09/16/2026
I am writing as a business owner and resident of South Grand. I love this community. I have lived here since i was a child. I came back as an adult in intentionally dedicated to this community. There is a fundamental lack of support here, no access to social workers no matter how much we rally, communicate, there is no social care support, mental health support. The truth is the people on our streets are in serious need, mental health support, drug addiction support, housing support and targeted care by someone who is trained to help them. Our calls for help go unanswered and deflected. We are not equipped or properly trained to provide the care they need.
Unfortunately as a small business owner my attention is pulled in many directions and I failed to review the letter prior to it going out. I did not do my duty to read the letter that was signed and distributed. I take responsibility for my oversight and inaction. Regardless that I didn’t write the letter or read the letter, I take responsibility for not stopping it from going out. The intention was to seek help within our community since no one is willing or seemingly able to help us from the city. No human should be denied basic human needs. Period. There is no excuse for that.
This letter never should have been allowed to be written. That is where I failed the community. There should never be a reason to not provide water, food or basic human needs to another human. I accept my responsibility for allowing this to happen.
I am overwhelmed, distressed and exhausted from the lack of support from this city. We have anguished to no avail to get the city to provide mental heath services and social work services to our streets. We have daily called for help as drug overdoses and drug induced violent attacks on our streets with absolutely no response, no help and when we do finally get them out, there is a surface response that is clear that their hands are tied to provide any help.
We are not equipped to know how to deal with these situations and it is getting worse with the drug houses.
I was personally called by neighboring businesses when a man with a machete was threatening people on the street. I called the police and I worked to talk him down and calmed him as i had been working to establish a relationship with him prior. He suddenly got more angry and the violence escalated.
There was no response
There was no action
We were left to fend for ourselves
Our neighboring businesses tried to talk someone down who walked into their business with a baseball bat.
The employee was struck with a baseball bat and seriously hurt.
The police were called and he was caught.
The court release the violent offender with no consequences back to the street.
When we called 911 they said they couldn’t help and that we should get a baseball bat to defend ourselves. That is not a solution. That is living in fear.
I believe deeply in taking care of people. It’s why I’m in the hospitality business.
It’s the only reason.
I build relationships with the people in our neighborhood. I know many of our unhoused neighbors. We give food when we can. Water. Money for the bus. Whatever might help someone get somewhere safe, find shelter, or simply make it through another night.
And I don’t want the things that have happened recently to change that part of me. But I also need to talk about what has been happening.
In the last two weeks, a woman who appeared to be under the influence came into our business carrying a large stick and demanding money. We don’t keep cash on hand, and we were closed and didn’t have food available. My employees were scared enough that they gave her their own money because they were trying to keep themselves safe.
This week, the same woman came back. She walked in screaming at everyone. After we got her outside, she followed members of my team toward their cars, still screaming at them.
A man walked into our business and told us he was going to kill us. He looked people in the eyes and told them he was going to kill them and that they needed to watch their backs.
The police were called. He refused services, and there was little they could do. I still see him regularly. As far as I know, he still has not received meaningful help.
And then there was a woman in the street who appeared to be coming down from a high or possibly overdosing. We brought her ice water. We got her out of the street so she wouldn’t be hit by a car. We called for help.
An ambulance came. Police came. She refused services. And everyone left. She was still there.
I am not sharing any of this because I want these people arrested, punished, or pushed somewhere else. I’m sharing it because I genuinely do not know what we are supposed to do anymore.
These are human beings. They deserve compassion. They deserve dignity. They deserve care.
And my employees are human beings, too.
They deserve to come to work without being afraid that someone will hurt them. They deserve to walk to their cars without being followed. They deserve to hear a death threat and believe that someone, somewhere, has the ability to intervene before something terrible happens.
I don’t want to become hardened. I don’t want fear to replace empathy. I don’t want our answer to people in crisis to simply be moving them along until they become someone else’s problem.
I want us to help them.
Actually help them.
Because replacing another window is easy.
Waiting until someone gets seriously hurt because a person in crisis could not or would not accept help is something I don’t think any of us should be willing to accept.
There has to be something between doing nothing and waiting for tragedy.
We need help. They need help. And we have to find a better way to take care of all of us.
