Ian recently wrote us:
My wife and I were walking home from the Rusty Pelican last night around 8:30. Some homeless guy was walking behind us getting closer and closer and he started shouting obscene comments to my wife. After 20 seconds she stopped (she’s from DC so has a shorter fuse than me). I told the guy that I didn’t appreciate him talking to my wife in this manner and that I would appreciate it if he stopped (or words to that affect). He then started to scream insults at me and got within 8 inches of my face. I didn’t back down but I managed to keep my temper and not deck the guy (he probably is mentally ill after all and who wants to be that guy). After a few more insults and colorful tales about how his service in the Marines and how it made my life possible (an odd choice as I am a English immigrant who arrived in the early 90s) he moved off to the alley behind Bartell’s.
A disturbing scene for tranquil Wallingford. Without intending unkindness to those in undesirable circumstances (as Ian notes, many are suffering from mental illness), we worry that we’ve seen an uptick in the number of chronically homeless around the neighborhood in recent months. Have others had similar experiences to Ian’s?
Is this part of an overall trend in Seattle, or something specific to Wallingford?
just head over to myballard.com and see the maelstrom of ‘unpleasantness’ that seeps into many of the story and forum comments. i’m not saying it is good or bad, just saying it isn’t limited to wallingford.
I think this is Seattle-wide, too. I’ve been seeing more just out walking around, and it makes me wonder if it’s an early reflection of cutbacks to social and health services. Might be people slipping through the net, who used to have someone checking to make sure they were taking their medication, and so on. Either way, it can escalate from the “unpleasant” in a hurry.
I don’t live too far from there, and haven’t experienced anything like this. I wouldn’t ever engage in conversation with a homeless person who was belligerent though, for fear of an experience like this.
The liquor store on 45th (now closed) used to attract a lot. Maybe they are now forced into other areas like where you were.
Also, the Saturday Kitchen just closed it’s doors as well (which was in the U-District) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008942281_soupkitchen29m.html Perhaps this has some of the homeless upset.
Just my 2 cents.
I haven’t run into any situations like that, really. The guys at Meridian Park come and go and I’ve always had civil exchanges with them, even the ones that look toasted. Probably helps that I’m an older guy walking his dog.
it is sad that some mentally ill folks aren’t getting the help they need, with all of the cut-backs, and especially with that one “soup kitchen” closure. Are there any soup kitchens in the Wallingford area that need our support?? A couple of bucks could be generated through a note here.
I’m sorry Ian had such an exchange right in the center of our fair community. I do believe it is a rarity, and hope it stays a chance encounter.
I haven’t had any direct unpleasant contact, but we do have a regular band of vagrants and the mentally ill who enjoy themselves in front of our house. The I-5 50th exit crew. It is always interesting to see how many empty XL cans of “STEEL RESERVE” I find in my yard waste container and front yard. We have only been here for a few months, so no idea if it is on the rise. I wish that there were a way to help, but from the occasional chat with a few of them, it seems apparent that many of them don’t want real help, they only want a few bucks for their next can for my yard waste. I wish they had a voice on these forums, because without that, it is all just a guessing game. How about taking the Wallyhood interviews to the alleyways? 🙂
Short fella? Dark hair? That one’s a regular right around there; until a couple months ago I lived at 46th/Burke and this piece of debris loved to hassle couples and women walking alone. I keep hoping to hear he’s fallen in front of a bus; not only is a fetid little drunk, he spits at people.
There are more mentally-ill people walking around these days. They hang out by the food bank (though several of them have been 86ed from there, and the social services agency upstairs doesn’t serve single men, crazy or otherwise). I don’t why the increase; cuts in services haven’t really hit yet (oh boy, get ready).
Note that it only takes one crazy yelling guy to seem like a hundred of them. Most of the homeless guys walking the neighborhood are down and out but not yelling or crazy. And, of course, most homeless people are not single alcoholic men — they’re families. But they’re invisible.
The liquor store didn’t have anything to do with it; a couple of homeless guys hung out outside to bum change but they don’t buy their booze in there; they buy it from convenience stores. The liquor store was a good neighbor, with 99.9% ordinary non-crazy, non-homeless people as customers.
I’ll second that the “I-5/50th crew” are getting ridiculous. Lately I’ve seen them meandering westbound along 50th more than usual. On Friday one of the dudes was passed out on someone’s retaining wall – at 1:00 in the afternoon.
I haven’t experience this in the wallyhood, and I am sure the guy is probably a little cray cray because, being homeless is crazy making. but – this kind of behavior is not acceptable.
I would cross the street once
if he followed me, I would tell him to back off, if he did not oblige, then the citronella spray comes out, or the pepper spray if need be. then I would run.
this has served me well in this situation in the past
because really – any thing short of that is sending the message that that sort of behavior is without consequence. Just because he is a down and out person and you are not does not mean it is okay for him to scream and yell and possibly spit on you.
what is the saying?
oh. hell. no.
and it breaks my heart that it has come to this, because when i was a kid, my grandma fed guys who came to the door and let them sleep on the porch – but that was long ago (mid 70s and far away (rural Texas).
