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Opinion: How can so many politicians representing Phoenix turn a blind eye to ‘The Zone,’ a homeless encampment that’s going to hell in a handbasket?
Arizona politicos are now in and out of Old Station Subs, eager to chat with owners Joe and Debbie Faillace.
“Go buy a sandwich!” Secretary of State Adrian Fontes urged last week after stopping by the downtown Phoenix sandwich shop. “Things are not great nearby, but the restaurant itself was pretty good … give them some love.”
The Faillaces need more than “love.”
And the lament of Sen. Catherine Miranda, who said she also had stopped by the eatery during a recent visit to The Zone, a homeless encampment drawing national attention for its horrific conditions.
A man’s body was recently found burning inside a dumpster in the area, near 11th Avenue and Madison Street, where hundreds of individuals have set up camp in tents and tarps amid all kinds of waste and drug paraphernalia.
Theft, assault, stabbings and other crimes are reportedly all too common.
Business owners have asked for help
It’s the other stuff, too – like the undressing, urinating and defecating on the streets – that have ruined Joe and Debbie Faillace’s life investment.
The couple, who have operated Old Station Subs for decades, are so fed up dealing with the horrendous conditions surrounding their business that they are considering calling it quits but can’t because they won’t get much for the property.
Despite all the sympathetic eyes on them now after a profile in The New York Times, the couple is probably out of luck.
It’s not like the Faillaces sat on their hands and did nothing.
They clamored for help for years, even joining a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix to clean up the area. Not only did those pleas fall on deaf ears, but things have gotten worse for nearby businesses and residents.
Phoenix officials haven’t done enough
How is that possible?
How can Phoenix, a growing and economically vibrant city run by mostly progressives, let this happen?
How can state lawmakers, whose offices are just down the street, be so blind to the plight of businesses and to the desperation of our fellow human beings living amid their own waste?
It’s beyond comprehension to see how local leaders have so casually ignored the degradation of humanity while fighting each other politically or hiding behind legalities and the bureaucracy of government.
Yes, the city is setting aside roughly $140 million to deal with homelessness, which has grown by 23% in the last two years and ranks among the worst in the nation.
Yet a lot of that money is buried in red tape and long-term “solutions,” such as building 800 new shelter or transitional beds and 125 new affordable housing units by next year.
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“We haven’t made a dent,’’ Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari said about the crisis. Ansari expressed her frustration during a council meeting over failed proposals to help mobile home residents from becoming homeless.
Phoenix city leaders have a lot to answer for over the conditions of The Zone. Instead of tackling them head-on, they appear to be caught between advocates who don’t want the unhoused to be policed at all and those who want them gone by any means.
Dueling bills won’t offer immediate relief
Republican lawmakers are pushing Senate Bill 1413, which would require cities and towns to dismantle encampments such as The Zone and charge the unhoused with trespassing if they go on private property like Old Station Subs.
Democrats oppose the bill because that would be cruel, which it is.
Instead, they’re pushing SB 1585, sponsored by Sen. Miranda. Her bill would allocate $155 million for programs and services to prevent people from ending up on the streets. Most Republicans rejected it, but five of them joined the Democrats, enough to advance the bill.
It’s a worthy effort but won’t immediately deal with the rapid deterioration of life within The Zone.
Joe and Debbie Faillace can’t wait months – or years – for help. Neither do homeless people desperate for a hand of any kind.
There’s nothing compassionate about letting these poor souls fend for themselves. Everyone must understand that.
Unsheltered people and their advocates complained that Phoenix Police destroyed their property, one of the charges that’s now the subject of an ongoing Justice Department investigation.
Police ‘The Zone,’ but don’t stop there
Phoenix leaders responded by leaving those living in The Zone alone, other than ordering a cleanup last December.
That doesn’t cut it.
People in The Zone can’t be allowed to do whatever they want. Urinating and defecating in front of businesses is intolerable. As are open drug sales, thefts, vandalism and physical fights.
Phoenix Police must begin enforcing the law again.
And more urgently, state and local leaders must convene an emergency summit to deal with The Zone because this isn’t just a Phoenix problem.
Unsheltered people come from across the Valley. Mayors, city council members and state lawmakers representing metro Phoenix can’t simply wash their hands of them. They need to act.
This is an opinion of The Arizona Republic’s editorial board.
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