Dallas' new homeless shelter, The Bridge, off to bumpy start

[WriteDown]

Source: Dallas Morning News

Despite overwhelming crowds, the operator of The Bridge stands by his philosophy of not turning away anyone in need. Dallas' new homeless shelter continues to serve twice as many people as the center was built to accommodate.

People wait outside with their belongings for the doors to open for dinner at The Bridge.
View larger More photos Photo store But its open-door approach has led to problems: drug-dealing, fights, thefts and lax security. People who weren't homeless were preying on guests with mental illnesses, disabilities and addictions.

Several staff members were assaulted by guests at The Bridge, according to Joel John Roberts, chief executive of PATH Partners of Los Angeles, which formerly provided social workers for the facility. And security guards were "accepting pizza and soft drinks from known drug dealers," he said.

"There appears to be no coordinated and proactive system to appropriately identify who is on the campus," Mr. Roberts said in a June 18 letter to Mike Faenza, president and chief executive of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance......


Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/071808dnmetbridge.40638a4.html

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Why the hell can't we make this work in the U.S.? And who the hell preys on the homeless?

edited for grammar.

[willing dwarf]

1. Bushvilles =Hoovervilles

What they should be reporting on is how many people are needing to use these servuces now more than ever, thanks to the lousy no good rotten policies of the idiot in office.

I am development director for a community service organization in Philadelphia, and we don't turn anyone away either. We are seeing more and more people coming to us for help. Families, mothers and children more than ever in my memory.

Seems very clear to me, Bush is cut from the mold of Herbert Hoover.

[Marrah_G]

2. There are bad people out there.

People that prey on others simply because they can. I think sometimes we forget that.

[crikkett]

4. and humans by nature are opportunistic and nothing is sacred. n/t

[crikkett]

3. spelling police

you meant, 'who the hell preys on the homeless'

my mom the preacher prays all over the homeless at any point in a given day.


The answer to the problem you asked about, why can't we make this work, is probably shortage of funding and dedicated, qualified, personnel.

[WriteDown]

5. Thanks!

Grammar is poor when I first wake up.