Homeless have no shelter options in Tahoe
Wesley Shira and his dog Loci are sleeping outside in South Lake Tahoe until he finds a job to afford a roof over his head. Photo/Kathryn Reed
By Kathryn Reed
Wesley Shira had a bedroll, some other belongings and his dog to keep him warm last night. The expected low in South Lake Tahoe was 30 degrees.
He called it camping. Others would call it being homeless.
“In this town it’s really hard to come up with any kind of long-term solution for something like that,” El Dorado County sheriff’s Lt. Pete Van Arnum told Lake Tahoe News. “Over the years there have been numerous homeless people we have found deceased in the meadows.”
Members of Lake Tahoe Collaborative are looking to create a warming room in South Lake Tahoe that might be open six months a year at night when the temperatures drop below freezing.
The Collaborative is a group of leaders of mostly nonprofits and government social service departments who meet monthly to bring awareness to the needs of their respective populations and to help find solutions so efforts are not duplicated and resources not wasted.
The Collaborative’s subcommittee working on the warming room has gained traction with the Salvation Army, Del Oro Division, which represents this area. Nicole Zaborsky is talking to the folks off the hill this week about the proposal that has been submitted. The Collaborative is working with Barton Foundation on the proposal.
“They will see what they can assist with,” Zaborsky, who is on the subcommittee, told Lake Tahoe News.
The main reason such a facility has not been started sooner on the South Shore is that no entity wants to be the lead agency, plus there is no one to foot the bill. But South Lake Tahoe isn’t alone; there is no shelter for the homeless anywhere in the basin.
Red Cross has said it can provide cots and emergency supplies if the Collaborative opens a warming room.
Leanne Wagoner, who is also on the subcommittee, foresees needing a place for about 20 people. She added it could be in the industrial area, and most likely not in a residential area. It will also need to be on a bus route.
The subcommittee is assessing whether a permanent bathroom or port-a-potty would be best. Should men and women be in the same room? What about kids? Pets? Security? People to supervise? Food?
All of those questions and more still need answers.
But for Shira and his dog Loci they wish the warming room were a reality.
“I don’t have a place to stay. I really could use a place,” the 32-year-old Shira told Lake Tahoe News as he stood Tuesday at the driveway entrance to Safeway holding a sign asking for work. “I have my ServSafe card. I can cook and handle food at any restaurant. But a lot of people don’t want to give people like me a chance.”
He has found work here before so he hitched a ride and returned.
It’s not unusual for Tahoe’s homeless to be transient. They think the area, especially being a 24-hour community, is rich with jobs. They don’t know people call Lake Tahoe “poverty with a view”.
Van Arnum said his department used to have money for bus passes to send people to a warmer climate. He said the county also in the past would hand out vouchers for hotel stays, but that resource has dried up.
He regularly talks with the Tahoe Area Coordinating Council for the Disabled and the National Alliance on Mental Illness about what more can be done for the homeless in the area. Working with local churches is one option, but it is not consistent.
“A lot of times people end up in town destitute with kids and it’s heartbreaking,” Van Arnum said. “We don’t have the funding and facilities in Tahoe for that.”
It’s too cold in Tahoe for the homeless. I do not support making it easier for them to trundle around our town. Resurrect the bus passes to a warmer climate.
Atomic,
How heartless and mean spirited you are. Why would we not reach out and give the homeless a free place to stay and a hot meal? While we are at it why not a free cell phone and health care. I hope my sarcasm shines through. If we make it easier there will be a larger problem, look at San Francisco and San Diego.
Atomic — Bus passes? Yeah because if we don’t see them the problem goes away.
Empathy is not weakness.
Jesus. Buddha. Muhammad.
None of those three would have fared so well in today’s society!
Agreed 100% Atomic & Rhinopoker.
A country that supposedly produces about 25% of the economic output of the planet for more than 1 decade, and has around 5% or less of the world’s population,…..
“Build it or encourage it and they will come” SLT needs to follow the new Police Chief of P-ville’s lead when he cleaned up the mess there that was drawing hundreds of homeless to the media’s creation of a new free homeless camp that required hundreds of people to clean up and created tons of garbage not to mention the crime and drugs and people who lived near it were in danger.
We are a high altitude alpine community. We simply do not have the resources for homeless people in this town, including mental health facilities. Many people with two and three jobs still struggle to keep a roof over their heads and the heat on.
We can’t be every-thing to every-body. I support the low income people of this town with furniture, clothing, housewares etc all year long. I support the working poor.
Jesus would take the homeless by the hand and lead them to a warmer town……
Rhinopoker,
Why not line up these worthless pieces of refuse and just shoot them all? Then those of us who have a place can go back to watching our big screens in hi def while eating Bon bons and drinking only the best of wines. I mean really, how annoying these dirty wretches can be when you are just trying to go to the store for some more truffles for the football party and they are begging for a dollar. If they have no bread, then let them eat cake!
I hope MY sarcasm shines through you solipsistic, heartless, mean spirited piece of excrement!
There but for some fortunate turns of events goes any of us.
Don’t you all understand that our system works for everyone who wants it to work for them? That only the lazy and worthless become homeless, or addicted? That many of those ‘patriotic soldiers’ we blithely thank for their service are ‘heroes’ protecting our freedoms til they get home…and then the memory of things they’ve seen and done and had done to them wakes them up in the middle of the night..and their families have become strangers(look at the figures on homelessness, addiction, and suicides among veterans). In a ski town, a ‘disneyland on ice’ so to speak, you can’t have that. So Atomic and his good christian ilk want to send them down the road, for their own good. Problem solved.
Tahoe needs a Shelter. That being said, the logistics of it will be ‘messy’…dealing with all the other fun stuff that comes with homelessness…mental health issues, addiction, violence, family issues. We can’t just ‘build a shelter’, we have to look at the shadow side of our socio-economic system. And THAT is not popular in this town…or country.
