As long as this group is willing to work and not just "bumbs" I am more then willing to donate to help them....Katrina O. do you know how we can get the things that are needed to them? Should we just go to them and see what they need? I don't have much but I do have a roof over my head and food on my table and can't stand to see good people do without.

In the immediate, food, water, septa tokens and change for the laundromat are needed (they were forced to relocate in the pouring rain yesterday and everything got muddy and soaked). Any blanket or clothing donations would also be good. A porta potty would be absolutely fantastic. I will be heading over tomorrow morning to
help out and see what else is needed... Yesterday morning I brought a box of hot coffee from dunkin donuts and it made everybody really happy :)
Working on a real longer-term solution but for now, making sure that basic needs are met is top priority. Also, talking to neighbors and encouraging understanding and patience is really important. If my house was by the overpass, I would actually be quite appreciative of the encampment's presence as they would definitely not stand for any vandalism or crime (knowing that it would turn people against them). mostly, talk to them! even though the encampment won't be around for long, I am happy to have these people in my neighborhood.

I will head over there this weekend and see what I can do

I disagree. I wake up and go to work for my coins, septa tokens, food and water. If they wanted those items that badly they would do the same. Instead of standing outside of thriftway and wawa, go inside and ask for a job. Tons of places are hiring for the holiday season that will be provide warm shelter during their shift, water and even Better - a PAYCHECK. They are a valuable asset to society - but not when they sit in a tent all day receiving handouts from people who work hard for their income and self-respect.

Well Katrina after doing some research on this group and driving by the area last night, speaking to the surrounding neighbours I have come to find most of these people are just lazy! These aren't people who are down on their luck and TRYING to do better...it turns out they are a mix between lazy slobs looking for a handout and people claiming to be Occupy.....I will not be assisting them in any way

Where did they originally come from and why do they have such nice tents? Where did they relocate from during the rain?

My name is sam, i work & stay w.friends in the area often (more kensington proper). Friends of mine do a food distribution that i'd love to have them show people at the tent city how they do it- so if people who have limited resources & want to get a bunch of food and share it with other people with limited resources they will know how. I plan to swing by there because i have lots of connections all over the city and some of them may be helpful to share with people. They are trying a new thing, and if it works for them better than the shelter system & better than being alone on the street, i support it. & i want to support a healthy relationship with people that live directly nearby. Perhaps working to figure out sanitation stuff will help that?

@Orange Pillow

I'm afraid that you are trying to reduce a very complicated problem (homelessness) down to a simple, trivial matter. Good for you that you go to work every day and receive a paycheck and can afford your own things. Thankfully, I am also able to do that. Thankfully, I have a family who loves me and would never let me sink to the depths that some people sink to. Thankfully, I don't have a serious mental illness that prevents me from living any kind of stable life. I won't make any assumptions about your life and what you've gone through. Maybe you haven't had it easy but found a way to get through. Or maybe you've been really fortunate all along. Either way, every person's situation is UNIQUE, no matter how similar it may seem to yours.

Also, please consider that 1 in 6 homeless persons is a veteran! They served this country, in whatever capacity, and because of things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are unable to truly lead stable, healthy lives. There are many reasons for homelessness. Writing everyone off as lazy is just a convenient way for people to not think about the root causes of these problems!

Mark

If they are homeless, that is unfortunate. That still doesn't make it OK for them to infest our neighborhood with their tents, scare our children and degrade the entire fishtown/port richmond area.

it is only a matter of time before a local from the neighborhood crosses paths with one of these "tent dwellers" and gets into a fight or gets robbed. Is it going to take someone getting killed down there for it to get the proper attention?

i encourage you to listen/read the Adam Corolla interview regarding the occupy phenomena

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/adam-carolla-breaks-down-occupy-movement-fking-self-entitled-monsters/

They are using a tent setup over a inlet as a bathroom. Is this legal?

First, I want to say that you can thank the city for having a lack of shelters and programs for the homeless. The largest mens' shelter, on Ridge Ave. is closing down soon too. In my dealings with people who are homeless, I have found the vast majority to be very nice, pleasant people, but I realize some do have very serious drug and mental health issues. Sure, I can understand your concern. To be fair, I have not been to this site under I95. All I know is the homeless have to have somewhere to go.

Also, I took your suggestion and read about what Adam Carolla had to say about Occupy Wall Street, however I found it to be very out of touch with the reality of what is going on. A couple thoughts:

1. The NUMBER ONE misconception about the people participating in OWS is that everyone is lazy and unemployed. I cannot give you any kind of statistics, but I would bet you that well over 50% of people involved in some way are at least part-time employed. I, for one, have been involved but on a limited basis, as I do have a full-time job. I know many other people participating who are fully employed or working part-time. Also, many are going to school full-time and are concerned about never being able to pay off student loans because of a lack of quality jobs. I have to laugh every time when someone yells out "Get a f**king job" or something equally as ignorant.

2. I realize that there are constant references to the "99% vs. the 1%", but really this is about CORPORATE greed and the influence that corporations and their lobbyists have in our government, to the point where elected officials are not doing what's in the interest of the masses. I'm sure Mr. Carolla is doing quite well for himself. However, as far as I know, he did not become wealthy by dubious means and by exploiting millions of people. Although I'm not a fan, people obviously like him a lot and support what he does, and that has allowed him to make a lot of money. And maybe he does pay his fair share of income tax. On the other hand, we have the banking industry, corporations, Wall Street, etc. You have companies like General Electric and Bank of America who paid ZERO in taxes last year (this has been all over the mainstream media), due to tax loopholes and breaks. You have multinational corporations that exploit workers in this country and around the world, not paying anything close to a living wage, despite making billions of dollars and giving CEOS multi-million dollar bonuses.

3. Occupy Wall Street has NOTHING to do with envy/jealousy. This is not about the lower/middle class wanting to be just like the rich, so we can all drive a Mercedes around town or sip $100 glasses of champagne, or own a million dollar mansion. It is about the fact that families are drowning in debt, struggling to keep food on the table and struggling to keep their homes. Are you telling me you don't know a friend, or a family member, or a neighbor, or anyone who is trying their best but still can't make it, while the executives in the industries that led to the economic downturn are laughing all the way to the bank? This is not about getting something for nothing. I, personally, am not even participating to better my own situation. I'm doing fine - full-time job, good benefits, no debt. It's about justice, plain and simple. Sorry, this is probably more than you wanted to read. I just really disagree with the points that Adam made, and I know that his view of the occupation is unfortunately not uncommon.

Solved months ago.