Yes, I saw the dude on the retaining wall. Very disappointing. I was walking past with my little 1yo to go to the market. They have quite a crowd going down at the ramp and we have a steady stream at 50th and 1st.
Concerning the I-5 crew, you realize they regularly head west to the 7-11 to pick up booze? And I’m sure the construction at both intersections might be contributing to their “meandering.” (I’ve never seen them deep in private property, for what it’s worth.) If you see them doing something suspicious or a little bit crazy on private property, feel free to call the non-emergency police line. I’m sure your neighbors will appreciate it.
As for the general “unpleasantness,” I’ve only experienced it once in Wallingford, and it was creepy, not aggressive. I feel like I see it more downtown.
The I-5 crew (at least some of them) used to live in the woods at the NW corner of NE 50th & 7th Ave NE. Several months back (maybe more) I saw city or state crews removing huge amounts of furniture, etc from the woods there which wasn’t really visible from 50th. That, with the construction there, likely has them on the move.
I still think the problem is far less in Wallingford than other areas like downtown or Capitol Hill.
I experience more “unpleasantness” on a daily basis from the non-homeless driving in traffic, etc.
Actually, there was an uptick in public drunkeness in Wallingford with the institution of the the U-District alcohol impact area, limiting the sale of low cost high alcohol drinks just to the east of Wallingford.
It happened a couple of years ago, but I remember it had an immediate effect. The guys who normally drank in the U-District started buying their beer at the 50th St Market. I remember because the first place they started to park it to enjoy their purchases was our detached garage. They seemed pretty satisfied with that arrangement, but after they smashed it all up one night, we resolved to buy a door for the garage, and they started drinking elsewhere.
My first guess was going to be related to the alcohol impact areas. This is the exact situation that was predicted when they implemented the first one in Pioneer Square. It only limits public drunkenness in that area, but the population of drinkers is just going to move on to the next neighborhood. Pioneer Square -> Capitol Hill -> University District. Wallingford was the next logical stop.
The mayor/council sent the drunks from the U-District to us – thanks, guys. Didn’t solve the problem. The alcohol impact area is a classic band-aid of spineless government.
The I-5 crew is much bigger now. There are always 2-3, and they’re drunker than in the past (I see them bothering women in cars who have their windows rolled up – they used to just sit and smile.)
There are multiple beggars outside QFC now, waiting for their turns, and at least 2 sitting at the “breakfast bar” every cold night. The folks actually paying for food can’t/won’t use that area any more.
Time to remove the breakfast bar or hire security, QFC. Passed out drunks don’t entice shoppers. Compassion requires common sense.
I know the guy you are talking about. I spoke with him in front of the QFC. He is actually quite funny. He told me a few jokes and walked with me from my car to the shopping carts. He just wanted to talk to someone. I think people who are homeless act exactly as I would if I were in a crap situation. You can deescalate any situation by keeping your voice calm and responding in such a way that expresses your concern for them. For example, “It seems that you are really angry with me right now, but I don’t feel that I have done anything to hurt you. Are you upset for another reason?” Most likely they are, and this takes the emphasis off you. It shows the person that you are treating them with kindness and respect, and most often they recognize this. Remember, when we get frustrated at the world, we can climb into our car and shout at the steering wheel, or go home and scream into our pillow…but when you’re homeless, your frustration is out there for everyone to see. And they have every right to be.
P.S. I’m a female and feel very safe in Wallingford.
I’ve seen a crazy homeless man on Thackeray a few times, ranting and yelling and cursing at the top of his voice, even with no one within two blocks. It creeped me out.
But like Fnarf said, it only took one crazy yelling guy to make it seem like there were a hundred of them.
I love my little neighborhood, but the tone of these comments (a homogenized homeless “crew” with trackable changes of intent and craziness) is so Wallingford…in the bad way.
Obviously when a man’s untreated and poverty exacerbated mental illness “creeps out” our ladyfolk, something has to be done!
Sara, I don’t think you have any basis for suggesting the jokey guy you met and the one who confronted me and my wife are one and the same.
Even *if* he was unless you were in my place in this specific situation I don’t think you can really suggest better courses of action. I am no expert here – in fact I have never had a run in with a homeless person before in my life.
I don’t think Lisa (above) was saying this about my situation but this was not a case of ‘creep[ing] out’ our womenfolk. This was a guy screaming at me within 12″ from my face who had been reaching inside his coat for something moments before. Hard to convey the exact situation in writing – which is kind of the point I’m making above.
The short guy mentioned above actually stood next to my wife while this guy was going off to protect her. After the fact he told me he had my back. He obviously felt some concern for our safety which I thought was pretty touching.
I did not intend this post to be a lightening rod for anti homeless sentiment, they have enough problems to be dealing with – I was just sharing an experience with the community. This experience didn’t even ruin my otherwise very nice evening.
I also feel very safe living in Wallingford – if I didn’t I would leave. This is probably the safest place I’ve lived in my adult life in the US or in Europe.