closed #202676
Other
E Kirkwood Ave
- Case Date:
- 5/14/2025
I am a 30-plus-year resident of Bloomington. Ten years ago, my wife and I decided to move out to the County because of the rising crime and homeless people issues in the City. We have tried on many occasions to bring our family downtown for dinner, ice cream, etc. Every time we do, we encounter issues with homeless people. Last night (Tuesday, May 13th), we tried once again to enjoy the downtown area of our City. I arrived downtown first and had arranged to meet my family at Dave's Hot Chicken. As I was waiting outside, a homeless man stumbled out of the restaurant carrying food that someone had bought for him. This man was so intoxicated that he dropped his food on the ground and dropped a bag of other items he had. An innocent college-age girl tried to help him pick up the dropped items, and the man barked at her. She quickly moved away. The man then sat down at an outdoor table, took a bite of the chicken, and threw it on the ground. He then picked it up and began eating it again. I went in the restaurant and told the manager about this incident and said I had planned on meeting my family there for dinner, but have now changed our mind about eating there. I went across the street and stood in front of the library to wait for my family. Instantly, another homeless man approached me and asked for money> I told him in a stern voice to keep walking, when he began to harass me about not giving him money. This time my voice was in a demanding voice that he walk away, in which he did. After that guy walked away, another homeless man walked past me, talking to himself loudly, saying he had invented a carbon fiber rocket ship that Putin was going to pay for, and it would not cost the US any money. When he saw that I was not paying attention to him, he stopped and yelled towards me about his invention. I again in a demanding voice that he keep walking, which he did. My family had arrived and as we were talking about where to have dinner at, another homeless man had walked into Dave's Hot Chicken. While he was in there, the original homeless man who was intoxicated at Daves, attempted to steal the other homeless guys blankets and items. This caused both homeless men to get into an argument. We (my family decided to go to Ellettsville for dinner, far away from downtown. This is an absolute disgrace to our City when a family can not enjoy an evening in our downtown area. Bloomington needs to be more like Martinsville's downtown area. There are several varieties of restaurants and shops downtown in Martinsville. NO HOMELESS PEOPLE, and it's clean and inviting. Downtown Bloomington is a disgrace.