We are all one, It can happen to anyone, We need a shelter here for the homeless, With all the empty houses around here ,there has to be a solution to this problem ,no matter where it is here in the basin, people need to get it together and help,They have places here for free food ,clothing, and now it needs to be for shelter, Get it together and help your brother or sister,Some do not have any income,It used to be SOCIAL SERVICES would help with a check to get them started ,now it is up to you with even a few bucks ,Its cold out here, and I hate to see anyone frozen because some one did not give to help.It is better to give then to receive ,and you will be feeling better about it,God Help those ,thank you ,I stood out and got a man 40 dollars over by the Y in 10 minutes ,He went and rented a room for the night and I fed him, I made sure he was ok, you can do it to,
After a 30 year career in law enforcement on the peninsula, most of these homeless, as you call them, want to be that way. This is a lifestyle they choose.
Yes, most have drug or alcohol problems along with some mental health issues. But again, they want to be that way and not follow the rules.
There is a new generation of transients that want to be free and move about without any connection to any community.
In the old days they use to call them hobos, hippies, and gypsies. They wander up and down CA collecting whatever the communities might give them. Too bad the people that feel sorry for these types of transients don’t realize they are being used.
You probably don’t see the true homeless. They may sleep in their cars, at a friend’s house or somewhere out of the way. They go to a job but just don’t make enough to get a house or apartment. These are the type of people we need to help. Not the ones hanging out on the street corner wanting a free handout.
Pet Smart is hiring. I never see any of those lazies applying.
I’m tired of seeing them with their fake signs. There was a new one at Raley’s lately. Some young chick with a dog and a sign saying she was a victim of domestic violence. Why wasn’t she at the womens shelter where it’s safe?! She is right out in the open so her ex or whatever could find her. Makes ZERO sense. Or another one at the north entrance who begs and then someone drives up and collects the money they have scammed.
We don’t want or need these people here. Not to mention the obvious weather. If they were smart they would head to some warm place…..or find a job. Everyone else seems to.
PS: Well said Map. I’ve seen the same things.
Just about 3 days ago I saw an older lady panhandling in the Raley’s parking lot at the Y. No surprise these days they seem to be at every driveway… After shopping I was driving out and I saw her packing her sign and other “homeless” belongings into a late 90’s Toyota corolla. Guess its better to sit with a sign getting handouts then going into K-mart and getting a job. The way most of you think I guess we now need to give her a home too.
@Haddi-What???Waste bullets? We could take a cue from slaughterhouses and use a pneumatic captive bolt pistol instead. Dump their bodies at the edge of the marsh and let the bears and coyotes eat the carcasses so our schoolyards our safe from these for legged freeloading marauders too.
@Atomic-some comments on your quotes….”We simply do not have the resources for homeless people in this town, including mental health facilities. Many people with two and three jobs still struggle to keep a roof over their heads and the heat on.” (gee whizz…wonder how it got to be that way.)
‘We can’t be every-thing to every-body.'(seems that unless you cater to tourists, this town doesn’t want to be anything for anyone.)
Could you please give us locals who care contact information for the Tahoe Collaborative? I always think there, but for the grace of God, go I. I know a local who has had health problems, family issues and now assures his friends he is ok, while sleeping in his car, in a motel when he can manage it. In the freezing cold, people die. The economy took out lots of low paying jobs. The least we as a community can do is give a warm place to stay to those in need. The missing piece in this article is where we can volunteer or contribute….
If you know nothing about mental illness and addiction you have no right to comment on this. Some of these homeless need help that our state seems to ignore, many of them would work and help our community if given the chance to get help, I know this because some work for me. I also agree some just like the life style and you can figure this out pretty quick so don’t give them the help. I do hope that our community would be more aware and helpful to these homeless, some of the comments on here made me sick to think you live here.
Common sense 101. If its too cold to sleep outside/in your car…..go to warmer place.
Suggestion: Open YOUR home to some of them. There’s your contribution.
fully agree that this is an alpine environment, not suitable for homeless ‘camping’ year round (and resulting fire danger). the money spent to set up these shelters, which inevitably attract more homeless and exacerbate the problem (a slippery slope), would be better spent on bus passes to warmer environments, where ‘warming shelters’ are not part of the equation. i work 2+ jobs to put up my own ‘warming shelter’ and donate my time when i can to help those less fortunate; adding amenities like this only helps attract those that are ‘gaming’ the rest of us who ultimately pay for them.
Most homeless people qualify for many different levels of welfare and SSI and qualify for Section 8 Govt. housing. There was also the bond passed for homeless vets recently, so all taxpayers are supporting homeless people with taxes now. There are many areas with Section 8 housing in the state in urban areas, but rural areas don’t have much of this housing for many reasons and this is why the homeless need to go to those areas that have their housing and welfare services. People would be hard pressed to produce a homeless person who was not already receiving welfare entitlement checks which even non-citizens are receiving in the billions. Choosing to use welfare benefits for non-essential things and addictions is the real issue why there are these “transient travelers” and why people see panhandling for cash and fake “looking for work” signs.
@Deb Palmer: The Lake Tahoe Collaborative website,”http://laketahoecollaborative.wordpress.com” will allow you to email the Lake Tahoe Collaborative and get in touch with the Coordinator. You can choose to join the email ListServ for updates on upcoming Warm Room meetings.
