Used needles left on baby changing table in Sacramento park

[Kamaji]

Used needles left on baby changing table in Sacramento park as city battles ballooning homeless population

By Ronny Reyes
July 18, 2023

Used needles and other drug paraphernalia were found littered on a baby’s changing table at a public park in Sacramento — sparking furor among residents over the city’s growing homeless encampment.

Amy Gardner, a local community advocate, says Stanford Park has grown dangerous to the point where residents have to clean the park’s three public bathrooms themselves to keep needles away from children.

“To think a little kid who might not know could pick up that needle and stab themselves inadvertently, that’s very frightening,” Gardner told CBS 13 about the latest incident Monday.

With the more than 100 homeless people currently living in the park, neighbors have called on their city to do more as officials say they cannot force the homeless to leave.

Gardner said the city’s inaction has led to her keeping a container in her car solely to pick up the needles littered not only in the bathrooms, but throughout the park where children play.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/18/sacramento-covered-in-used-needles-as-homeless-population-grows/

[Smokin Joe]

Maybe need one of these, but it might just get the ones stuck in the grass to point up...
Magnet sweeper:

[PeteS in CA]

Leland Stanford Park is in an older, less than fancy, part of Sacto. It's also less than a mile's walk from the shore of the American River, with the very large Sutter' Landing park in between. So the trails and trees along the river are bum-heaven (one can see the encampments along the river using GoogMaps' satellite View!) and the bums are using/infesting the restrooms in Leland Stanford Park.

The chances the City of Sacramento will do anything meaningful are probably approximately zero.

[mountaineer]

officials say they cannot force the homeless to leave.

[PeteS in CA]

Cities in the 9th Circuit are hamstrung by the moronic Martin vs. Boise decision, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_v._Boise . It makes the process of kicking out bums very difficult and messy. Basically Sacto could only clean the bums out of the park if they move them into suitable housing.

[GtHawk]

Cities in the 9th Circuit are hamstrung by the moronic Martin vs. Boise decision, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_v._Boise . It makes the process of kicking out bums very difficult and messy. Basically Sacto could only clean the bums out of the park if they move them into suitable housing.

I am so fed up with this crap that unfortunately...or not when I read 'suitable housing' my brain supplied an image

[PeteS in CA]

The image may be humorous,

,

But Martin vs. Boise is a significant part of the context in which 9th Circuit cities have to work in dealing with the Sacred Homeless. Of course, there are some cities whose gooberments do not perceive the decision as a problem.