>>>Can anyone share ideas or experiences on how to overcome this far more treacherous obstacle? I know folks in some neighborhoods like Whittier or Ventura Village would say that neighborhoods like mine need to suck it up and take on some of the load, but I don't think that kind of argument is going to fly very well with NIMBYs or folks leaning that way. What kinds of strategies might there be for either opening NIMBY minds or at least, getting other members of the neighborhood to look past the NIMBY ranting?<<<
What about appealing to human nature and responsibility? If we're approaching it as a "we've got to help each other out and pull together" rather than a "y'all better suck it up" idea, it's much more doable generally. Another approach is exposure, get people to see that homeless people are human and the reality of the issues. One of the things that Mitch Snyder's organization did in DC was to bring a group of elected officials together for a dinner which was served to them. Midway through they explained that all of the food was harvested from what restaurants and stores throw away. The point was twofold: to show the quality of food that was being wasted, and to get officials to ease up on the laws surrounding the discarding of food and the recovery of it by homeless people. After that, the City eased up on the regulations, and restaurants and stores began to separate out usable food and make it accessible. One of the other groups I worked with challenged people to simply spend time, you would be surprised at the stories, history and experience the homeless have. Once I got into working with the homeless, I spent a lot of time talking on the street. We had one guy (he was called Skyking) who was always intoxicated and incoherent, but he could play Bach and Jerry Lee Lewis. Rachmaninoff and Billy Joel. Get people to know the homeless and see them as people, and they'll be less resistant to shelters and other solutions in their neighborhoods. Jonathan Palmer Victory REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
