You

 

wanna talk about resonates?

OMGoodness...

Why US libraries are on the frontlines of the homelessness crisis

"Homeless people are relying on public libraries as a safe haven to stay warm 

and avoid harassment from law enforcement, advocates say"

(You got someplace better for them to go to?)

"Homelessness advocates say there is a nationwide trend of homeless people relying on public libraries as a safe haven where they can stay warm, use public restrooms, and avoid harassment from law enforcement. As a result, libraries and library staff are often trapped between a rock and a hard place, said Ryan Dowd, of Homeless Training, a conflict resolution program for frontline workers."

"While library staff must be committed to serving patrons regardless of socioeconomic status, many of them don’t have training on how to deal with an unsheltered person suffering from untreated mental illness, drug addiction, or other problems."

"Compared to homeless shelters, which are often loud, crowded and struggle to stay clean, “libraries are everything homelessness is not”, Dowd explained. “It’s a public space, for communal use. If the option is that or be outside all day in 15-degree weather, I know what I’d do.'

(Or inside in 50-60-degree. 

Wat would you do? 

I look on the brightside

Look how much knowledge has been gained and shared...)

"Many of the homeless people she works with are avoiding the police, or other unsheltered people who might steal their stuff, she said. They go to bed, wake up, walk to the library when they’re cold, tired and hungry, and then do it again, even if they are handicapped or just got out of jail, she explained."

(Like I said...resonates...)

"The Las Vegas-Clark county library district provides hygiene kits; almost 30 of the greater Las Vegas area’s libraries are designated Safe Place sites for homeless youth. Outreach staff in downtown Chicago host meetings to connect case managers and unsheltered people, helping the latter to get public benefits and fill out housing applications. A Salt Lake City library offers free clothing and for homeless people, many of whom reside in encampments along a nearby river.'

"In areas with higher socioeconomic status, the backlash towards the homeless is particularly vocal. This summer, some residents of San Francisco’s Castro district asked for the public library’s wireless internet to be shut off at night, citing the overwhelming number of homeless who camped outside the library."

(Exactly where else, how else do you want them to go? If you dont like what the area became you choose to live in and its of "higher socioeconomic status" so one would think you had the means to, so RELOCATE yourself if its that big of a deal to you. Nobody made you move there or stay...People...)

"In November, residents of Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb, raised safety concerns about indecent exposure, drunk and disorderly conduct, and physical assault stemming from the homeless population near the village’s library."

(Hey when ya gotta go you gotta go lol. At least I try find a vehicle, a tree, a telephone pole etc but I aint runnin home for 45 seconds just to come back, forget it lol. Now the drunk and disorderly and fighting? Naw...no place for that on public grounds...)

When Dowd trains library staff on de-escalation tactics, he hears a lot of comments like, “They didn’t teach me this stuff in library school,” he said. He says he teaches library staff to focus on the behavior they’re seeing. If someone is unhoused and caused a problem, then they have to deal with it. If a multimillionaire is in the library causing a problem, they also have to deal with it.

"Bellamey said she hadn’t heard of any homeless people getting kicked out of the library. The people she works with tell her: “We’re just not allowed to fall asleep. And we’re not allowed to eat food at the tables,” she said."

Dowd stresses the importance of the pre-conflict in working with homeless people, many of whom may be suffering from mental illness or addiction. When a library employee greets and offers help, it generates what he calls sentiment override. People evaluate your actions based on how you acted in the past, he explained, and then when you ask them to do something, they give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re just doing your job."

"However, “many people are just so terrified of talking to someone who is homeless so the first time they are talking to someone is when they have a problem,” he said."

"People evaluate your actions based on how you acted in the past"

Truth.

Staff at the libraries I patronize have always been the greatest, helpful, respectful, tolerant etc...

Both here where I reside and across the river.

Resonates...

Lil bit...

Black Lives of Humanity Movement

Volunteers of America 

I think you know what to do honey :-).