It's impossible to ignore the homeless people in Key West. In Detroit I had immunized myself. I ignored the panhandlers except for one favorite, Marie. Otherwise, I just kept walking as if he/she didn't exist. I certainly don't want you to think I wasn't compassionate. It was a survival thing. If one was identified as an easy mark...well, it just got more difficult. In Key West, because it's a small island, the number of homeless (mostly men, but women, too) seem to be a high percentage of the people here. Added to that is the fact that a lot of folks live in their cars down here. As I walked along Smathers the other day I saw a half dozen people living in their cars. One guy who's there daily, puts up clothing around the windows of his old Honda Accord so the sun doesn't get in too early. Friday's Key West Citizen had a lengthy article about the "underground society" of folks who sleep in the mosquito infested mangrove swamps and under bridges. The story involved the city's mayor going on a tour with an officer to view the makeshift camps that pop up - particularly during the winter months. I've met a few fellows who are homeless on my morning walks. This one guy is known as Blue. Someone who knows him better than I do said he went to the University of Iowa. He paints coconuts and sells them for $15 per. Christmas Eve was nice down here. I remember because I swam in the ocean that day. Well that meant a lot of tourists were at the beach. My friend asked Blue if he was painting that day. Blue said, "Hell no. It's Christmas Eve. I don't work on Christmas Eve." Another guy I know runs a food wagon at the beach. Blue and others try to hang out near the wagon because of the traffic and the opportunities to panhandle. The problem for Dave, who has been very generous to Blue, is that people steer away from the wagon when Blue is there. He can be profane if he's drinking and scary looking either way. My friend estimated 20 or so homeless folks died in 2010 and sure enough, the Citizen reported 19. The deaths were mostly attributable to health problems that were ignored and, of course, substance abuse. The article concluded with an admission by the police officer and the mayor that there are no easy solutions to the problem.
I never even thought about there being so many homeless down there. Makes sense, though, it would be warm as well as beautiful. Did they become homeless after living there awhile, or did those homeless with cars simply keep driving until they reached the very end of the United States and couldn't go any further? Not being facetious, it just seems so far away to end up all the way to the very end of Florida with no money. You wonder how they got there in the first place. And it wouldn't be much of an escape to paradise if you're trapped out in the open and there's so many mosquitos. Sad situation.
ReplyDeleteFor the Conchs (and people who feel like they're not homeless) it's a really bad situation. For snowbirds (like me) and tourists it's a fleeting problem. They'll leave in a few days. In the meantime it seems like a problem for how homeless people in paradise coexist with others - some who are very affluent.
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