I think, as do most people, that DT St Pete is really nice and has a lot more going for it than Dt Tampa, But the homeless run ramped down there. St Pete's downtown has way more trash than Tampa's. Granted there are people actually in st Pete's downtown, But it is really bad especially as you get closer to "Homeless Park". I am not sure of the park's real name, but I am sure everyone knows which park I am talking about. I believe the park is located in Northwest downtown and is consistently covered with the Homeless. You would literally have to step over bodies if you were to wonder through the park. I have only been dt during daylight and I am sure it gets even worse at night.

I live in Tampa, so I don't hear much about it on this side of the bay. Are there any plans to do anything about it? I deal with the homeless on a regular basis and have little pity for them. My feeling is, if you have your wits about you enough to make a sign, begging for food, then you have the wits to get a job. Before I get attacked by the ultra liberals, I do feel sorry for the mentally ill ones, but they are not the ones asking people for money.

Anyway, I know my wife hates going to St Pete, because there are so many homeless. Does anyone else, not go there as often as they would other wise? Does anyone else feel this may be hampering growth as well as tourism?
Is city even talking about doing something about it?

I know there will always be some of this element around a downtown, but most people I have spoke with think something has to be done to rid the city of the hordes that gather downtown.

It hasn't stopped me from going to DT SP, but the last time I was down there a couple of my friends got hassled by a homeless man who whipped out a dildo. That was a fun story.

I live in Tampa, so I don't hear much about it on this side of the bay. Are there any plans to do anything about it? I deal with the homeless on a regular basis and have little pity for them. My feeling is, if you have your wits about you enough to make a sign, begging for food, then you have the wits to get a job. Before I get attacked by the ultra liberals, I do feel sorry for the mentally ill ones, but they are not the ones asking people for money.

It's because it's very difficult for the homeless to "just get a job." Have you ever applied to a place like McDonald's? Have you ever worked for one of the places to which people often refer the homeless to "go out and get a job?"

Employers - even places like McDonald's and Wal-Mart - want a clean and presentable figure with work experience and references. If a homeless person has no house, then where is he going to clean himself up for a job interview? And even if he got a job, how is he going to keep himself clean or clean his clothes for work every day? What references will a homeless person have while applying to a job - his other homeless friends (if he even has friends at all)? I don't think that will work... What applicable job experience or education does the average homeless person have? And even if they did have applicable job experience, would the homeless guy be able to prove it? Would he be able to verify that he had worked elsewhere and was not fired or otherwise unwillingly discharged from his job?

Could you show me a job where you don't need these fundamental things (cleanliness, work experience/education, references)? If you can, I will gladly go take a homeless person there myself. Right now, I just don't think such a place exists...

Now before you dismiss this post as an attack from an "ultra-liberal," please just think about those questions. Do you have the answers? I'm not an ultra-liberal, or some radical thinker... I'm just a guy who's sympathetic to the plight of these people. They don't have any options or answers. They have nowhere to go. Their condition makes them horrible job applicants, which in turn hinders them from actually getting jobs.

Think about that next time you ask - "Why can't they just get a job?"

Perhaps a better answer would be to build more homeless shelters or to have to government fund more programs to help the homeless and get them off the street. However, there are many "more important" matters to attend to at this point...

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Perhaps a better answer would be to build more homeless shelters or to have to government fun more programs to help the homeless and get them off the street. However, there are many "more important" matters to attend to at this point...

We have several of them in Tampa, I am sure St Pete has the same. Again I deal with them on a regular basis. Many don't want to change their situation.

This thread was started to see how others felt about the HUGE homeless problem with DT St Pete specificlly

I've noticed it, tony, and it's an unfortunate and ugly reality. And it's really sad when you consider how many of the homeless are former veterans and how many of them are mentally ill.

http://www.nchv.org/background.cfm

Yes, your thread questions how others feel about the huge homeless problem in DT St. Pete, but it may have offered up some food for thought allowing an honest reflection of what confronts us as a collective community where homelessness is concerned.

Wikepedia has some interesting stats here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States#Statistics_and_demographics

Anyway, I know my wife hates going to St Pete, because there are so many homeless. Does anyone else, not go there as often as they would other wise? Does anyone else feel this may be hampering growth as well as tourism?
Is city even talking about doing something about it?.

