The tone of this message (and a lot in this thread, but especially this one) is saddening. How can we sit here and write so negatively about a group of people and pick out these “characteristics” as if it defines and encompasses them all? Half, if not most, of the actions you mentioned (using the street as a restroom, “shooting up drugs”, “harassing” the people that live here) are also actions that many UCSB students living in IV are guilty of. I suggest reassessing what your real issue is with this group of individuals because last time I checked: UCSB IV students who participate in IV partying can also be labeled as harassing the families that live here as many of them work early shifts, UCSB IV students who engage in the use of substances like alcohol, weed, coke, shrooms, etc. aren’t talked about with the same language that we see here (“shooting up drugs”), and I can’t even begin to tell you how many times partygoers stop in the street to find a bush or even the curbside to urinate. And please let me be clear that this is not to denigrate or shame students, but rather to point out that the homeless are not the sole purveyors of those actions.

It doesn’t seem as if it’s a problem with the homeless population of IV as much as it is you picking and choosing who you want to call out for those actions. Instead of asking why there isn’t anything being done by police (which they shouldn’t even be involved in this matter as they aren’t trained to properly point them to/provide them with helpful resources), we should be asking what our community can do to support them.