When you hear homeless situation problems, you immediately assume it’s LA, NYC, or any of the major cities and doesn’t apply to small town USA.
On State Street in Marion, McDowell County, North Carolina, in the middle of a residential area full of young families there sits a Homeless Men shelter hosting 10’s of drug addicts, drunks, criminals, mentally sick and possible sex offenders and worse and if you think that’s bad, add the fact that it’s adjacent to a middle school. You can find several men gathering outside daily or walking up and down the street, few feet away from the middle school playground or share the same sidewalk where teen boys and girls have to walk to school. Kids are exposed to disturbing scenes and must witness drunk and drugged men screaming, cursing, acting erratically and much more.
Residents have been voicing their concerns for years with everyone they can but so far the city, the school, not even the parents think it’s urgent or bad enough to pressure the shelter to relocate. The common excuse “we can’t force them to move, or they have no funds to move” yet. Funds keep coming and the shelter keeps attracting more troubled men.
This is a formula for disaster since many of these guys are clearly unaware of their behavior nor can they control it.
Many residents and churches are hesitant about going on record or speaking publicly about it out of fear of being labeled insensitive to homeless challenges or possible retaliation against their families or properties. The police department continues to state there isn’t much they can do besides occasional patrol cars driving by. I see no issue with setting up remote watch stations like they do in Walmart parking lot and other businesses. This could be a start to show they care.
Complaining doesn’t fix anything REAL action must be taken.
Share this post, create a unified community voice and get the media involved to create public pressure on local officials and others to force an action before it’s too late.
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Loving next this problem is frustrating, and considering the properties it borders seems incredibly irresponsible for our city officials to continue to overlook. If they’re not
up for the task to relocate the shelter because they fear for re-election then they do not deserve to be in that position. I’m not above going to every house on state st and having a formal petition signed and motorized to hand deliver to our mayor.
Hello. I’m a resident on South McDowell Ave. I agree with the concerns regarding the petition. My main observation is the grouping of the sidewalks while they are waiting to be allowed in the shelter. I also know that when the kids get out there’s usually a courtesy officer Manning the street at least to manage the buss trafic. I know if I were a resident of the shelter, I would never be seen grouped up right next to the middle School while they’re arriving or leaving. It’s just a bad look. On the other hand, just because some of the people that may be staying there may have struggles with addiction, or have been incarcerated before, doesn’t mean that they’re pedophiles or violent people. I think it’s the responsibility of the shelter to enforce better standards as far as the issues stated in the above letter. I live directly across from the middle school and I do get some foot traffic in front of my house, but what’s the difference between walking and driving in front of my home? Neither is illegal. Again, I agree that the kids and parents of those kids need to feel and be safe. I’ve not had any incidents. I hope there’s a solution for everyone to benefit. The shelter is not managed like it needs to be. At the end of the day residents need to feel like they’re safe, and people that are in need of some help can get some help.