This is very nicely written, Jade, and spot-on. Once again I am wowed by your words.

There is definitely a need for greater awareness of the nuances of the human condition.

Well said, little sister.

If you like the clean sidewalk look of Walla Walla, or the bright lights, high roller ambiance of Las Vegas, or the upscale boutiques of Rodeo Drive, vote with your feet.  I like Olympia.

It's funny how all I can ever say to your posts is ditto. You make me look inarticulate, Jade. Harumph.

I am COMPLETELY OUTRAGED that people still put down our wonderful safe downtown area...

Its cute, liberal, and safe...

Not at all dumpy like say Spokane or Tacoma....

Now that we have it so nice here, some clueless rubes will probably flock to this town (because we are *NOT* too cheap to pay for things like nice schools, good bus service, and parks) and complain about nonsense like taxes, etc....

Ever notice how the "TRUE PATRIOTS" are patriotic to the point of waving their Flags (made in communist China of course) and driving those ugly assed big pickups burning Saudi oil, then have the gall to complain about paying their taxes, which are needed to "support" our great country..

It occurs to me that this whole prevalence-of-shit-and-puke-on-the-sidewalks-of-downtown thing may be largely mythology.As a downtown regular, I can't even remember the last time I saw something like this. Perhaps we ought to consider whether this idea might be a grossly exaggerated fear that has come out of poorly written Olympian articles and urban legend.

It does seem that the main purveyors are people who are sworn off downtown. I never hear the regulars complaining of the piles of shit and vomit they have to wade through.

'Jade

I'm thinking we have the west side, we have Lacey, we have Hawks Prairie, good grief, we even have Dupon.  Plenty of conventional retail and dining opportunities for all that wish to avail themselves.  We got the malls, we have the chain eateries (eatin' good in the neighborhood) and chain coffee shops.  Plenty to go around.  So why is it that downtown has to be a clone of the rest of the region?  Exactly who wants to come downtown but doesn't because there are too many homeless or young people.  Do these people really want to take part in the downtown scene but are fearful?  On one side we have people saying that downtown should be like the west side, or anything but downtown.  On the otherside we have people that are saying that they dig downtown the way it is but don't like the homeless and young people.  I guess what I'm getting at, and I'll spit it out, is that there are plenty of people that don't like downtown the way it is. Clean it up, run off he homeless and young people and it will be suitable for the likes of the Wal-Mart and Appleby's supporters, provided we have a Wal-Mart and Appleby's downtown.    People don't get the point, a downtown has to be unique to the suburbs, but in the context of the region.  In my view the Olympia downtown fills the bill exquisitely.  A perfect counterpart to the suburbs and yet totally of the region it inhabits.  It is not the Los Angeles downtown, or the Baltimore downtown, it is not even the Seattle downton.  Olympia does not have a loser downtown, quite in fact other downtown look to Olympia to see what works.  I count on Olympia's downtown to be orginal and for the rest of our state to copy.  Yes, we have homeless and young people.  I don't view the homeless as a problem (outside of meeting their needs with dignity).  The young bring energy and diversity to the downtown, along with the homeless.  It is clear that if people don't like downtown they really shouldn't bother complaining that it is not like Lacey or Tumwater, we already have Lacey and Tumwater, what is so wrong with downtown being what it is and continuing to evolve.  My biggest gripe about downtown, and I do have a gripe, is the housing prices, both rental and purchase.  My biggest fear is that the spirit that keeps downtown the way it is, and make it what it will be, will soon be priced out of downtown, both the retailers and residents.  In the end we may have a Lacey version of downtown because of the price of real estate. Time to  colonize Centralia,  good housing stock, very affordable, it already has the Olympic Club, and Chehalis is way cool.

"I would make it impossible for the covetous and avaricious to utterly impoverish the poor. The rich can take care of themselves."
^@^

I see the basic human need as being one of shelter more than homes. This is excellently written and difficult topic to quantify. It is possible to feel homeless in a home. It is also possible to feel at home in a cave. I came of age right as Vietnam ended and the veterans flowed home. I've known many people who preferred natural settings and a little isolation for a while, time to sort things out.

I had a good street friend a few years ago, an older African American man, Eulis, who was "homeless" at the time, but far from helpless. He mentored all the young people, particularly young women, on self defense as they walked by to chat. He was an extraordinary fellow, loaded with real life stories from his journey, but also exceptionally kind and considerate. I was fascinated with the topic of homelessness and wanted to report on it myself. He laughed at me and told me I would last 15 minutes on the street. That really hurt my feelings! But it made me think about the different plights of people and their fortunes. Is it more stressful to be in a comfortable encampment like the ones I've seen in other cities, little communities of a sort, or on the verge of losing a home? I don't see much of the abject poverty and despair around Olympia that I saw in NYC or LA or San Francisco or Washington D.C. Frankly I see the impoverishment most frequently among minorities held back by social and racial and religious stigma, among the mentally ill, and among the other strata of people defined by communities as throw aways, like people who have served prison or jail sentences, or alcoholics and addicts.  Too often, we treat them like exceptions on a balance sheet of good and bad and people and don't know where to put them, except on a bus to somewhere else. Yet people can and do change, for the better and the worse and back again as they have to make different adjustments.

I don't believe in bad people either. I believe in damaged people and in choice. But we can empower each other in many ways just by not being to judgmental and by offering simple encouragement and kindness, and by sharing whatever we have as if all people really are neighbors. Its strange to get older and reach that kind of idealism, but in really trying to understand social issues, I see more bad acts than bad actors. We are all flawed as human beings. We all make mistakes. Its easier to look at someone else's but it is also a way of deluding ourselves and avoiding the changes we need to make within ourselves.

My belief is that the best way to address homelessness is to talk to the homeless in every strata and not jump to conclusions. Its a problem that will require more than one solution. The larger the city the larger the problem. If we want to forecast what Olympia needs, its good to study a larger place like Seattle; then downsize the best of their solutions. Some people are not safe on the streets and they need referrals, quickly. Everyone needs a fresh slate and assistance in jump starting their lives. Sometimes its as simple as a job or housing and sometimes its far more complicated. I have images stamped in my mind that are hard to forget. I compare the comfortable looking older men in train stations in Tokyo sleeping on benches with no harrassment to the man with empty eyes and layers of brown paper bags folded as a diaper aimlessly wandering the Market District in San Francisco, or to the wasted veteran with aids I saw slumped in front of the Trump building in New York, diamonds on the inside and a sad hopeless human being outside who looked more dead than alive. The sheer levels of human misery can become quite overwhelming but its important not to ignore any of them in planning social services, or to fall into the trap of blaming people for their own misfortunes.

Sometimes life is more about our internal resources and what we have to give, more than what we collect around us. If we want to learn to appreciate what we have, we need to share with people who have less, put our priorities on them without judging how they fell into their circumstances. Human need is just that. Need. When its met, we move onto the next need.