriteDown]

38. Maybe this will make you understand....

Your neighbor has a gas leak and the city/state determines that his gas pipes are old and need replacing. He doesn't have the money to do it. What should be done then? This actually happened to a neighbor of mine recently.

[Sal Minella]

44. Certainly, all the houses in the entire neighborhood should be bulldozed down immediately and all

the residents left out in the street to freeze to death.

Or perhaps a low-interest long-term loan could be arranged by the gas company and the municipal entities involved? And the rates charged for the replacement work could be REASONABLE instead of highway robbery? Just a couple thoughts, there.

"make me understand" indeed. Try to make yourself understand, please.

[WriteDown]

46. What if the resident can't afford even a long term

loan or what if they default on that loan? By your logic, I guess no house should ever be condemned. I mean after all, if its sheltering someone then what right have they to take it away?

[Sal Minella]

47. Whenever you're finished wandering in the thickets of your own imagination, come on back and we'll

discuss the topic at hand, viz. the insane cruelty of tearing down people's dwellings in the dead of winter.

[WriteDown]

48. Seems like you had no answer...

Not unexpected.

[Elidor]

51. What does your neighbor's problem have to do with homeless dwellings?

These people don't build their structures in your neighborhood, nor in anyone's neighborhood. They build in out-of-the-way areas where they won't be molested. Nor do they have gas lines. If this is an attempt at a meaningful analogy, it falls painfully flat.

Perhaps you should go sleep under some bushes in a freezing rain, or sleep in nothing more than the clothes on your back when it's 17 degrees outside. Maybe then you'll understand. But I doubt it. I doubt that anything will dent your general cluelessness.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

59. Fire code is not directed at the poor and homeless.

We have speed limits, seat belt laws, drunk driving laws and safety requirements for vehicles to reduce the amount of needless death due to motor vehicle collisions. Fire codes have dramatically reduced the amount of civilian fire deaths, your argument that they target the poor and homeless is ignorant of the facts.

David

[readmoreoften]

52. Same-sex families and transgender people usually have no place at shelters as well.

[JanMichael]

43. That would keep me out of a shelter too. Sorry-- it would-- and it's not about

having to have a drink for me; it's about retaining the dignity of being able to have one if I wanted.

Some of those goddamned shelters are no better than prisons.

[Occulus]

56. When I was homeless, those restrictions were exactly why I didn't go to a shelter

For the record, it wasn't because of an alcohol ban; I was too young to legally buy alcohol in the first place. No, it was little things like a curfew I literally could not observe because of school- I was in college at the time- and a ban on any visitors of the opposite sex, including my own mom and sister.

If you had ever had occasion to check into what living in a shelter is actually like, you would already know about those sorts of issues.

[appleannie1]

10. Some of those 'huts' were built better than a trailer.

[Javaman]

12. wasn't there something in the bible about helping the poor and shit like that?

I know, I know. sorry what was I thinking?

[Libertas1776]

14. ...

I don't know how it is in Des Moines, but in most cities the homeless would prefer their own crudely built shelter or even the elements than stay in one of those shelters...not because they cannot have liquor but because they are simply not safe (you can be robbed and attacked by others, usually druggies, cause their is virtually no security)
Maybe it is a little different in Des Moines, but this is the case in most big cities.

[salbi]

29. I think it's the case in most shelters

I volunteer at a shelter in a mid size city. All the things you mention occur, and many of the men come for dinner but prefer to live on their own, even when it's in a tent or a car.

[specimenfred1984]

17. I'm sure some Des Moine gov't sychophant will be along shortly...

to proudly proclaim all the great work they've done in Iowa, just like the Blago-phants were yesterday. This is fascist America, we only care about getting ahead ourselves and screwing everyone else.

[Doremus]

18. What is it the pukes like to say? Take responsibility for yourself?

Seems to me that's exactly what the homeless people were doing. Why then would Big Brother wish to make them dependent again by removing what few resources they had?

If someone doesn't want to go into a homeless shelter, and instead forge their own way, why is it such a travesty?

Institutional living is not utopia, in fact I imagine it could be quite hellish. These people were simply being self sufficient while allowing themselves a modicum of privacy that institutional living does not offer.

A big fat pffffft to Iowa authorities who "know" better what these people need than the people themselves.

[Baby Snooks]

19. They should be glad they don't live in San Francisco...

If they were in San Francisco no doubt Nancy Pelosi would have had the huts torn down and then had them arrested.

We are truly no longer a nation to be proud of. And how cold will it be in Des Moines tonight?

[Doughboy71]

30. Oh it will be in the single digits to

low teens tonight

[and-justice-for-all]

24. That is fucked up...

Did the city give them other shelter after they destroyed the only thing they had left?! What a bunch of evil bastards.

[amitta]

26. sick

don't expect any help from either party

[Kaleko]

31. Cruel and unusual punishment for being broke.

We have to get the Obama admin cracking on this blight of homelessness. I'm in.

[superconnected]

39. How very sad for these homeless people. I hope they find shelter.

How very sad for the people who made the decision to tear down the huts. I know I couldn't sleep at night if I did something like that. But then, I don't believe I would go attack the homeless.

[undeterred]

40. Who is served by this?

What an incredibly stupid thing to do. It will result in people dying.

[Elidor]

41. A living nightmare

I know exactly how they feel. Losing your shelter is devastating in any weather. In the middle of winter it can be a death sentence. Unless you've been through it, you can't imagine how traumatic it is. And it's all underscored by the simple message: people in this world don't care if you live or die. For those who can't find a bed at a shelter, a night in jail is probably the best they can hope for.

[exman]

42. experienced homeless

If you allow people to provide their own shelter they do not die from exposure.More arrests are possible when these people have to go to the streets.Homeless encampments degrade property values. Try living outdoors with inadequate clothing and see if you don't welcome a bottle of instantly warming booze. Homelessness is depressing,therefore all homeless people are actually mentally ill to some degree.Homeless people rarely vote. A huge proportion of homeless QUALIFY for Social Security or veterans benefits, but the frustration of dealing with the bureaucracy is so intense that most just give up. Personally I found jail to be safer and often more comfortable than shelters.( you don't have to live in constant fear of arrest because you're already in jail.) I experienced the Sausalito houseboat wars and lived homeless many years in a moderate climate.My heart goes out to those who are denied shelter where it is much colder. Homeless shelters will be available for all as soon as pigs fly. Most of my friends are dead, many from hypothermia, other causes, mostly from institutional neglect. As soon as someone figures out how to make money from helping the homeless, the problem will be solved, meanwhile more will die, many more.:cry:

[Joanne98]

45. Empty foreclosed houses rotting and homeless people. That's capitalism!

[originalpckelly]

49. What about public buildings? Open spaces in indoor malls?

There are tons of places we could be putting people, all you'd have to do is hire a couple of security guards to makes sure they don't steal.

We don't want that though.

[DemBones DemBones]

53. Taking away peoples' shelter in Des Moines in December, that's sadism.

Pure sadism.

[sarcasmo]

55. No room in homeless shelters and they go and do this kind of shit, the Government wonders

Why so many of us despise them.

[eilen]

57. I don't understand why they couldn't wait until after Winter.

It seems very cruel.

It gets very cold up here and the local shelter-- Rescue Mission goes around in their van to popular camp-out sites to see if people would like to stay overnight in the shelter and give them a ride. Some do refuse.

I'm pretty sure the Black Plague was spread by rats transported via ship/trade routes.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

58. In my community a lot of the homeless won't go to the shelters because they don't like the rules.