Want To Erase Homelessness? Turn Your Township Into A Hellhole

By
staff
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a vision of horror into a cave with a glowing pit of fire illuminating buildings beyond
This scene was created by affordablehousingaction.org in accordance with the use restrictions of a Creative ML OpenRAIL-M license

Two stories about how to ‘end’ homelessness have emerged from a clever New Jersey township.

The first: invite the police, well-known for their expertise in community planning and design, to suggest options for physically reducing the presence of the local population who are experiencing homelessness.

The second: cut down all the shade trees in the town square, turning it into a merciless summer frying pan and a snow-swept winter desert.

Oh.

They’re part of the same story — one that has provoked a fairly rare local reaction involving a true YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard)1 rally by folks appalled at the town’s ‘attack the homeless’ strategy.

Readers hostile to homelessness may want to bookmark the following media outlet for more bright ideas. Read more about about how Lakewood Township cut off its nose to spite its face in app.: Saturday rally planned to protest Lakewood’s response to homelessness

Footnotes

  1. For the difference between true and false YIMBY, try: Dispatches From The Front Lines Of The NIMBY Vs. YIMBY Wars