[DeirdreFoster]

However, why does Sumter County Sheriff have a patrol car parked at the new apartment complex on Rte 466 going toward Rolling 24/7? THEY SIT ON PROPERTYTHAT IS PRVIATE !!!!! Somebody is getting special attention .....WHY[/QUOTE]

Churches pay for additional security all the time. It's not taking away from the deputy on duty. Normally the are providing the service on their off duty time.

[bobeaston]

Several posts suggest homeless people "camping in the woods." If you've seen the woods around the area where the homeless have been seen, you'd know that they are not welcoming camp lands.

More likely this man (or more) is holed up on someone's lanai. Most sightings have been in Ty Villas near the intersection of Morse and Rte 44. There are about 70 homes in that area, all villas, all with walls between them. We all know that new homes are built with no locks on the lanai screen doors. Where could be a better place to hide in relative comfort than a snowbird's lanai?

Would you want a "camper" on your lanai? Would you want both the police and The Villages saying "not my jurisdiction?"

[merrymini]

There are plenty of safety nets in our society but many of the people who live out on the streets are unwilling to use them. Mentally ill or drug addicted, they do not possess the right to impinge on everyone else. That is why California is having such a problem, they let them shoot up on the streets, no problem, so they are importing addicts.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Dusty_Star

I agree with the first part of your post - we have as a society turned our backs. I think it started in the late 60s when court cases were won that made it very difficult to put people in mental institutions. Soon, states closed down mental institutions & now there is very little help or places for these people to go. The vast majority are either mentally ill or have addictions - pretty much unable to care for themselves. It is cruel, not enlightened to have removed support for these people; living rough is dangerous, unhealthy & these people would be better off in an institution. I acknowledge that some of the institutions had problems & needed improvement - but closing them altogether was a terrible mistake.

Bingo!

In Minnesota (with similar occurrences in most other states) the push began in the early 70's with a court case, Welsch v. Noot; Patty Welsch being a young disabled woman and Noot being the Minnesota Commissioner of Public Welfare. The gist of the case was that A) persons with mental and physical handicaps deserved to receive habilitative services; and B) that such people deserved to live in the least restrictive setting possible for their needs. Hard to argue with that, but as the years went by and people were moved from the large institutions ("State hospitals" in Minnesota; "Colonies" in neighboring Wisconsin) those large edifices, many approaching a century old, no longer had any use and were gradually consolidated and closed. The irony was that persons over 18 who were NOT under State or private guardianship or in the custody of corrections had the right to live where they pleased. Also, it was recognized somewhat vaguely that such people had the right to be mentally ill and as such, if they chose NOT to take their meds, it was completely up to them.

The result was inevitable. When it was recognized that some of these people could NOT be helped other than in an institution, the institutions either no longer existed or had been transformed into prisons. In Minnesota, particularly in the Minneapolis - St. Paul metro and first-ring suburbs, dozens of homeless encampments sprouted, mainly in the public parks but one in particular that caught everyone's eye was one on a hillside close to the St. Paul Cathedral. I saw it last about two years ago. It was huge; tents, chairs, people lying on the grass, people urinating (and assumedly defecating) in the open, etc. The Minnesota-based Wilder Foundation, back in 2018, stated that "An estimated 19,600 Minnesotans experienced homelessness on any given night in 2018. 50,600 people experienced homelessness over the course of the year." That was four years ago, and as I understand it, for a variety of reasons, the estimates are far beyond that today. Remember--this is Minnesota, where living outdoors might easily mean snow for six months of the year and temperatures on the coldest nights reaching -30 f. or even lower.

The impact on the communities has been far from just financial. Before our retirement my wife worked in downtown Minneapolis, riding the bus there from a suburban park-and-ride, and what she saw sometimes were beyond shocking. The homeless would come into the city from the parks and basically take over the bus stops particularly in the winter. My wife witnessed people doing their business completely in the open. There've been numerous instances of public masturbation and people having sex, again in the open. Panhandlers have gone from asking for money with a sad song-and-dance spiel to actively and aggressively demanding money from passers-by. There've been assaults, by homeless against one another and against passers-by. Drug use is rampant. Inner-city Minneapolis is going from a bustling city to, more and more, a deserted place as people who work there either find other jobs or take advantage of working from home. I know less about the situation in St. Paul, but last I heard things are pretty much paralleling Minneapolis over there. One particularly noisome and obnoxious practice over there is the homeless using the skywalks as toilets as well as sheltering in them at night. Though I cannot remember the particulars I recall an action over there that opposed closing the skywalks at the end of the business day because the homeless would be inconvenienced.

Yes. Our short-sighted policies created this monster (or actually "monsters" because most large cities probably have similar stories to tell). And yes. I have sympathy for these people. But how it is being handled, in all too many cases with kid gloves, is NOT working. If there is a growing homeless problem here in TV, then I will make it a point to crusade for the authorities to clean it up posthaste. I have seen firsthand what it can mushroom into. And I don't want to be anywhere near it.

[Djean1981]

Originally Posted by ldovermiller

Perhaps have 20/20, 60 minutes TV shows come in and have them do a story that will draw attention on a National basis. The Villages needs to start acting like they care about the monster they created. The police are just as bad. Find a reason NOT to do their job. However, why does Sumter County Sheriff have a patrol car parked at the new apartment complex on Rte 466 going toward Rolling 24/7? THEY SIT ON PROPERTYTHAT IS PRVIATE !!!!! Somebody is getting special attention .....WHY

Maybe the officer lives at the apartment. ..

