There are a lot of homeless camps around here. I sympathize and have no answers

[captain queeg]

But the question I have is how do they have so much crap and produce so much garbage? That's the issue that bothers most people. I drove past several camps today and I was shocked at how much crap they acquire. Not talking about tarps or plywood or things they are using, but just piles of junk. They don't have cars, how are they collecting all this stuff? Around here they are moved every 10 days and it just surprises me how quickly stuff accumulates.

[ret5hd]

1. Quit forcing moves every few days...

provide (at a minimum) portable toilets, dumpsters, and hand washing stations.

Don’t treat humans as rabid skunks.

[bullimiami]

10. thats what i think. accept it. set aside the safest spaces possible and provide some support

infrastructure.

its the least we could do but better than nothing.

[MissB]

2. When you have nothing, everything is precious

I don’t know where the stuff comes from but they have no way to store things like we do.

[Marthe48]

5. Right

My parents grew up during the Great Depression. My Mom's family struggled, and she was quite a saver her whole life. Keeping things
j-i-c. I think other members of the family were savers too, because there was a lot of stuff accumulated. OTOH, my husband's parents were also products of the G.D. But they moved a lot, and tended not to hang on to things.

Not everyone who is homeless is mentally ill, but there has to be a lot of stress. Maybe if some of the homeless people are OCD, or have hoarding tendencies, it'll show up easier if they are just piling things around a camp.

[Aristus]

3. Packaging.

Wrappers for take-away food, containers for donated baked goods, empty cigarette packs, etc. I have patients who save large pieces of cardboard to use as kindling for fires to keep warm.

I have a number of homeless patients who are always clean, tidy, and neat as a pin. I have others who are slovenly, and probably were that way long before they became homeless. There are undoubtedly those who started out as the first type, and gradually evolved into the second type over time, as the apathy towards anything other than their next meal and a safe place to sleep develops.

Not to mention, people who are high most of the time (try living on the streets for a while without a way to step out mentally once in a while...) or are suffering from mental illness aren't always going to practice personal neatness.

[Ohiogal]

9. Some good insights, Aristus.

[cwydro]

4. Good lord, you should see my sister's house.

My mother always used to say something like the junk expands to fill the space...whether you live in a large house or small hovel, you’ll fill it up with STUFF.

Guilty as charged, though I try hard to keep clutter at bay. Even when I travel, I seem to accumulate STUFF. 😱

[Marthe48]

6. How inhumane to move them every 10 days

How much is that adding to their stress?

[JI7]

7. Are you In Los Angeles ?

[captain queeg]

11. No, Portland area

The 10 day thing is something I've read, don't know how much its enforced, but they do seem to come and go. I'd agree with others here, they need portapotties and dumpsters. Just for basic hygiene.

[JI7]

8. We also need to figure out how to deal with those with mental illness

and especially if they refuse help which many do.

Or even those without.

I know it may seem impossible to some but there are people who refuse help and prefer to be in the streets . And in a place like Los Angeles the weather makes it easy to be outside most of the times.