Ironically, this article occurs in the wake of Veterans Day. Many, many homeless are veterans of Viet Nam and current conflicts. They have PTSD, brain injuries and other problems that make it difficult to fit in with society. Please try to recall your patriotic comments of yesterday when referring to the homeless. 65% of homeless (including the veterans) have mental health and/or addiction problems. Granted, this is not an attractive problem or one that is easy to solve but its not going to go away–maybe ever so we need to think of humane ways to assist. Last year at this time I bought several meal certificates from McDonald’s and gave them out to homeless people. Each time their gratitude was eloquent and sincere. I felt I received more from the gesture than they did. I know it wasn’t much but it was a hot meal and demonstrated empathy rather than scorn. Try it.
I heard a rumor that an old motel on hwy 50 by the airport may be converted into a shelter for folks like this by a local generous general contractor. Folks, it’s not being lazy, unmotivated, no ambition or what ever you think it might be.
It’s diagnosed as AGE DISCRIMINATION and it’s gone viral up here at Lake Tahoe El Eldorado County. If you are pass 50 years old and you don’t have a masters degree or a PHD you are non-hireable, PERIOD! With that being said I’m 61 with a great skill set, multi-tasker and a strong work ethic, dependable and punctual to boot. I CAN’T get a job here since 2011, I look and try/apply everyday including the weekends. If you can use a person as myself please let me know.
Thank you
Thank you Tahoe Tessie for your information. Those of us who help at Bread and Broth and other places that feed the hungry have seen many who would work but are not able. For everyone who “milks the system” we see 10 who really need our compassion. We don’t want to encourage homeless to stay here but when they are in our midst we need to take care of them. I think that is what Jesus would do. I, for one, will find out more about Tahoe Collaborative’s plan for a Warming Room.
Teabaggers, rightwing selfservatives, soulless greedbags and phony xtians, time for Bible study.
Take your pick of these:
http://www.openbible.info/topics/helping_the_homeless
For anyone truly interested in helping with this problem, the below link to a NPR story offers some great insight into the homelessness problem.
http://www.npr.org/2014/11/09/362737965/consultant-on-homelessness-cities-enable-the-poor
I am sorry we have such a horrible situation in such a wealthy nation. There really are two types of homeless. Growing up in N. CA I remember bums and winos found in the derelict parts of town. They were not in front of Safeway or the Post Office. What is different today? That darling of the Republican Party Ronald Reagan as Governor of CA closed most of the mental hospitals and put those people on the street. The idea was local government would serve their needs better. As President he continued with that program. Today they are in the local community and there is no money to help them. On the other hand there are many that are not in need and perfectly capable of working and supporting themselves. They CHOOSE to live off the generosity of the gullible public. I have several times offered work to some of these folks only to be laughed at. I have heard excuses such as I need a computer to apply. I offered to take them to the library and help them fill out applications on the public computers. They do not have to work and I believe these folks live pretty well. They seem to be able to afford tattoos, cigarettes, and manicures. There close are clean as well. I have even overheard one giving tips and how to look poor and destitute. We need to get help to those suffering from mental illness. Only when they are in hospital care will they get and take the meds they need. Then we need to stop supporting the beggars.
Robert Marbut’s opinions about the poor and homeless can be summed up by understanding that he is Texass Gov. Rick(goodhair)Perry’s go to guy on empathy for the less fortunate.
Hikerchick & GraBonnie, A little help to those in need is well worth it! A food donation to one of the local pantrys, the idea of a warming shelter is great!
Years ago I had a friend who would come to visit from out of town and if my house was full of folks, he’d sleep in the laundromat next to the old Lawrences Economy Store.
So yes ,I believe we need some sort of shelter along with goverment aid to help these people get their lives back on track.
Are their people who “milk the system?” Yep!
Look at some of the biggies. Dow Chemical, Exxon Mobil and numerous other oil companys
, insurance compays, Monsanto, for profit hospitals and privately owned and operated prisons, our banks, and lots of other large corporations. Many of them paying no taxes!!!
So don’t turn your back on the person asking for a handout at the corner market. Some of these people really do need help.
Look at the real theifs and criminals in our society!
IT’S ALL ABOUT BIG BUSINESS! They are the real rip offs in this country! Costing us billions and then people saying no to helping the elderly, the veterans, the disabled and people just plain down and out and homeless! Disgraceful!
Least that’s the way I see it. OLS
Many homelessness problems stem from mental illness. Sadly, in California Ronald Reagan had alot to do with creating the mess when he was the Governor. If we as a society do not care for the vulnerable among us, then what are we? If you do not want to give money, just carry snack packs in your car. When I pass a person holding a sign, that’s what I do. If someone wants to “game the system” that’s a chance we take. Passing judgement without facts is a waste of time. Who’e going to hire a homeless person who has no access to a shower? Some of the comments made here are shameful. To those people,I say, “there but for the grace of God go you or I”.
People should read the NY Times article from 1984 about this very complex topic about who let the mentally ill out and who closed the hospitals. It will show it began under Governor Brown Sr then went to Gov. Reagan who was enforcing laws from the Democrat legislature and it continued under a young Gov. Moon-Beam. It also happened because of the ACLU and the psychiatric profession. This issue is a lot like the idea now liberals have to let out most of the prisoners now for a new/old idea called “community treatment” without any idea how the crime rate will rise and if there will ever be enough funding for it and the idea the crime waves and problems can be hidden from a naïve public. History does repeat in this case. Simplistic liberal talking points like “blame Reagan” is as pathetic as blaming him for crack cocaine and AIDS by liberals which was also tried and is still heard from some liberal loons.
What if one of the homeless were your child? Would you be so quick to throw them away? I think not.
30 yr, of course we would not turn out our own children, we would take them in if they wanted to come in. Unfortunatly many dont want to come in, i have a brother that is perfectly capable of supporting himself but would rather live on the streets, no mental illness or addiction. I know of a couple more one that begs on the streets lives on the streets yet has saved $50k in a bank off begging, she does have addiction and mental health issues, onther one who has skills plumber but has huge alcohol issues, cant stay sober no how many times he goes to jail or how many programs he is in. He gets medi Cal food stamps and general relief food stamps and GR get spent on booze. The ones with addiction problems you will never be able to help until they hit rock bottom and are ready to be helped, many will never hit their bottom and will just die.
