Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Happy homeless Christmas

So ... you think the homeless problem is bad now? Wait until December 1st, when four of our trailer parks close in accordance with yet another brilliant piece of legislation from the mad geniuses who run our county. Where will all these people go? If they don't find somewhere to go, the county will tow away their RV's, trailers, tents, etc. & leave them out on the street. Imagine how festive & welcoming our upcoming Victorian-themed holiday float parade in Guerneville will appear, with all of our scenic roadways crammed with vehicles from these parks? Nice.

I first found out about this impending event from a woman in my church who lives at the Fairy Ring trailer park -- not from the local media or any sort of announcement. I tried to do some research online with various key words & found NO information whatsoever. Apparently, the Powers-That-Be wish to keep this upcoming purge as quiet as possible.

FYI, rural areas like the Russian River here in Western Sonoma don't have low-income housing projects like cities & suburbs ... we have trailer parks. Like urban/suburban projects, our rural trailer parks have the usual assortment of low-wage workers, struggling families, elderly & disabled folks on fixed incomes, & yes, the stereotypical druggies & trouble-makers. And like many protective, middle-class moms, I'd love to see the disruptive substance abusers go somewhere else ... anywhere else.

But what about the folks who cause no harm & contribute positively to the community & simply can't afford local rents? A space in a trailer park costs about $400 per month -- affordable for those who've managed to acquire a trailer, RV or manufactured home. A studio rents for more like $700 & a two-bedroom apartment rents for about $1200 per month. You do the math.

Sure, these folks can apply for subsidized housing, but the wait is often two years long & what are they supposed to do in the meantime?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Alot of these people you speak of are plenty old enough to know better by now~ages ranging from 30's to sixties. Time to grow up and take responsabilty for your actions, sad, yes~but these people never will change. Guerneville is a magnet for losers and Faerie Ring Campground is a pit of hell for drug addicts and drunks and a handfull of good people.

Anonymous said...

The sooner this camp and inn close the better for everyone and the town of Guerneville. People need to move on! Wake up and smell the loser.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Guerneville is turning into a Northern version of S.F.
The town of Guerneville should put these homeless people to work cleaning up the town to earn some food and shelter. Please don't blame the recession for the homeless. Guerneville has had many homeless for years before all this recession began. Your town is too snooty to let in organizations to help the homeless and the helpless out.
A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E. !!!!

Anonymous said...

So, did all you Guerneville Ghetto
camp grounds get purged yet? Sooner the better than your town will smell better when people drive thru !! Faerie Ring looks like a ghetto dump from the road.
Can't believe anyone is still hanging out there smelling the raw sewage from the broken septic. Jim Friedman~Where are you when you are needed? Your manager has done such a swell job turning a beautiful camp into a dope den.

Russian River Rattina said...

where is Jim Friedman? He's in jail for not maintaining the campground properly.