[Bilyclub]

99% are homeless because they want to be for one reason or another. As Barney Fife said,
nip it in the bud.

[Larchap49]

Originally Posted by LivingOnSunshine

In the last 72ish hours multiple calls have been made by residents to the Sumter Co. Sheriff’s office and Wildwood Police (who have been timely and compassionate in their responses) regarding ongoing sightings of homeless persons (with and without shopping carts ) crossing the Chitty Chatty bridge at various times of the day and night, wandering the streets of The Village as well as the MMP along Chitty Chatty and Bradford. Last evening’s observations included one of the individuals discarding empty liquor bottles as well as an empty Rx bottle in the streets as well as frightening a woman walking her dog. Both law enforcement agencies have told residents that the area near the bridge where it appears the persons are camping is owned by The Villages and therefore is private property. By law, the authorities must have a no trespassing order on file from TV in order to take action. They do not currently possess such an order. Calls to Community Watch and Community Standards have ended with, “it’s not our jurisdiction.” The CDD is now engaged and looking into who is responsible for the area around CC bridge and the woods/preserve. So for all those who paid a premium to live near the preserve, lucky you to get a front row seat of a homeless encampment as well as having these individuals who clearly need mental health support roam the streets of your Village making the residents and guests feel unsafe and (presently) twisting in the wind and unsupported by The Villages. Godspeed…

If you have a CC permit I suggest you be prepared in case you are assaulted. Play by the rules but if assaulted do what you must.

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by Decadeofdave

Homeless snowbirds......eh?

You laugh, but it does happen. I knew a homeless guy once up near Raleigh NC and he would follow the warm weather south. These guys just want to spend the winter in "America's Friendliest Hometown" and enjoy all he amenities.

[TC_Arch]

Originally Posted by LivingOnSunshine

In the last 72ish hours multiple calls have been made by residents to the Sumter Co. Sheriff’s office and Wildwood Police (who have been timely and compassionate in their responses) regarding ongoing sightings of homeless persons (with and without shopping carts ) crossing the Chitty Chatty bridge at various times of the day and night, wandering the streets of The Village as well as the MMP along Chitty Chatty and Bradford. Last evening’s observations included one of the individuals discarding empty liquor bottles as well as an empty Rx bottle in the streets as well as frightening a woman walking her dog. Both law enforcement agencies have told residents that the area near the bridge where it appears the persons are camping is owned by The Villages and therefore is private property. By law, the authorities must have a no trespassing order on file from TV in order to take action. They do not currently possess such an order. Calls to Community Watch and Community Standards have ended with, “it’s not our jurisdiction.” The CDD is now engaged and looking into who is responsible for the area around CC bridge and the woods/preserve. So for all those who paid a premium to live near the preserve, lucky you to get a front row seat of a homeless encampment as well as having these individuals who clearly need mental health support roam the streets of your Village making the residents and guests feel unsafe and (presently) twisting in the wind and unsupported by The Villages. Godspeed…

Are they paying their amenity fee?

[Michael 61]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

99% are homeless because they want to be for one reason or another. As Barney Fife said,
nip it the bud.

I would say that describes most homeless men - in Colorado Springs when the temp went down below zero with snow and ice, social workers would try and coax these men into warm shelters, yet many refused, not wanting to play by their curfew rules, and not being able to smoke dope in the shelters.

[Normal]

There is plenty of unimproved private land north of 466. Their a few ranches that would love the visitors.

[GizmoWhiskers]

Where is Community Watch? I THINK I heard that Citizen's on Patrol is in Wildwood (?) and what about the Neighborhood Watch programs being implemented?

Private Property is just that. The cancer of no boundaries existing in society is spreading and people are fleeing the states that celebrate it. The name calling and shaming of people who desire basic order in the name of safety is part of the intentional cancer reaking havok and dividing the nation.

Compassion for PEOPLE and their situations a must on a human level. But the political use of people as pawns is as evil at its core as shaming tax paying people for wanting the safety they pay taxes and fees to have. If one can leave their front door unlocked and open to ALL then there would be no homelessness right? "What's mine is yours" will end crime right??

[KsJayhawkers]

Originally Posted by DeirdreFoster

However, why does Sumter County Sheriff have a patrol car parked at the new apartment complex on Rte 466 going toward Rolling 24/7? THEY SIT ON PROPERTYTHAT IS PRVIATE !!!!! Somebody is getting special attention .....WHY

Churches pay for additional security all the time. It's not taking away from the deputy on duty. Normally the are providing the service on their off duty time.[/QUOTE]

Because the officer lives there!!!

[birdawg]

Originally Posted by Normal

There is plenty of unimproved private land north of 466. Their a few ranches that would love the visitors.

so how about you open your door and invite these poor people in.

[Mortal1]

Originally Posted by Normal

Is it OK to be more afraid of SOME of the residents who are fortunate enough to live here than those less than lucky in life?

Yes, police will take care of what they need to as the law permits. And your ivory clean washed towers may stand as long as you are around. But be careful with your complaints, you could easily be the one someone calls the cops on someday.

I wonder where we've heard this point of view before. These attitudes NEVER turn out well, but learning from the present isn't considered very nice.