Homelessness is a horrible issue that I don’t wish on anyone. But there are two types of homeless people. The first type are the good people, down on their luck who need temporary assistance until they can get back on their feet, and they faithfully follows the housing authority’s rules, meeting all requirements. The other type is the drug-addicted or mentally unstable homeless who spend most of their days “defecating and masturbating” in the front yard of the housing project they’re assigned to. Both types are put into homeless shelters and those shelters are being disbursed into neighborhoods such as yours whether you like it or not. The big question is what type of homeless will become your neighbors? You can imagine what a neighbor that spends his day defecating and masturbating next to your azalea bed can do to your property values. So homeowners such as the ones in Oak Cliff, a suburb in Dallas, Texas are trying to ban together to stop the shelter going into the Fort Worth Avenue and Hampton Road, which is an area slated for revitalization. That revitalization project could come to a crashing halt if it became a magnet for vagrants. Of course, the homeowners and businesses in that area are being labeled homeless-haters and every other form of evil when all they’re trying to do is protect their neighborhoods from crime and vagrants. Because the government supplies housing to both types, the suburb of Oak Cliff doesn’t know which type of homeless shelter they’re getting, the down on their luck type that have met the requirements, or the other type.
Looks like the only thing Oak Cliff homeowners in that area can do to protect their property values is to sell and run!!! It’s a shame, because there are some pretty neighborhoods in that area like Kessler Park, and that area is right on the precipice of being either revitalized into a fun place to live, eat and shop, or it could become a great place to burglarize, vandalize and loiter in. A lot of businesses and builders are waiting on the sidelines to see which way it’s heading. I know that area very well. A few years ago, I even owned property in that area (unknowingly dodged that bullet). It’s a great area and could be incredible if it could attract new businesses. It could even rival The Bishop Arts district, a few miles away, as a fun place to shop and hang out. However, that could soon change.
Important tip: Want to be sure this never happens to you, then try to buy a house near a city councilman, like Dave Neumann. I guarantee he wouldn’t let them move a shelter into his neighborhood.