Justice,
She said Regan had “a lot to do”, not he did it all. Please take your political hack rhetoric and shove it where the sun don’t shine! We are talking about a REAL problem affecting REAL people. You do not seem to care about that. How about politics as if PEOPLE mattered?
Can’t bear the truth? Defending liberal lies at all costs? I know it is a very bad habit as liberalism is a mental condition so being able to coherently talk about it isn’t going to happen. This always angers the left when they heard for years to “blame Reagan” or Bush for their own shortcomings and their own parties failures. Reagan, as governor, was enforcing the laws as passed by the Dems and Governor Brown in regards to the mentally ill which was then copied by many of the other 49 states. The ACLU also doesn’t like people to be held in confinement against their will, same goes for prisoners. The left is against laws that would confine the dangerous and the mentally ill and then there is the lack of funding for it.
Most people that wrote here in regards to the homeless and a previuos article about hunger here at the lake seem like a pretty compasionate group. Because of that (and for alot of other reasons), I’m proud to be a member of this small town!
For the rest who don’t want to help the folks who need help the most? well you’ll just have to live with yourselves and your hatred for those who are in a bad way.
If we get a big snow storm, I help the neighbors clear the snow. If the neighbors hours have been cut back or maybe laid off at work? we bring them food and help to find them work.
So maybe I’m an oddball… trying to help people and with a little luck, help the community as well.
Just a crazy ol’ guy I guess! OLS
Job Needed: Sooo, just what is it that you are so specialized in that you can’t find ANY work for several years????? EVERY ski resort in the basin hires all ages. There is always work for those willing.
I have zero compassion for the frauds standing on a corner with a sign. Most are lazy, don’t want a schedule, or to be told what to do. Hopefully these wasted, worthless dregs will slither down to warmer areas. Mother nature has a way of making that happen.
Those people who feel better by giving these frauds a few dollars are simply contributing to the problem. If you keep feeding the lazy, they will never get jobs or more importantly, go away.
Kevin Murphy: Instead of hiding behind a bible why don’t you do as Jesus would. OPEN YOUR HOUSE to these dregs. What say you? Are you willing to???? Eh? I suspect you are a do as I say, not as I do, kind of finger pointer.
Angry Sky Man has a zero tolerance policy regarding do nothing finger pointers. This will not end well.
It is interesting on the Sac news tonight there was the pregnant lady faking homeless and holding a sign panhandling and driving a Mercedes when someone followed her and filmed it and the lady tried to attack the person with a large rock. Then there was the story that homeless are asked to go to W. Sac for transitional housing using old hotels and they offer treatment and job placement and the place looked empty where they are signing people up. It would be good for the rural areas to send the homeless to WHERE they can receive these services and not encourage their presence elsewhere where there are no services.
What a fascinating thread that, in almost text book fashion, separates the “Christians,” who essentially consolidated their strange philosophies in Rome under the leadership of Saul of Tarsus, who never actually knew Jesus but created a Roman church through combining pagan rituals with Roman politics, from the folks who base their beliefs on the teachings and philosophies of Jesus, who never claimed to be a god, but did claim that we are all in this together, and we need to support one another.
I spent 30 years in law enforcement, and left behind any and all organized religion over 40 years ago. Yet, like most (although, sadly, not all) cops I’ve known, I’ve often slipped folks in need $20 bills, even families camping illegally waiting for their members to be let out of jail after their court appearances. And, no longer making cop salaries, I nevertheless carry a note book with $5 bills for those times I bump into people who seem truly in need. Please don’t ever refer to me as “Christian,” nor think that I’m working toward some sort of “heaven.” I’m simply doing what I (and I suspect, your Jesus) would see as right.
This is similar to the hunger epidemic article… ‘hunger epidemic’ 2.0. so here is a post for that thread that I never submitted. With a little editing, I think it applies here.
We don’t want to be burdened by awareness the dark side of Capitalism, the bald truth that it eventually uses EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE up in a blithely clinical orgy of excess by requiring continual growth and ever limited accountability for its consequences… for its detritus (environmental, social and spiritual) in a cold drive for profits. That it would be a great system if water and land didn’t run out or get polluted. It would be a great system if it didn’t make people crazy. If humans were devoid of feelings or conscience, and people didn’t get old, and sick, or lose their way in anesthesia (be it TV, leisure or liquor).
If children didn’t cry from hunger or neglect. Or ‘fail in their life plan’. Or have their successful life plan stolen by corporate bankruptcy courts.
Here’s a better solution, one that would absolve all of you ‘good law and order Christians’ out there of the burden of charity-let’s just put the poor, the hungry, the addicted, the criminal, the criminalized homeless, the mentally ill, the people too sensitive to withstand the psychic and technological onslaught of our crazymaking culture, those too old to chew the leather, (hell, let’s make ‘Justice’ happy and throw a liberal or two in just for poops and giggles, let’s make ‘Hmmm…’ happy and toss in a greasy corporate exec and slimy poitician or three)let’s gather them all up and put them into camps…harvest their stem cells for wrinkle creams and penis hardeners and then, as ‘Haddi’ suggests(quite tongue in cheek) shoot em’ with a captive bolt pistol(as ‘Hmmm…’suggests-again tongue in cheek)-as we do with cows-to save the wasted expense of bullets put them into a big blender and feed them to cattle, spread them over crops. Sell them on the McDonalds dollar menu. Quicker, cleaner, easier. A ‘final solution’ if you will.
Just be sure to remove the gold fillings from their teeth first.
