Random Things About How Cities Subtly Hiding Their Homeless Populations (12 items)

• 

  (#11) By Placing Locking Mechanisms On Garbage Cans

  Homeless people sometimes rummage through the trash for food. It's not an ideal way for anyone to get a meal, but it might be their only choice. But now, many garbage cans are designed in such a way that it's difficult to get to what's inside. Locking mechanisms stop people from opening the can from the outside, and "rain hoods" make reaching in from the top just about impossible.
• 

  (#8) By Installing Benches Designed To Be Uncomfortable

  Have you ever wondered why the public benches in some cities are so uncomfortable to sit on? It's not a design flaw – it's 100% intentional. Because benches are popular place for homeless people to fall asleep, they're often designed in such a way that it's impossible for someone to settle on them for long.
• 

  (#10) By Putting In Coin-Operated Benches

  In Yentai Park in Shandong Province, China, there's yet another thing preventing homeless people from sitting down. Coin-operated benches were originally a concept designed by a sculptor named Fabian Brunsing. He didn't mean for them to be used in real life, but China has adopted the concept.

  If a person sits on one of these benches for more than a few minutes without inserting a coin, an alarm will sound, and spikes will come out. The spikes aren't sharp enough to do serious damage, but they still hurt.
• 

  (#2) By Prohibiting Public Hygiene Activities

  One of the many problems with homelessness is finding a place to bathe and wash your clothes. While many homeless people are able to get this done in shelters, others might have to get creative. Individuals might try to bathe in public restrooms, public water fountains, or in naturally occurring bodies of water like lakes. Unfortunately, this behavior is illegal in many places, and often leads to ejection from the facilities, or to arrests.
• 

  (#9) By Forcing People Into Shelters

  Many cities attempt to move homeless people off the street and into designated shelters. While shelters can be a blessing for some, others want nothing to do with them, and for good reason. According to James Pirtle, who was interviewed by NPR about his experiences with homelessness, "You hear a lot of terrible things about shelters, that shelters are dangerous places, that they're full of drugs and drug dealers, that people will steal your shoes, and there's bedbugs and body lice. And yeah, unfortunately a lot of those things are true."

  In order to force homeless people into shelters, some cities support drastic measures. In Pinellas County, FL, one proposal involved putting individuals who refused to be relocated into pre-trial solitary confinement until they changed their minds.
• 

  (#5) By Destroying Homeless People's Belongings

  The California transit bureau conducts massive raids, during which officials round up and destroy homeless people's belongings by tossing them into a garbage compactor. This can include everything from tents and garbage bags to cell phones and personal documents. In one particularly harrowing incident, a tent was crushed while someone's cat was still inside.

  Besides the loss of personal property, these types of raids can dramatically impede any progress a homeless person might make toward getting off the streets. You can't exactly get a job if you don't have a phone or documents proving your identity. Several lawsuits are in progress to attempt to stop this practice.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking