fooferdoggie 

My shop is close to a lot of homeless. I do woodworking and often the lock was cut off my dumpster in the winter. I pretty much only put wood scrap and sawdust in it. But it's only plywood and pdf and stuff no solid wood. I have given up putting al lock on it we have one homeless guy that comes by with bolt cutters and cuts all the locks off. If I put a stronger lock they will break the bar or remove the lid.
S oI shut leave it unlocked and it keeps getting emptied. Even the sawdust gets removed now.my sawdust would not burn well so no clue on that. I don't think I have had to have it dumped in almost two months. So I am keeping someone warm.

Hondo Gravel

Didn’t some homeless guy get crushed to death after being dumped in the garbage truck and the trash got compressed. I heard about it on the news a few months ago.

SkinGriz

Probably. Being homeless is incredibly risky all the way around.

fooferdoggie 

mine is on call so they only dump when I tell them too. I ahve seen several stores lately a woman who all asleep in one they rescued her from the back of a garbage truck when the driver heard her screaming.

Dylansbob 

I'd be worried about putting burnable material in the dumpster around here, it would be set aflame. I've seen it happen.

We have a massive homeless problem where I am in the greater Seattle area. I'm pretty sure there's a core, problem group that migrates throughout the region as each city finally finds a way to remove them. Our city has multiple public and private agencies that are always offering services to the various camps...... and yet the camps still get bigger and more violent as there are too many of them that are too tweaked to give up the lifestyle. One camp, 2 blocks from my house, had a dead body in one of the tents for over 2 weeks. Our vehicle theft has doubled each month over the previous years for 1.5yrs straight, reaching almost 1000 cars in December. One of the more violent camps had over 70 stolen cars recovered last month.

Sorry, just needed to vent. Things in Tacoma were back sliding pretty hard before Covid hit and it just keeps getting worse.

mtnbud

Seems like it's working out alright for you. If you ever happen to be around when someone is looking through your dumpster, consider talking to him/her as long as you can do so safely. Most homeless people are safe enough to have a conversation with while there's a few that should be avoided. It's possible whoever is dumpster diving isn't even a homeless person. Some people can get real creative with wood scraps.

RayHenry

Homeless camps around here have skyrocketed since COVID. Most of them are liberally strewn with bicycle parts. Some even have dozens of bikes stockpiled. Even now, these camps are all over the place, and it was -35c (-35f) when I got up this morning....

fooferdoggie 

there are 5 dumpsters in al int and they always go for mine. I have the plywood cut in sort pieces to make tale less room but t makes it easier to burn too. usually they do it at night or weekends.

sloppy12

Sounds more like a dumpster diver to me.

chewybrian 

Not to get political, but I would expect that there would be more options for shelters and such in Canada than in the U.S. Is that true? It's hard to imagine people would not opt for the shelter in the middle of winter if it was an option.

Juan Foote

I wonder if there is a decent insulation value to the sawdust? I agree that trying to burn it is a smokey mess...

fooferdoggie 

someone suggested they used it on the ground to help with the mud. mine would not burn well its too fine. it can be mixed with plastic too or foam or such.

canklecat

Regarding the issue of homeless people opting for DIY camps rather than designated shelters, there's a valid reason for that.

I've chatted with many homeless folks who prefer to stay downtown or in the parks and makeshift camps. Almost uniformly they dislike the prison-like atmosphere and hostile vibe of the shelters. I can understand that. My city bus route to the VA clinic passes through my city's unofficial "homeless district." Shelters, food banks, etc., used to be scattered around downtown, wherever rent was cheap in abandoned buildings. But gentrification pushed those out and toward a consolidated area just east of downtown.

Just riding or walking through that homeless district reveals why some homeless folks avoid the shelters. There's a lot of yelling, cussing, hostile dudes posturing and being belligerent. Any personal property is banished to an unsecured fenced in yard to minimize bedbugs, etc., indoors.

Some homeless folks are reasonably self-sufficient, other than having living quarters that don't meet contemporary standards -- camping tents, makeshift huts, etc. Some also having mental health issues but are otherwise in reasonably good physical shape. I've heard homeless folks who describe themselves as having schizophrenia or other disorders say they dislike the noisy, aggressive vibe of the shelters and prefer to stay in the parks or sheltered areas downtown for their own peace of mind.

Yeah, there are -- and always will be -- some folks who seem capable of living "normally," but just ... won't. They don't want the responsibility of housekeeping, paying rent, etc. Some are alcoholics and addicts. But for many homeless folks it's a lot more nuanced and complicated. They *could* fit into proper housing *if* there was some long-term support: social workers visiting once a month or more often; affordable transportation to health care for mental and physical health needs, as well as to support groups for folks struggling with substance abuse.

But transportation becomes a major hindrance to integrating folks into the community at large. In my area the city cut way back on bus service late last year. The buses used to stop in front of my apartment complex, running every 15 minutes during the busiest time of day, every 30-60 minutes otherwise, between 5 AM to 10 or 11 PM. Now the only bus that stops here is the express that offers two or three buses at dawn and dusk. Nothing in between. It's what I call the maids and gardeners bus service -- the type of token bus service cities offer to ferry servants from poor neighborhoods to their wealthy employers, but nothing to help folks without personal vehicles to do any shopping for necessities or, god forbid, visit local entertainment venues. There's still a bus route that connects with the downtown station for transfers around the city, but the nearest stop is about 1/2 mile away -- too far for disabled folks in wheelchairs, walkers or canes, especially considering the inadequate or missing sidewalks and insane traffic.

Another infrastructure factor is inadequate and expensive internet. My neighborhood still has the slowest and glitchiest internet in the entire area, the kind of DSL that seemed fast about 17 years ago, but is woefully inadequate now for anyone thinking of working or studying from home -- my handful of Zoom meetings during the pandemic were frustrating with lagging and participants talking over each other because my connection is so slow I wind up either talking over someone, missing their responses, or having interminable pauses in discussions. Wrangling over budgets in Congress indicates there's little incentive to improve internet speeds in these disregarded communities.

Most external views of homelessness and systemic poverty tend to overlook these nuances and complexities that all contribute to the downward spiral of entire communities.

downtube42

A church I was involved with wanted to connect to the local community, and came up with the idea of raised-bed vegetables gardens. So they bought the materials, planted vegetables, cared and tended for the growing plants, and were then horrified and angered when homeless locals were "stealing" vegetables. Talk commenced of fencing, canceling the project, etc.

JFC (irony intended). I suggested they put up a sign "free vegetables" and get on with their pitiful frickin' lives. Yeah I'm still pissed, a decade later. I'm also no longer involved with churches.

Your story seems like a win-win. Maybe you could eliminate the dumpster from the equation and save a few monthly buicks?

veganbikes

Having slept in a North Face Expedition tent in rather cold conditions and in snow I was fairly warm without any heating. Not that I would want to do it full time nor to say that homeless people should go out and get expedition tents because they are expensive but I imagine after setting up a tent as I have seen in a lot of encampments one could stay reasonably warm-ish or at least not cold with enough upgrades and plenty can be done on the cheap or for free with dumpster diving and occasional donations.

Having known people who have lived in shelters and been homeless or also someone who worked in one none of them had pleasant experiences it was a place to crash that was marginally better than being outside. It is not what you would hope them to be.

I knew someone who was homeless by choice and while he was alive lived quite well, he was a hotel chef for a while but just didn't want to pay rent in a big city and was able to live quite well and quite minimally outside for a long time. He had a family and raised 3 great kids who are grown now and living great lives (I think he chose to go homeless after they had left the nest). However yeah it isn't something I would chose and I think we as a society could be doing more to solve the issue for those who didn't chose that path with better mental health and drug and alcohol help for all, better access to housing and food and other things needed to live, a living wage, less gentrification and more community. However it won't totally solve the issue and there will still probably be people who want to live more off the grid but at least allowing them resources to live decently enough could help.

Hondo Gravel

I bought a homeless person a 20 dollar Whataburger card. Did he use it to get something to eat? I don’t know. I hope he got a few meals out of it.

RayHenry

I have no idea how the numbers compare. What I do know is that since COVID, homeless camps have exploded in numbers. It used to be when they started these camps, they were picked up and taken to a shelter, and the camps torn down. Supposedly, the homeless don't want the risk of contacting COVID in a shelter, and authorities have backed off enforcement. I don't believe that they are indeed afraid of COVID in shelters, as they live very communally, no masks, nothing. I suspect it has far more to do with shelters not allowing drugs and alcohol. And when you have an addiction, going 8 hours or so without your fix might be a problem.

Worse than the camps though is the fact that they have moved into the heated bus shacks here. And they refuse entry to those that legitimately need them. We have seniors, disabled, etc, that ride the bus and are now forced to stand outside. This morning it's -45c and riders are being forced to stand outside waiting for the bus. Public is split on the issue. We have groups doing things like taking food and blankets to those living in the bus shacks, and we have others demanding they (rightfully) be put out of these shacks. There is a growing outrage which I suspect may well result in some vigilante evictions. I can't see that ending well.

fooferdoggie 

those slackers did not clean it all out and they had three days I have found garbage put in then it vanishes too.

Hondo Gravel

I share a dumpster with a few neighbors. You can find out a lot about your neighbors by what they throw away example the neighbors like getting Whataburger takeout or what beverages they like, Stuff like that.

Korina

+1. The flooring store two blocks over, just leaves their samples outside the dumpster, and they always disappear. Whatever people are doing with them, it's probably better than the landfill.