Monday, March 19, 2018
Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. We took Mattie to the circus that day. It was Mattie's first and last trip to see the circus. We were lucky to be given a private box to sit in, which was perfect given Mattie's compromised immunity. Nonetheless, Mattie came away with all sorts of circus gear and he literally made his way to every concession stand to see what they were featuring. Also in attendance were a couple of Mattie's friends from the hospital. They came as a group and sat in a different section. During intermission, Mattie met up with his friends in the lobby of the Verizon Center, and that made the occasion very festive and memorable for all of us.
Quote of the day: Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community. ~ Anthony J. D'Angelo
In the midst of all the things I am doing for the Foundation today, I took on encampments and graffiti. In the past eight years, I have seen a drastic change occur within our Foggy Bottom community of Washington, DC. A community I have lived in for over twenty years. We have three major problems around us.... 1) tent communities (encampments), 2) graffiti, and 3) pot smoke everywhere. None of these things were evident when Mattie was alive. But slowly changes have unfolded and in so many ways each one impacts the quality of life for DC residents.
I am sensitive to the plight of individuals who have fallen on hard times, maybe addicted to substances, and/or have a host of physical and mental health issues. Issues that cause significant impairment which prevent one from functioning in society.
I am happy the District of Columbia has outreach teams that try to counsel our homeless residents to make better choices and provide them with access to needed services. Yet as I wrote to the Mayor's office today, I am concerned that there are little to no forms of recourse for residents who pay taxes as well as rent/mortgages with regard to this matter.
Keep in mind this is our Nation's capital! Yet this is what a typical park in Washington, DC looks like. Tents everywhere, clothes strung on trees, some times there are grills cooking food and the list goes on. I will leave bathroom matters to your imagination. But that is a problem on warm days, because you can smell it.
Right near the George Washington University is an enormous encampment. It takes up an entire city block. This is not a photo I took, but one that shows city officials cleaning this area up a year ago. However, one can do a clean up, but within a matter of a few weeks, it starts all over again. My biggest compliant with DC, unlike in Maryland and Virginia, is that there isn't a proactive program to address these issues. Instead, they are usually dealt with only when residents start complaining.
This is a sight I see daily, at our exit off the highway. This encampment is right in front of the State Department. Who does nothing about this what so ever. What started as one tent, has multiplied.
Then we also have massive and pervasive graffiti. If there is a clean wall, you know it won't be clean for long. I removed this nightmare last spring. But guess what, it is equally ugly now!
Arlington and Alexandria, VA also have a graffiti problem, but I see what they do.... they proactively remove it! It doesn't stay up for years on end.
Now this maybe the worst to me, because it is right outside my bedroom window. When I wake up, this is the first thing I see each day and the last thing I see at night.
How do you like this art work in front of the Kennedy Center? What troubles me is I seem to be the only one bothered by all of this. I don't view this as artistic or a positive form of self expression. I view it as defacing private and public property and with each form of ugliness, this threatens our civilized and productive society.
If you are down, sad, or angry, seeing this only adds another layer to these feelings. Or it does for me.
Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. We took Mattie to the circus that day. It was Mattie's first and last trip to see the circus. We were lucky to be given a private box to sit in, which was perfect given Mattie's compromised immunity. Nonetheless, Mattie came away with all sorts of circus gear and he literally made his way to every concession stand to see what they were featuring. Also in attendance were a couple of Mattie's friends from the hospital. They came as a group and sat in a different section. During intermission, Mattie met up with his friends in the lobby of the Verizon Center, and that made the occasion very festive and memorable for all of us.
Quote of the day: Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community. ~ Anthony J. D'Angelo
In the midst of all the things I am doing for the Foundation today, I took on encampments and graffiti. In the past eight years, I have seen a drastic change occur within our Foggy Bottom community of Washington, DC. A community I have lived in for over twenty years. We have three major problems around us.... 1) tent communities (encampments), 2) graffiti, and 3) pot smoke everywhere. None of these things were evident when Mattie was alive. But slowly changes have unfolded and in so many ways each one impacts the quality of life for DC residents.
I am sensitive to the plight of individuals who have fallen on hard times, maybe addicted to substances, and/or have a host of physical and mental health issues. Issues that cause significant impairment which prevent one from functioning in society.
I am happy the District of Columbia has outreach teams that try to counsel our homeless residents to make better choices and provide them with access to needed services. Yet as I wrote to the Mayor's office today, I am concerned that there are little to no forms of recourse for residents who pay taxes as well as rent/mortgages with regard to this matter.
Keep in mind this is our Nation's capital! Yet this is what a typical park in Washington, DC looks like. Tents everywhere, clothes strung on trees, some times there are grills cooking food and the list goes on. I will leave bathroom matters to your imagination. But that is a problem on warm days, because you can smell it.
Right near the George Washington University is an enormous encampment. It takes up an entire city block. This is not a photo I took, but one that shows city officials cleaning this area up a year ago. However, one can do a clean up, but within a matter of a few weeks, it starts all over again. My biggest compliant with DC, unlike in Maryland and Virginia, is that there isn't a proactive program to address these issues. Instead, they are usually dealt with only when residents start complaining.
This is a sight I see daily, at our exit off the highway. This encampment is right in front of the State Department. Who does nothing about this what so ever. What started as one tent, has multiplied.
Then we also have massive and pervasive graffiti. If there is a clean wall, you know it won't be clean for long. I removed this nightmare last spring. But guess what, it is equally ugly now!
Arlington and Alexandria, VA also have a graffiti problem, but I see what they do.... they proactively remove it! It doesn't stay up for years on end.
Now this maybe the worst to me, because it is right outside my bedroom window. When I wake up, this is the first thing I see each day and the last thing I see at night.
How do you like this art work in front of the Kennedy Center? What troubles me is I seem to be the only one bothered by all of this. I don't view this as artistic or a positive form of self expression. I view it as defacing private and public property and with each form of ugliness, this threatens our civilized and productive society.
If you are down, sad, or angry, seeing this only adds another layer to these feelings. Or it does for me.
1 comment:
Vicki, a great post and glad you wrote a letter. It is sad indeed that people who need help aren't receiving it. That basic sanitation for them & the community around them is ignored, this is a health crisis in the making. Others need to stand up & help those who have falken on hard times no matter the reason. Turning a blind eye, only makes everything worse. Why doesn't anyone care? It is rhetorical question of course however it addresses the apathy, we seem to have come to accept in society. Maybe not every City but it is not just the District of Columbia. Although this is our Nations Capitol! If no one cares here, where will they ?
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