Homelessness: Do-gooders’ ideas go too far in Tacoma

Re: “Homeless from People’s Park encampment begin transition to new shelter,” (TNT, 12/20).

It appears the Tacoma City Council has learned nothing from the disasters that follow the path of providing shelter and other amenities that encourage more homeless encampments.

Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles are among examples of what not to do. Spending taxpayer money for these encampments does nothing to solve the problems and only encourages more so- called “homeless” people to come here, degrading our communities.

The real problem is not homelessness but untreated mental health issues and untreated drug and alcohol addiction, plus criminal records that make shelter placement extremely difficult.

Encampments destroy family neighborhoods and import a criminal element, including drug dealers, cartel members, open drug use, assaults, property crime, theft and murder. Our citizens and children are endangered.

These camps can literally become death camps, as some municipalities allow open use of drugs, provide needles, and then lament the overdose deaths that result.

Without proper law enforcement, these camps become hubs for criminal activity throughout the community.

Our citizens are the victims of do-gooders’ ideas.

This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Homelessness: Do-gooders’ ideas go too far in Tacoma."