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PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   3649 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 21, 2024

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So, when it comes to ways to meet new people and get experience "talking to strangers," I've more than once been pointed to bars as a place for striking up conversations with people you don't know. And yet, I've been to the local bar a few times (despite my very limited budget and medical reasons for not drinking), and not once in the hours I've spent there have I seen anyone strike up a conversation with anyone else. Just a bunch of older men sitting alone, drinking and watching sports.

The same is true with the "bar" portion of the local restaurants that serve alcohol and have "bar seating." For that matter, I don't think I've seen a conversation start in a restaurant that wasn't among a pre-existing group.

So, is this just me? Just a product of the sort of places I frequent (for certain not-terribly-frequent values of "frequent") given my poverty? A product of Anchorage, Alaska being a particularly antisocial place? Or was the advice not all that great? Are there some better places?

What kind of bar are you going to? There's dive bars, there's honky-tonks, there's proper nightclubs, there's sports bars, etc. All of these have very different expectations around talking to strangers.

I used to go strike up conversations with strangers at waffle house in my time among the underclass. Maybe Fort Worth is more social than Anchorage in general, but I'm guessing there's a place you can go to talk go strangers, even if they're likely not the best strangers.

What kind of bar are you going to? There's dive bars, there's honky-tonks, there's proper nightclubs, there's sports bars, etc.

Small "Irish" sports bar — the only one in my neighborhood. This part of Anchorage is pretty run down, and the homeless have become a lot more frequent. It must be at least five years now since the Denny's (which had been open since before I was born) closed down due to the costs of crime (vandalism, dine-and-dash, B&E, etc).

Homeless, in Anchorage? Do they migrate south for the winter or just thaw out every summer?

Homeless, in Anchorage?

Yes, indeed. About 3100:

Alaska’s biggest city has an estimated 3,150 homeless individuals and enough room in shelters for all but about 775 people, Johnson said. The city recently brought four more housing facilities, which could create space for another 310 people, but is still seeking winter housing for an estimated 400 to 450 people.

By renting hotel rooms, Johnson hopes to limit the capacity of a mass winter homeless shelter to no more than 150 people — one of the Assembly’s stipulations when releasing the emergency funds. The city wants to use a recently vacated administration building as a makeshift low-barrier shelter, Johnson said.

…

Anchorage, population 300,000, has 40% of the state’s population but 65% of Alaska’s homeless population, Bronson said, adding that the city has spent $161 million on the homeless crisis since 2020.

And with a new, left-wing mayor, we can expect a lot more shelter expansion.

Do they migrate south for the winter

Maybe a few, but not many. Our previous mayor made some comments about offering them airfare, but, as the link above describes, that never went anywhere.

or just thaw out every summer?

And yes, some do end up freezing to death over the winter. Per the link:

Anchorage last winter had a record 24 deaths outdoors among the homeless population, with 11 fatalities occurring in the winter months between October 2022 and April 2023, said Alexis Johnson, the city’s homeless director. The city began keeping records in 2017.

And from the New York Times last November:

One woman died when fire consumed her makeshift shelter in the woods. A man was found dead in the doorway of a downtown gift shop. Another was discovered inside his tent. A running tally of homeless deaths kept by the city’s largest newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News, is now up to 49 — more than double last year’s toll.

“It is fairly depressing, just unimaginable, the number of deaths we have been having,” said Felix Rivera, a member of the Anchorage Assembly who leads the Housing and Homelessness Committee.

The harsh winters in Alaska have long brought dangers for those sleeping outside. But this year, those conditions have joined a confluence of other factors contributing to a dire situation: a housing crisis, the spread of fentanyl and a dearth of shelter beds after the city shuttered a large shelter in a city arena six months ago.

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