Montgomery County elected officials have had little to say about the recent finding that MoCo has experienced the 2nd-biggest increase in homeless population in the entire Washington, D.C. area over the last year. But business owners dealing with the real consequences of that shameful fact don't have the luxury of silence. One of downtown Bethesda's last remaining gas stations has just attached a new sign to its existing sign warning a variety of trespassers and loiterers: "NO BEGGING," it reads in all capital letters.
The Exxon station at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Battery Lane has a wonderful convenience store, which has some snacks and sodas you can't find anywhere else in town. Like so many businesses, it also has to navigate the reality of Bethesda's increasing numbers of unhoused residents, some of whom cause a number of issues for local business owners.
I can recall a resident reporting a couple of years ago that she had been violently assaulted out-of-the-blue by a homeless person outside the nearby Harris Teeter, which is steps away down Battery Lane. Reports of such attacks are not uncommon on local subreddits or Nextdoor in recent years. Police, who are often the first line of response in America's mental health "system," are frequently summoned to business establishments to remove homeless individuals who are accosting customers and refusing to leave the premises. In most cases, these problems are the result of our government and our society failing to provide the services and treatment for mental health problems and crises that are typically at the root of why many of these individuals are homeless to begin with, as well as the increasing poverty and food insecurity in Montgomery County.
But much like the sustained crime wave of recent years, the County's current policies are not having success in reducing any of these problems. Like residents, business owners are on their own to fend for themselves in Montgomery County. It's a "sign" of the times.
ReplyDeleteThis is a problem. I hesitate to approach a business when agitated homeless people are accosting everyone at the entrance. And they take up tables meant for patrons. And there does seem to be more young agitated young homeless about town. Learning
They should have added Get a Job!!
ReplyDelete@6:05 - Callous reply. Many of these unhoused individuals are not employable due to mental and/or physical impairments. Think before you post.
ReplyDeleteQuestion for 6:05. Do you own a business? If so, if a homeless person came to you for a job, would you hire them? If not, why would you expect other businesses to give jobs to homeless people? Laziness is not usually the issue.
ReplyDeleteI love Bill Maher's take on this and many other subjects. The liberal view would be to take the homeless off the streets and get them help along with non-profit and faith-based partners. The woke view, which is what we have, is to let the homeless be wherever they want to be because they are human beings and they have rights, blah, blah. In other words, we'll do nothing about it whether the citizenry likes it or not. This do nothing approach is not helping anyone not the least of which the homeless population who need help with many, many issues. No, to leave them alone is almost inhumane but that's what's going on here. If they continue to do nothing, guess what, it gets worse. Fact.
ReplyDeleteThank you 6:05 for your astute insight into the homelessness issue. I am sure those who cannot afford a home have never, ever thought to simply get a job to pay for one. This is big news, and I'm sure many will want to hear it. I encourage you to find the nearest homeless individual (preferably the agitated type described in this blog post) and share with them this revelation of yours. Who could have thought the solution to our problems was so simple?
ReplyDeleteThat akin to posting a sign anywhere in Bethesda which reads: "Purchase, register & use your firearm properly in the commission of your crime."
ReplyDeleteSome guy banging on 5 gallon buckets thinking he's Buddy Rich is about all the panhandling I can stand. Johnny Law needs to crack down on this or soon we'll not be as much South Bethesda but more like West Silver Spring.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Exxon is at corner of Auburn and Old Georgetown.
ReplyDelete12:14: Exxon is also at the corner of 8240 Wisconsin and Battery, as shown in the photo above.
ReplyDeleteHeads up!! I walk and or ride the CCT almost every morning and we've got quite a few (likely new arrivals (not a judgment just an observation) bedding down in the woods bordering the trail. I ventured back a bit deeper and there are many signs, not to mention seeing quite a few breaking their modest camp and then venturing into the business area. I estimate maybe about 10 to 15.
ReplyDeleteThe begging at intersections in the County is disgraceful, dangerous, and should be stopped. It's bad enough when a legit homeless person is doing it, but organized groups of gypsies are all over the place. Their latest scam is having signs saying a kid has cancer and please give them money. What a load of crap.
ReplyDelete@7:05
ReplyDeleteDrugs make people seem wacky. I had a young lady lift her shirt and "prove" that she was pregnant, so I would buy her a soda (like that would be any good for the "baby" anyway)! She looked just as pregnant as I would, sticking my belly out. People like that should get off drugs and get a job. The mentally ill should be taken off the streets and cared for. Just letting them wander and bother others isn't helpful to anyone.
12:28 AM Johnny Law aka Random Justice John.
ReplyDeleteThis is all part of the plan to lower the cost of housing. The County won’t rest until Germantown and Silver Spring are indistinguishable from Bethesda. Yay, equity!
ReplyDelete6:44, the cost of housing won't go down, our subsidies to the low rent seekers will just go up. No problem tho, more taxes will cover it.
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