“It is interesting on the Sac news tonight there was the pregnant lady faking homeless and holding a sign panhandling and driving a Mercedes when someone followed her and filmed it and the lady tried to attack the person with a large rock.”
Well Justice, if YOU saw ONE instance of something it must hold true for ALL the rest. WEll, at least in your mind!
Relax “Copper”. In your rant and being so defensive…you are slipping up.
Copper…I tend to agree with your take on the exasperating difference between Christ’s teachings and the Christian Church. You are definitely NOT ‘one of those law and order Christians’ I was referring to.
People want to keep giving the fish free without teaching how to fish. Not many countries can afford to do this and considering nearly a third of this country left the work force there is no way to sustain entitlements nearing a third of the country. Help with a hand up not hand outs, this is where welfare under Bummer went wrong as he doesn’t know the difference. Even the signs in National Parks say the same things about what will happen when animals learn to not hunt or support themselves and stop trying to find their own food and depend on handouts, it doesn’t end well.
justice, on the other hand, is. And, apologies to Paul Simon, a one trick pony.
Gaspen, your mistaken. Your comments epitomize what a rant is. Okay, you’re neck and neck with Justice in that department.
Copper is arguably one of the most even keeled, respectful commenters on this forum.
Justice,
You remind me of the story about the woman who walks up to the check stand at the grocery store. She has one roll of toilet paper, a TV dinner, a bottle of wine, and a magazine. The guy at the register says ” hey, I bet you’re single.” She snaps at him ” figured that out all by what I’m buying did you Sherlock?”
He replies “No, because you’re f%$king ugly!”
I think Haddi just became a favorite in the 2014 Comment of The Year Awards.
InJustice is one of the vilest trolls on this blog.what a total broken man he is. All he gets for his vile diatribe is more people seeing him for what he is, just plain mean. He would find fault with mother theresa, probably because she helped the most needy. He hates anyone who isnt a republitard foxnowsnothing teabagger bigot. Creep…
Bigger: Really? Mistaken? LOL
Really Gaspen. Just so you understand the meaning of the word rant I’ll include the definition.
1rant verb \ˈrant\
: to talk loudly and in a way that shows anger : to complain in a way that is unreasonable
I fail to see any anger OR complaining in Copper’s comment. You and Justice? Well by definition you both “rant” on a regular basis!
El Dorado County now considers a phone call as “Help” for those with brain health issues. Look into the (lack-of) system set up to help people and it’ll make your hair stand-up. Our society has turned it’s back on these folks. It’s the main reason people are homeless.
cult of soylent green: sin and salvation cycle perfected
Cooper you wrote:
“the folks who base their beliefs on the teachings and philosophies of Jesus, who never claimed to be a god, but did claim that we are all in this together, and we need to support one another.”
While Jesus absolutely taught us to “love our neighbors as ourselves”, I must completely disagree with your statement that Jesus “never claimed to be god”.
He did just that in several instances in scripture.
Now you may feel that scripture doesn’t speak for who Jesus actually is, but most scholars base they’re opinion of Jesus by what is written about him in the NT.
Two test cases from the Gospel of John
John Chapter 1- 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
Chapter 1 verse 14- The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
of course, the above assumes that ‘scripture’ is categorized as ‘non-fiction’.
The following is a small sampling of individuals who have been either homeless and/or lived in public housing:
President Jimmy Carter, Charlie Chaplin, Halle Barry, Jim Carrey, Frank O’Dea, Suze Orman, Jewel, Chris Gardner, Michael Oher, Daniel Craig, Ella Fitzgerald, Houdini.
More information at The National Public Housing Museum. http://www.nphm.org/
Also, ReThink Housing. http://www.rethinkhousing.org/news
Another individual who was homeless and said he needed help was the degenerate who kidnapped, raped, and held hostage Elizabeth Smart. While people with all good intentions may want to assist individuals saying they need a helping hand, it is imperative to exercise caution for the safety and sake of one’s self and possibly for that of your loved ones. There are too many people in the world who prey on the naïve and bring evil to those of charitable heart.
Dan, I respect your religious opinions and, 45 years after I left the “faith” I was raised in, I am not likely to make the effort to debate you – I’m perfectly comfortable with my personal world view. Nevertheless, while you might not be interested in alternative viewpoints, there are many very interesting scholarly works out there which propose, on evidence, that much of the scripture was guided by Paul’s alternative view of the world. If you are equally comfortable with your view, there’s no reason for you to research it.
And, making this post a “two-fer,” I don’t disagree with “4-mer” in the least – in fact, he pretty much highlights the problem: the vast majority of homeless are victims of various mental and often anti-social disorders – why else would they be homeless? And Dan and I, despite differing views of Jesus, would likely agree that compassion and support should guide our attitudes. After all, almost everyone who respects the influence of Jesus on western philosophy would agree that the “Sermon on the Mount” is the strongest statement of Christian philosophy.
Last December it got into the negatives for a short period. My wife and I were picking up dinner at the Y, and noticed a homeless man freezing his butt off. I brought him into Starbucks and bought him a hot coffee and began asking people if there was a shelter in town where I could take this guy. I was shocked to find out there isn’t one.
Now I don’t really like homeless hanging around either, especially because mental health issues, but their still people. I don’t want them freezing to death in the streets.
We should get a shelter set up!
LeanForward: Cough up some hard earned cash on your part and build a place for these free loaders. I get it…not all of them are but the majority ARE because foolish people buy into their cardboard signs. Save your hard earned money. Give THEM the choice….leave or freeze. END OF STORY.
