[kendi]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Homeless trespassers are like cockroaches, you may see a few but there are many unseen and unnoticed. Their numbers explode if not stopped.

How about if not helped rather than “not stopped”. What a sad analogy you make comparing a person to cockroaches.

[airstreamingypsy]

I wonder how many of you will be in church tomorrow pretending to be Christians. WWJD

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by airstreamingypsy

I wonder how many of you will be in church tomorrow pretending to be Christians. WWJD

Hard to say, after all, wasn't he one of the homeless??????

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Marine1974

Where do you expect them to go unless your willing to pay more taxes to feed , shelter and provide
medical .

I would expect them to apply for some of the many job openings available and get a job so they can provide for themselves. Work is a four letter word and it’s not typically fun, but we all did it because that’s what responsibility people do.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

Community Watch only gets paid to drive around aimlessly and wave. Forget about them actually doing anything.

They will call you at 3 in the morning to tell you your garage door is open, so they do that.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Hopefully they used some flea shampoo and are current on their hookworm medication! Did you toss them a couple of milk bones?

[conman5652@aol.com]

Thank u. What u said is true. On judgement day they will have to answer for their action.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

Most are homeless because they want to be. It's a lifestyle choice. There are already options out there that they tend to ignore. You can't force someone to a shelter or temporary housing, but you can move/arrest them when they are breaking the law.

Very true. It is a choice, and it is a choice easily made because WE, not they, pay for it.

Perhaps, rather than thinking about compassion, we should be thinking about "tough love"--which I believe is really more compassionate than handing out freebies. As I've posted before I've asked my wife what the welfare system was in Thailand, and her reply "simple. If you don't work, you don't eat" has a lot of both wisdom and truth in it. Of course there are homeless people who are in the situation they're in because of mental illness, and they should receive treatment on our dime, but of the rest, how many would remain homeless if they had to choose between starving or actually working? Not many.

It has been done before. There were many homeless in America in the dust-bowl days of the 1930's. Not by choice; many forced off their land. Many gravitated toward the Hoovervilles that sprang up near the larger cities. I recall Dad talking about it: the government did what it could, instituting programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and other like programs which were essentially make-work programs providing minimal wages and basic accommodations for manual labor. But along with the pay and accommodations it gave these men a sense of self-worth; rather than begging or stealing they were getting paid for actually accomplishing something. They could have hung out in the Hoovervilles and eaten thin soup at various soup kitchens, but they didn't. The hardship suffered in the depression days gave birth to what we today call The Greatest Generation.

Are we really doing these homeless a favor by enabling them? Not really. I think the tough love route would have MUCH better results.

[Michael 61]

We have a few bleeding hearts that want to turn a blind eye to existing laws and support homelessness within TV. Remember, most of homeless are young able-bodied men who have made that choice. There are plenty of shelters with a warm bed, food and showers, that most refuse to go to. Giving aid to the homeless only enables them and actually increases homelessness. We absolutely need to show compassion and give aid to the truly needy, but we need to do so through charitable organizations and not give handouts to vagrants. We also need to enforce existing laws about vagrancy, loitering, and illegal panhandling and encampments.

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by Debra Freeman

Where is your compassion? It was a shower they wanted; not a pint of your blood.

Yeah, ok. Let’s just wait awhile. Oh, and does anyone out there with an extra bedroom willing to put up a couple of the homeless for a few nights???

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by LivingOnSunshine

OP: What dog park was this at?

All the dog parks are private property owned by The Villages.
And they are DOG PARKS not community showers.
ANY person using the park without a resident or guest ID is trespassing.

Call the police. They’ll respond as quickly as community watch would have.
Also call the main number for the CDD (352) 751-3939 - let them know what’s happening/where.

Funny, there was (maybe still is) a guy named Dennis who was in a movie about the Villages not too long ago. He lived in his van here in The Villages for years. Somebody would get him visitor passes every month. He used to hang out at the Hacienda Pool all day before it was razed. Then, he moved over to the Orange Blossom pool. He would regularly take showers at these locations. Maybe somebody has given these people at the dog park visitor passes.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

We have a few bleeding hearts that want to turn a blind eye to existing laws and support homelessness within TV. Remember, most of homeless are young able-bodied men who have made that choice. There are plenty of shelters with a warm bed, food and showers, that most refuse to go to. Giving aid to the homeless only enables them and actually increases homelessness. We absolutely need to show compassion and give aid to the truly needy, but we need to do so through charitable organizations and not give handouts to vagrants. We also need to enforce existing laws about vagrancy, loitering, and illegal panhandling and encampments.

Agreed.

Discussing this issue with my wife, she asked "when we provide food and other necessities to the homeless, are we doing that to help them? Or are we doing it to make OURSELVES feel good?" It is a valid question and one that should be considered. Her point was that merely providing "stuff" for them is nothing more than enabling them. It would be far more compassionate to motivate them to change their lives for the better rather than just continuing to wallow in it.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by pauld315

Funny, there was (maybe still is) a guy named Dennis who was in a movie about the Villages not too long ago. He lived in his van here in The Villages for years. Somebody would get him visitor passes every month. He used to hang out at the Hacienda Pool all day before it was razed. Then, he moved over to the Orange Blossom pool. He would regularly take showers at these locations. Maybe somebody has given these people at the dog park visitor passes.

Can anyone spell E-N-A-B-L-I-N-G?????

[Petersweeney]

Originally Posted by Debra Freeman

Where is your compassion? It was a shower they wanted; not a pint of your blood.

But the posters give at church so they are ok….

[PugMom]

that guy openly admitted to being a leach, -on the prowl for some wealthy woman to 'take care of him.' @ least now you know who he is & can identify him.