As I See It
Restore Tent City to house homeless?
La Crosse has a new tool in its belt to address the problem of homelessness. But so far there is little evidence that it is working. City Hall updated its ordinance to specifically outlaw camping in city parks and parking ramps. Granted it has been just one week since the updated ordinance was passed, and perhaps they can begin enforcing it until the new ordinance is officially published. But the fact remains there are just as many homeless camping out in Cameron Park as there were before the new ordinance passed. Meanwhile, business owners in downtown continue to lose business because the homeless problem has made them wary to even go downtown. One downtown bar owner says she has been threatened, while another says an employee was accidentally stabbed with a hypodermic needle and required medical attention. Even if the homeless are forced out of the parks, they will go somewhere. Perhaps the city should resurrect what was known as Tent City, an area near the trails behind the Oktoberfest grounds. They had a place to camp, and had far fewer run-ins with others. It seems ever since the city forced them out, the city’s homeless problem has only gotten worse.
Colleen LeBlanc
July 20, 2023 at 5:37 am
Agreed. I wondered how making that ordinance would do anything other than make police force them to move on. An ordinance is fine but why would anyone think that would solve the problem? They will still exist and they will be somewhere. Can’t we at least provide an area and allow them to exist? Make services available but perhaps less ‘catering’ to the site…would that be acceptable?
Dan
July 20, 2023 at 8:38 am
Wow, all the way to solve a problem. Then white when you want to re-develop the area maybe you can make a homeless housing project at the post office lol.
Pete
July 20, 2023 at 12:11 pm
Shaw has neve5 been accused of being smart. Shaw should house them in his yard thst would help.
Carol Herlitzka
July 20, 2023 at 1:38 pm
People lets get real. Unless these homeless people want help?! There isn’t too much you can do with them! We do not want them living in our homes. We do not know who they are?! Criminals? Druggies!?
We should not have to pay our tax dollars to take care of them. I would say 85% of our citizens have never pan handled in there life. Have them get jobs and pickup after them selves, become responsible
Get off drugs and booze.! If they do not want to do that put them on a bus and return them to where they came from! They sure as he’ll are not from la crosse?? I see a man with children setting by a woman panhandling praying for money? That should never happen. If these people can not speak english. Send them back to a sanctuary city. We are not a sanctuary ckty. Send them to the godfather Joe Biden
And his cronies..
Joe Clamy
July 20, 2023 at 2:47 pm
Forget parks, think parking lots. This town has several vacant buildings with outsized empty asphalt lots. Bam, into the lots they go. No need to re-seed, close down public parks, and have them destroying the downtown area and stealing everything not nailed down. Tent it and fence them and their trash in, push them out of downtown. Enforce the public liquor/drug laws. Remove the stimulants, and they will move on. For the sake of Pete, there is constantly a bicycle chop shop being operated out of Cameron, not to mention the public sex occurring in the public parking lots.
walden
July 23, 2023 at 8:30 pm
Its not a matter of having an ordinance, its a matter of having the will to enforce that ordinance. That will is lacking. Control of the downtown area has been ceded to the homeless, drug use and trafficking and prostitution is being allowed across the street from a public school. There are homeless in almost every city park and the La Crosse marsh.
$15 million and 5 years later and the problem is worse than ever. Serving the homeless population is now a leading industry in La Crosse.
The mayor should think about resigning and become a social worker if that is his calling. And why isn’t the school superintendent demanding Cameron Park across the street from one of his elementary schools be cleaned up. Simply no leadership. Maybe another meeting will fix the problem.
Bonnie
July 26, 2023 at 6:41 pm
Take to fort macoy it has chains on and fence get drawed out and keep them busy.
Just Speaking My Mind
August 1, 2023 at 3:05 pm
I don’t understand why everyone seems to be so intimidated by a homeless person! One specific detail makes them different from you (a home)… This community is at best nothing other than PATHETIC!!! Simply because a person doesn’t have a home you’ve the right to judge and criticize and act scared as if they’re killers or rapists again PATHETIC!!! If the local businesses are experiencing less business than usual maybe they need to look at their business and see if perhaps something could be done as in quality of service/ merchandise or an overall makeover… Their are just as many businesses that are thriving if not more….Maybe just maybe one should roll up their sleeves instead of their noses!!! Now I ask how in the HELL does one get stuck with a needle (were u barefoot or just plain ignorant)?? AGAIN PATHETIC… Perhaps if everyone would quit bitching, and voting against every purposed solution for housing our homeless people they wouldn’t be living downtown, camping in the parks, hanging in the parking ramps!!! All of you that are crying about this are exactly who’s to blame for this…Again PATHETIC!!! Say it with me PATHETIC PATHETIC PATHETIC….