This pathetic FRAUD that seems bent on setting up her stolen shopping cart at the entrance to Raleys off 50 should be arrested. She has been SEEN by those who were foolish enough to buy into her fraudulent pathetic story, giving donated money to some “pimp” who drives up shortly after. She is the blonde chick that has set up her fraudulent base there. I am taking my business elsewhere for now because none of the businesses there complain. I talked to SLTPD and was told the businesses have to complain before action is taken. Personally I am annoyed that to enter my usual grocery store parking lot I have to see and deal with these trolls who are NOT destitute, but trying to sucker hard working people to give them free cash.
There is a new girl on the block at the Raleys ,she sets there says I am homeless God Bless and then gets on the cell phone,She sits in front of Kmart, You are supporting that cell phone,Be careful,The lady on the corner with her dog about about abuse ,and has her German Shepard Be careful with that one to,If you need to complain go into the store and say it is disturbing to see this,Also on the other end of the shopping center ,there is a man looking for work,and another one that will sing for you ,Wow Its a easy job just standing there collecting money for the day,Some one needs to get a shelter going and educate them ,or cure there minds for Some our needing help bad It is a shame they closed the mental Health ,a lot of places are closed and they have no where else to go,But they do, but we have been selected for a reason ,
That new girl with her cardboard sign citing she is a victim of Domestic Violence is a COMPLETE FRAUD. I called her out on it today and she had no intelligent response. Her sign also said “Protect Tahoe Women” from violence. Personally I find that completely offensive and a direct INSULT to those women here who really need help. Those in real need may choose the Women’s Shelter unlike this hooker of sorts at Raley’s who gives the donations to some dirt bag that drives up to collect. WHY can’t this obvious crime be enforced? I am taking my business elsewhere until the businesses there deal with this. All it takes is one call to SLTPD, on the part of the businesses. I don’t really expect anything from K-mart however. This blond chick doesn’t need education, she needs to be shown the direction back to Sacramento. Better yet, SLTPD should act on her squandering a shopping cart, run the troll for warrants and see what shows up. I bet her pathetic rap sheet is a telling to her fraudulent acts. Lazy scum bag!
Kathy the mental health is open it is right around the corner, in the building that were the city offices before they moved out to the airport
SLT needs a new panhandling ordinance ASAP!
Reloman , Thank you for that information, ,next time I see these people I will talk with them in a gentle way and tell them They do need it that there is help here,
It’s very simple.
I personally have been working with a group of individuals who are working to fight this issue. (Along with the issue of the illegal Section 8 housing that is drawing these homeless people to SLT and affecting our neighborhoods and public areas.)
This is how it works:
If you are unemployed, go find work. If you can’t find work, go to an unemployment agency. If that still doesn’t work; relocate.
If you are absolutely HOMELESS, relocate to a city that provides assistance for the homeless. Not a tourist-driven high-altitude alpine environment like SLT. This is where the city comes into play: help these people with the relocation process and CITE THEM.
If you are mentally ill; once again, relocate to a city where you can receive housing/assistance. Once again, this is where the city comes in to help with this.
If you are a drug addict/prostitute/pandhandler: this is where business owners and the city needs to do their part. TAKE NOTICE. CALL THE POLICE. CITE THEM; REMOVE THEM SO THEY STOP HARASSING PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE JUST TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING. THESE PEOPLE ASTHETICALLY MAKE THIS TOWN LOOK BAD.
To those of you who are stating that “we should take them into our homes,” are you kidding me? Do you realize what type of risk that entails, on so many levels? Save the Jesus garbage. You aren’t thinking rationally. Without sharing my true feelings on this; this is all I’ll say for now on that ridiculous opinion.
If you build it; they will come. WHY build a warming-house or shelter just in order to encourage more of these people? SLT should take notes from places like Park City, Vail, and Aspen.
I agree with a comment above: the city of SLT needs to start enforcing a pan-handling ordinance asap. They also need to do their job when it comes to homeless people shacking up on city property. I work in property management and I have dealt with homeless people disturbing owners and tenants all summer.
What a mess. There are things that can be DONE but no one is doing them.
You can’t save the world. You must think RATIONALLY; and feeling “sorry” for people isn’t coming up with solutions OR thinking of a rational solution.
right on, cora d.
Cora D: Well put,…well put. I 100% agree. I wonder what it will take for business owners there at the Y where this particular blond fraudulent troll has now taken up a space….daily. We could go in and complain to them but what do you think they would really do? Would they care?
I DO completely agree the SLTPD should be able to enforce some City ordinance to remove these lazy, pathetic, preying on good Samaritan, trolls. This particular blond with a stolen cart should be the first to be removed. She is an eye sore and a complete nuisance to customers, locals and tourists.
If this continues ,There will be a shelter build for the homeless, here in Lake Tahoe, Keep your eyes open, and your ears listning,Because this is becoming a Big Problem ,you know it and I do to, I have heard talk there will be one build,It will be out by the Y.
Tahoe summed Up. “Poverty With a View. And Most like it that way. Not only should we send the homeless off the hill. We should also get rid of all trailer parks in this town.
Is that mean. To F&*%ing bad.
Now I’m going back to my lifestyle that I WORK for and enjoy.
drake: yup
33 years ago during the last great recession the only job I could find that would work around my schedule at the Community Collage in the old Motel was Kmart.
We were paid in cash every Friday. On Thursdays a group of the younger employees would meet at my house and BBQ, Everyone brought what food and beer they had left in their kitchen.
It was a community cook out and everyone was welcome. For a couple of weeks a homeless man came by and we fed him. On the third of fourth week one of my friends asked him why he didn’t get a job. His response was “what should I do get a job at Kmart?” Last free meal he got from me.
On board with you Drake. Sunriser2 as well. Most (not all) are free loaders we do NOT want in this town. They are a nuisance and look like trolls. Let the bleeding hearts take them in. Ha! I have yet to see or hear THAT.