I recently dated a girl who lives just on the other side of 5th, and would often avoid going DT unless she drove, because of the bums.

Oddly enough, we have a large enclave of homeless in Orlando who camp in the woods in a suburban area far from the CBD. But these are the more self-sufficient types who can feed themselves and who mostly want to be left alone. I've met and chatted with a number of them.

By coincidence, while I was at work last night, my wife had some problems with some homeless guys. She was walking my dog when she saw 4 guys hanging out drinking under an abandoned building on the northeast corner of Swann and Melville. They started barking at the dog and yelling at her. she said she couldn't understand most of what they were screaming because they were so drunk. When she got home, she called me. I told her to have the police come out. She did call, but I have no idea if they ever came out or not.

Funny thing is, a developer wanted to put a 5 story condo on this site, but my wonderful neighbors were against it, because it wasn't a single family home. It has sat abandoned ever since.It is quite overgrown, with trash all over, mostly due to the homeless that sleep under the large overhang by the front door.

The developer wanted to come back with a revised plan, but the neighborhood some how managed to convince council not to let them. The Pres. of the association is my neighbor, a retire judge, so he pretty much gets whatever he wants.

Not sure how an abandoned building is better than urban development, but my neighbors seem to prefer it.

I live on 4th ave s and see the "regular" bums, but i am starting to feel bad because some of these people are younger than 25. I am a few blocks from baywalk, 2 from signature.....they really arent as rude as tampa bums...

By coincidence, while I was at work last night, my wife had some problems with some homeless guys. She was walking my dog when she saw 4 guys hanging out drinking under an abandoned building on the northeast corner of Swann and Melville. They started barking at the dog and yelling at her. she said she couldn't understand most of what they were screaming because they were so drunk. When she got home, she called me. I told her to have the police come out. She did call, but I have no idea if they ever came out or not.

Funny thing is, a developer wanted to put a 5 story condo on this site, but my wonderful neighbors were against it, because it wasn't a single family home. It has sat abandoned ever since.It is quite overgrown, with trash all over, mostly due to the homeless that sleep under the large overhang by the front door.

The developer wanted to come back with a revised plan, but the neighborhood some how managed to convince council not to let them. The Pres. of the association is my neighbor, a retire judge, so he pretty much gets whatever he wants.

Not sure how an abandoned building is better than urban development, but my neighbors seem to prefer it.
Idiots... They're probably costing themselves $50k each, maybe more by opposing the development that had been proposed

^ Especially considering what's in the immediate neighborhood. Within four blocks in any direction you can find 3-5 story condos, townhomes, and apartments, not to mention two separate business districts and a big honking expressway. Do they not realize they live in the city? Perhaps they confine themselves to their homes and backyards and believe they still live in the burbs.

Oddly enough I find the Tampa homeless by and large pretty inoffensive. I speak to a few of them from time to time as we share a neighborhood, and several live in the immediate area. I wish I knew what to do about them. This thread may be about the homeless possibly ruining downtown St Pete, but the same topic has been broached repeatedly for at least the last four years about Tampa as well. Herman Massey Park, anyone?

When there are major events in downtown, Metropolitan Ministries or other organizations frequently sponsor food and clothing giveaways at the Army-Navy Surplus store and the city parking lot a block south, at the north end of town. All the tourists thus come into town from Ashley and don't see the gathering of homeless on Tampa, and aren't bothered by them at their events. Unfortunately no charity has enough resources to offer a compelling reason for the homeless to gather in one place consistently.

I think the problem with the "hordes" is that we have such a nice climate. If I was homeless and had no intention of getting a job, I don't care if I came from Duluth Minnesota I'd make my way down here. If you're going to live outdoors might as well do it someplace nice (ignoring the hideous humidity and heat during the summer... you can always go sit in John F. Germany Library for a few hours when it's too hot). Doesn't that seem likely to be why we have so many here despite having a better employment rate than many northern cities? How do we fix that?

I have been to many cities that are far worse than Tampa or St. Pete.

Baltimore and Washington D.C. are probably 2 of the worst. They are where NY was before Giulliani.

Well and then SF. They have so many programs that it almost makes financial sense to be homeless there. And the weather is not so bad as long as you have a sweat shirt.