Arlington residents say squatters have them living in fear

 @TreeTopFlyer which is what we are doing. Plus all of us have turned on our porch lights and watch the house and woods that they are squatting in closely. We've rallied and while the police have told us it's dangerous and risky to take matters into our own hands by scaring them off, I say "at least we are getting off our butts and doing something about it!!!"

We can thank Reagan for a lot of that when he kicked the assylum doors open. Most of these people just need a little mental help and a chance at a job. Once your on the streets its virtually impossible to become a productive member of society again. They're not all criminals. A lot of them are just people that have lost their jobs and fallen on hard times. Would be nice if there were actually as many christians as there claims to be. Just give them supplies to help them out a little. They'll treat you fairly if you do for the most part. @Funky-Munky

 @Funky-Munky        " I realize they have to squat somewhere...."    Do they?  How about "squatting" in one of the innumerable bum shelters, where they won't be allowed to use illegal drugs and alcohol quite so flagrantly as they do in these encampments and where neighborhood children, residents and properties are not placed at imminent risk of harm?  

 

Suggesting that this "squatting" is their only alternative has the effect of legitimizing this behavior.  They are doing this only because they can, and they choose this option because the rules at the shelters put a damper on their "fun".    If this sort of behavior is met with an immediate, aggressive response from the police and community, then it will cease to become a viable option for them.....something that any affected property owner will sincerely appreciate. 

@KOMO_Sapiens - Have no doubts that you're more correct than you know.  If people would do their own research independent of Fox news and the media rhetoric spoon fed daily, they might refrain from launching personal attacks at people who are expressing an opinion about a candidate. 

 

I didn't see you insulting anyone, therefore it is embarrassing as a fellow human to see that others felt the need to sink to ad hominem remarks.   Shame on their glaring immaturity.

 

 @KOMO_Sapiens Obama created this problem ,why are you blaming someone not even elected ? 

Komo-sapiens, you have got to be kidding!  Thanks for proving your ignorance today.

 

 @KOMO_Sapiens Have a direct line to the Crazy, do you?

 

You haven't heard yet but I have it on good authority that Romney sold his sould to the devil and will help the devil steal everyone's soul. All of his many successes are because of this unholy help. Also, Romney doesn't separate out the plastic covered cardboard from the rest when recycling--which proves he is in league with the devil.

 

Trust me, all of that is true. Really.

@KOMO_Sapiens more factless based rhetoric..keep trying.

 @Theonedog Good idea! I'm going to make sure that my 11 year old goes out with the 12 guage so they can protect themselves if any of the squatters try and attack them...

Hey theo, how about you head up to Arlington and show them how it's done, big guy!  Apparently, you've never encountered the survivalist mentality, but often, homeless people, especially those who are drug addicted, will set traps around their confines, would just as soon shank you as look at you, and are not afraid to break into your home at will.  The residents have every right to question the response of law enforcement to this problem.

@Windowseat Remember the housing boom from the mid part of the last decade? Homes were scarce and property values skyrocketed. Well homeless plots are getting scarce too so properties are also skyrocketing. Many homeless people are now picking up second plots as vacation estates. 

For a good homeless property, 7 year ARMs are becoming attractive financing methods.

New masterplanned homeless communities are springing up with HLA's (homeless associations) and all of the ammenities; heck I have even heard of a retirement community near Redmond Ridge for homeless seniors. I just hope the developers of these homeless communities learned from past mistakes of the mid 2000's. Gone are the days of bums simply setting up shop on sidewalks in downtown Seattle

 @Blindman we actually haven't whined about it at all. It was the news that made it a big deal. 

 @Blindman by your own admission, you are part of the problem.  Just like a ferral cat, if you keep putting food out for it, the cat will keep coming back, same with the houseless.  It has no reason to move on. 

 @Waif YA! Like some sort of concentration camp! Good idea. 

 @Meghan Villareal thank you Meghan! I live 2 houses up and we haven't overreacted either! Yes, we started keeping our porch lights on at night, but that's it. I think this is a case where the media is making a bigger deal out of it then we are. People need to remember that the news in bias and sensationalized. 

 @fyrefawx Thank you! You don't have to do a whole lot of research to discover that most Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck or what's even scarier is the very real fact that for many it's actually from unemployment check to unemployment check. Some of the remarks I read above were just outrageous and clearly show that they have never found themselves trapped between a rock and a hard place with nobody to turn to for help and no idea what to do next...??

 

I'm very lucky to have some of the most amazing landlords in the world because that could very well be me if it wasn't for their compassion and understanding. I've been a Union Ironworker for 33 years now and moved to Las Vegas when the work was booming and it was called the fastest growing city in America - but in 2009 it went from "BOOMTOWN" to "GHOST TOWN" almost overnight!! For quite a while, you COULD NOT RENT a U-Haul van one way out of town here at all... There are entire neighborhoods here that are completely unoccupied that now are stripped of the copper and appliances and can't be sold at all...

 

I was one of the people living off my unemployment and what my wife made as a technician at a pharmacy. Luckily I'm back to work now but I can't be sure for how long and that, to me, is VERY SCARY! Before 2009, the only time I was off work was when I chose to be between construction projects and thought that would NEVER happen to me because my phone used to ring off the hook with job offers. 

 

And I can say without a doubt that a whole lot more of Americans than we care to admit are "DRUGGIES" - just because a person has a prescription for a medicine doesn't mean that they use it responsibly, don't abuse it or even take it themselves at all... Like I said, my wife works in a pharmacy and has assisted law enforcement arrest obvious known abusers of the system and some of the people who she deals with regularly that have a real problem - you would never expect to be "Rx DRUGGIES"!!

 

Judge not lest ye be judged... Didn't someone write that somewhere...??

 @fyrefawx We see a few homeless folks up here in the sticks too, but for us, it seems like they're mostly teens and young adults. I see one often that is probably 17-20 yrs old, carries his belongings in a Rubbermaid garbage can, and walks around with an old hound dog. Pretty sure he's couch surfing and camping. There are some very marginal places being called houses around here too - lots of camper trailers with tarps over them and whatnot. Many of the people living in these are elderly, or have crammed several generations into them. I do realize there is a percentage of homeless that are substance abusers and are scary, but like you say, that could be me if a few paychecks were missed.  The ones in this article seem a bit more scary - the mention of disturbing dolls and legal books made me picture the Manson Family immediately.

I'm pretty sure nobody is making assumptions about whether or not these certain homeless people are druggies when they find drug paraphenalia where they are camped out...