I read where someone wants to have a homeless shelter at the Y. How nice for us and tourists to have to see these dregs at a central shopping area begging for free money. They need to be encouraged to go elsewhere….like a job application line. Ha! fat chance of seeing them THERE.
Let’s open a homeless shelter in Maui, too. Then I can stay there in the winter and at the homeless shelter here in the summer.
NO homeless shelter. This little town doesn’t have the resources to keep our own clothed and fed.
Leila…what a novel idea.
Sorry to burst your sarcastic cynical smugass let-em-eat-cake/it’s-all-about-me bubble, but Hawaii HAS emergency shelters available for the homesless. A quick search turned up:
Maui Youth and Family Services
Kahale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center
Family Life Center
Aloha House
All on Maui.
I’m guessing there’s more.
Mahalo, a’hole.
I would refer many of the posters here to review their very own patriotic verbiage on Veteran’s Day. Many homeless are veterans but I guess they don’t fit into your heroic imaginings and therefore should be run out of town on a rail.
I find the vitriol here to be alarming. I suspect that many of you barely have a foot up on the ladder to success and therefore feel reassured by whipping any one who might find themselves below you.
In our wealthy nation, on one should be hungry. We throw away enough food everyday in the US to feed millions of people. I’m not saying we should house everyone who doesn’t want to work but, come on, we can do better than the low-minded hatred expressed here.
Simple truth: The city is not doing their job. That’s all it comes down to. It’s a lack of CARE for creating a happy, healthy, safe community for all. Did anyone read the article regarding the two bodies found within 3 weeks of eachother at the Tahoe Daily Tribune office? This is because of a strip motel illegally being used to house homeless drug addicts and other degenerates. I am forced to deal with it every single day. I don’t even feel safe going out of my house at night.
GET RID OF THEM.
Hikerchick: You are so far off the reservation as to what is actually going on in the city of SLT. Please educate yourself or attend city council meetings.
This has nothing to do with “veterans.”
right on, cora, drake, aspen, ebbetts: let folks who think we need a ‘shelter’, an attractive nuisance that will have all sorts of collateral negative impact, instead take the homeless in to their own homes. the subsidy of a ‘shelter’ will lead to a slippery slope that could be avoided if merchants and police would step up and make it more difficult for the ‘gamers’ to call slt ‘home’.
Cora D,
GET RID OF THEM
I am so sorry you have to deal with seeing these dregs of society every single day. How horrible!
It’s very simple. This is how it works.
RELOCATE.
Easier for you than them.
If that doesn’t work, euthanize yourself.
Problem solved!
You can’t save the world. But you can save the world from your one way, self centered, diatribes.
Blowing the leaves into your neighbors yard does not solve the problem. Ask the folks in Nevada who put the mentally ill on buses to the Bay Area.
hikerchick: Your missing the point here. These trolls are NOT destitute. A man gave the blond by Taco Bell $60. then watched her “pimp” drive up and she gave it to him. Her sign read something about being a domestic violence victim. Maybe it’s me, but don’t you think if she were really a victim she’d be at the Women’s SHELTER, keyword here S H E L T E R. She would be safe and warm. What woman stands on a public corner out in the open if this were true?!?
Then add the new dreg with the crappy hippy bus near the carwash entrance. Her sign says she needs gas money. WHO goes anywhere without enough gas or money to put more in. FREELOADERS do. They are turning Raley’s parking lot into a skid row.
PS: Yes, there is nothing Veteran about these people.
haddi: YOU could always invite the trolls over to your house. You and hikerchick can feed them, house them, care for them. Put your money where your liberal mouth is. These people are lazy, addicts who don’t want to work. They would rather prey on liberal souls like yourself for free money.
I read where one of the dead transients had alcoholic liver disease among his other atributes. What a coincidence isn’t it!
Thank you, Gaspen Aspen.
Also, Haddi. I didn’t want to lower myself to get into with you; but how contradictory you are.
Euthanize myself?
Interesting stance.
Adding to the issue instead of coming up with solutions doesn’t help anyone.
And it’s not up to these dregs to relocate themselves. It’s up to the city officials to do so; through citation, ordinances, trespassing tickets, whatever.
Haddi, there are some people out there who would like to have a decent, safe place to live with a good quality of life. No one is suggesting to kill anyone. I’m simply suggesting get rid of them by relocating them (on the city’s behalf) to a suitable area where they can receive proper help; and to stop living on the corners of the supermarkets and neighborhoods where I live, shop, and work.
I’m a taxpayer; a full-time worker; and I contribute to the community and local economy.
What are these people contributing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Think about it, rationally.
Also, Haddi.
It scares me more that you’re the one on here suggesting euthanization to an upstanding citizen if “I don’t like it.”
More so than it scares me that someone on here may make an angry comment such as “get rid of the dregs.”
You’re the scary one. I think it’s people like you who are suggesting that people should kill themselves who need the watching out for!
Yikes!
RELOCATE.
Easier for you than them.
Hadi, I would differ. These people could relocate easier than home owners or renters who are willing to work for our domains. These people are supposedly HOMELESS. WAY easier for them to leave than us. All they need to do is walk away…out of the area. They have zero responsibilities unlike working people. Most of them choose it.
How come you don’t see these types of issues in places like Park City, Vail, and Aspen?
Some of the callous and mean spirited comments made here to the hungry and the homeless in Tahoe are really disheartening!!!
I hope you naysayers to helping others, never need help yourself. Just think if bad times fall on you!!!
When you’re in need wouldn’t you want a little help? A dead battery in your car and you need a jump? A little short on cash and having a hard time paying your utility bills? How about that old person that lives down the street, a retired veteran? , “Why, I haven’t seen him in days”, so you go on down and check on him and he’s very ill. Do you just shut the door and not help him? What about the guy that loses his job? Do you bring him a box of food? or turn your back on him and tell him get out of the neighborhood because he’s not working.
