Homeless (van dweller) in community

Today i got hammered on social eduard for being unwilling to remove a homeless person (van dweller) from our neighborhood. Problem is, there is no crime in being homeless and the police and city won't do anything. I know of no action that we can take as a hoa.

Any ideas how to respond? Others seem to think it falls within purview but of course no one volunteers how to go about doing so

Clearly, not an hoa issue.

Our streets are public.

A homeowner in our community had a sister who was homeless. As I recall, the sister babysat the kids until the parents came home and slept in the parking lot at night. Apparently, there had been drug issues so the lady wasn't allowed in the house most of the time. Since the HOA owned the lot, our security officer (off-duty cop) spoke to the lady and the homeowner and told them the HOA could pursue a trespassing complaint against the lady because she wasn't a resident and the parking lot is for residents. The behavior stopped.

Since your streets are public, you can start by suggesting to homeowners that they notify the police (non-emergency) - I know you said the police won't do anything, but perhaps people will listen if they hear it from the cops. Challenge THEM to call a local organization that works with the homeless for suggestions - if this person just showed up, they may be able to send someone out to talk to them and offer assistance. Until then, unless the person is committing a crime or parking in someone's driveway or camping out in the backyard (then it would be a trespassing issue), you're correct that there may be limit to what the cops can do.

On a related note, some of you may have heard that the 988 crisis hotline for people who may be experiencing mental illness went live yesterday. Mental illness has been a major issue with some people experiencing homelessness and sadly we've all seen a police response with anyone having a mental health crisis doesn't always end well (especially when they're people of color). A big reason for that is because police aren't always trained in dealing with folks like this (or folks with autism, which ISN'T a mental illness in itself).

Concerned family, friends, neighbors, etc., could call 988 if there isn't a criminal situation and speak to trained people who can also refer them to local resources. Check out this link for more information - https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988

Offer them $100 in cash if they’ll go somewhere else.

BillD

I wasn’t trying to be political; my suggestion is based on a consideration of cost / benefits and also my own personal experience. Back in the 20th century, when I was young and single and perhaps a bit wild, I had a few occasions where someone of an undesirable nature decided I was their “friend” and more or less ‘attached’ themselves to my life. In each case I “lent” them $100 and I never heard from any of them again.

BillD

You are speaking of the politicians, correct?

BOTH