Blake Smith
As the only source of homeless services in town, the folks who volunteer/work here definitely have their hands full. Sure - there's occasional drug use going on, but that's what some people need in order to get through the day. Life is hard when you have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. I see people complaining about drug use in public spaces, which I can understand the problem people might have with it, especially if they have children. At the end of the day though...this is what y'all wanted, right? When you voted to take away the only place a homeless person can call home? That's what you did when you banned camping in city limits - which is why you're now seeing all the drug use in public. Before - they would go to their campsites and use there. They no longer have that option. They have no options, other than using in public. An addiction doesn't care where you are or what you're doing. Biddeford needs to build an ACTUAL homeless shelter, instead of just converting a soup kitchen into a night shelter every night. For one - the current shelter has a very limited capacity. I believe it's 55-60 people at the maximum. But there's more than 100 homeless people in town. After they fill up - people are turned away and have to figure their own sleeping arrangements, which usually winds up with them sleeping outdoors. I was in that exact situation a couple months back - shelter full, and nowhere to go. So, I slept on a bench outdoors - in the rain, in the snow...at least I was able to find a place outside where I could stay mostly dry and still be visible to the public. Cause the last thing a homeless person wants to do around here is be alone and out of sight. That's how you wind up getting jumped by high school kids with a chip on their shoulder, who are looking for someone to take their aggression out on.