Helping others helps you as well, trust me on this!!!
Old Long Skiis (the eternal hopeful optimist)
Cora,
Relax. Euthanasia means the intentional ending of life to relieve pain and suffering. My tounge in cheek reference was only meant to show how unrational YOU are reacting to this thread.
You, and the others who suggest we send our problems down the road so we can enjoy the fruits of our hard labor here in paradise, are missing the point. If we simply try and sweep the homeless problem out of sight, what has really been accomplished?
Are there scammers out there? You bet! Some of them look homeless and take advantage of people’s guilt.
Others wear suits and ties and take advantage of people’s trust.
Want to talk about hateful statements? “What are these people contributing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Please revisit Julie Threewit’s post on the thirteenth. I’m sure you can find one of those people who just might have contributed a little more to society than a hard working property manager. (Insert sarcasm sign since you have a hard time figuring that sort of thing out on your own).
Once again Haddi: you’ve entirely missed the point.
Good luck in your irrational efforts to save the world.
Logic and rationality is a tough pill to swallow for some.
And, Old Long Skis:
You are also entirely off the reservation with your paragraph.
NONE of the issues you’ve stated have a thing to do with the current issue in SLT.
E.D.U.C.A.T.E.
OLS: I have not for an instance implied that some like the old guy down your street aren’t in some kind of need…for real. By all means, THEY deserve a hand or two, and I would pony up and help….I have. I’m talking about the other 3/4 that just choose a lazy, freeloading life. It’s their choice pretty much, most, if not all of the time. THEY are the ones needing to go. These trolls at Raley’s (TRUST ME) are not the ones like your neighbor. These are FRAUDS!! Not the legit ones.
Haddi: Want to talk about hateful statements? “What are these people contributing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
They are NOT contributing! It’s not a hateful statement…it’s a reality statement. GET REAL or take them into YOUR home. Until you do, you have little credence. I have yet to see the bleeding hearts and the blind to what’s really going on, actually take a personal interest and take these homeless in. Best lock up your valuables first. Not a hateful statement…just real. If you don’t believe me then do it. Show all of us first hand what it’s like. I await your findings.
So I guess the conservatives, although small in number but loud in voice, are making their points known.
If you are an unemployed person or one with reduced hours (if you’re lucky enough to still have a job) or if you’re a minority, disabled, a veteran or elderly or on the verge of becoming homeless … LOOK OUT!
These folks on the right, Do NOT like you!!!
Be careful of what you write here and what you say. Some of these people here on LTN are of questionable sanity!!!
Just speaking from personal experience. OLS
Thanks OLS for the advice.
By the way I AM a minority now…I’m white in Cali.
Like I said, if a person does legitimately become homeless for reasons out of their control, I’m all about helping them. These frauds who are at Raley’s who are simply too lazy don’t deserve anything but a citation and the directions out of town.
Gaspen Aspen, It just occured to me, I’m a minority too!
I’m white, I’m over 60 and have lived in Tahoe for a little over 52 years. Definitely makes me a minority!
As far as lazy people looking for handouts? Try looking at one of the many local and state agencies, committees, boards or whatever they call themselves. That’s where the big bucks go. Not to the down and out wino panhandling for spare change in front of a store.
Help the needy, not the greedy!
To heck with these large corporations and self appointed agencies!!!!
Let’s take care of our own!!!! OLS
I am with the sane people who want to DISCOURAGE these panhandling people from becoming more numerous. Whatever it takes. Also building a homeless shelter will encourage the problem and there is zero funding for it. With the modern welfare state there is not the real “hunger” problem that might have been an issue before welfare and SSI and Section 8. Like others have said they need to go where these services await, not people thinking to start these services where they are not. The SLT Council and Police Chief need to get on this and nip it now.
Bravo, Justice and Gaspen Aspen. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo.
Yes. The PD needs to start ENFORCING these ordinances for a change. You are not that busy….I KNOW first hand. Please get these people out of OUR/YOUR town.
Since it seems like many folks here don’t like old folks, veterans, the disabeled ,people wih mental health problems, drug and alchohol abuse problems, peolple trying to make ends meet on a very limited salary and so many other situations where people find themselves in a bad spot…
I guess it will be okay for you, or someone close to you, to try to survive on next to nothing.
Good luck to you, and if you need help? I’ll be there! I’m here to help, not run you down!
OLS
I love the veterans,they have done plenty for us and I thank you all,Mental health we all have them one way or another,Drugs and alcohol use, they teach you plenty what can happen to your self, People trying to make a living ,we all have and doing the best we can,To survive is a comfortable way to look at it , no one is trying to get rich or being poor. ,living in Harmony and living at peace is so important ,and some way ,some how ,we all give one way, or to another,Happiness is the key and communication is the way ,love one another no matter what the out come is ,or to be.thank you
Bravo Kathy and OLS. Bravo,Bravo, Bravo!!
These folks who are so lucky to never have been or to have had a loved one be in a circumstance that could only be solved by immediate help from others must have damaged souls. Life has somehow passed you by when you only think of yourself and your pocketbook. To them, compassion for your fellow human beings is a show of weakness. They have NO idea just how much stronger helping those less fortunate makes one.
Gaspen, Justice, Cora,
When South Lake Tahoe becomes Vail, YOU will be the scum the really rich people will want to get rid of. Hope you have the same outlook on life down in Carson or Gardenerville.
Haddi T. Uptahere, Thank you! Untill you’ve had someone close to you lose their home to forclosure, loss of their job, having health problems or mental illness, domestic violence and so many other issues…we need to help these people!
Please folks, don’t turn your back on those in need. Instead, offer a hand up and help them get back on their feet. OLS
Kae, could you please update us on the progress of the “warming room”?