<p>I was told once by my friends about this story but then I just read one thread from CC. Is it true though? What other aspects overcome the environment like this? Why is it a city of poor people I don't understand.</p>
<p>because all the hipsters protest whenever anything good starts to happen.</p>
<p>There are homeless people all over the place. The area immediately surrounding campus has tons of homeless people in it. Berkeley was ravaged by drugs in the 60’s-80’s, plus is a major hub for vietnam veterans, hence the large homeless population. </p>
<p>Campus itself isn’t that safe. I don’t know if there are attacks, but you can’t have a quick release anything on your bike, for example.</p>
<p>The homeless are everywhere ,along the coast in beautiful areas like Santa Barbara ,SF .In Santa Barbara ,there is even a homeless shelter near the beach . Many homeless migrate there in the winter ,pan handling along the beach in the daytime ,and sleeping in the shelter at night .They come to CA because people in the west are alot more tolerant of hippies ,homeless ,etc .UC Berkeley is full of homeless ,which is why I chose not to go there .</p>
<p>I won’t say the homeless population isn’t significant in the surrounding campus area, but for the most part, they aren’t very rowdy. I’ve gone nearly a whole year without being solicited, and frankly, I find myself more annoyed by the grassroots movements. I will say that while most of the homeless are harmless, you can never be too safe in Berkeley. As long as you’re not walking around in the dark without any people around, you should be safe. Just take discretionary caution as you normally would anywhere else.</p>
<p>^This.</p>
<p>I used to live in the suburbs of Mesa AZ, and hardly ever saw homeless people (unless we drove to downtown which was not very often), and when I first got here, it was a bit disturbing, and actually quite depressing, but you get used to it. I used to have chem lab from 6-10, and a few times we went a little over until like 10:30, so I would be walking home (I live near clark kerr) down College at like 11:00pm and after the first few times, it was ok. I mean, as long as you’re cautious, I think you should be fine. (This is from a male’s perspective, so females may have to take extra precautions. I remember overhearing a girl from my lab that she carried mace (pepper spray) with her…)</p>
<p>why diss homeless people? Just because they don’t live in a way most people live (because of whatever circumstances). Homeless does not automatically mean they are active criminals.</p>
<p>^Does California not have homeless shelters?</p>
<p>There was one year in Idaho where our homeless shelters were almost empty even though we have homeless people in Idaho, but the requirement in staying in the homeless shelter is that you had to be sober, which apparently many of the homeless people had a problem with. Usually only families with unemployed parents end up using the homeless shelters, but very few single homeless people use it. (In Idaho anyway).</p>
<p>Does Berkeley have a homeless shelter. Is it just too full or something or not funded?</p>
<p>Seeing all the homeless people around makes me feel sad sometimes.</p>
<p>I get the feeling some ppl are confused about this, or at least aren’t thinking about it in the best way. Berkeley has historically been a very welcoming city toward the homeless (think People’s Park, which is essentially a de facto homeless shelter). It is true that there are many homeless in the city, and it can be a bit depressing to see them, but they probably won’t bother you (I’ve had no trouble w/ them when I’ve been in the streets). Their presence is obvious because the city is so accommodating toward them, not because the city is economically poor. Also, you’ll never see them within the gates of the campus (or at least I haven’t).</p>
<p>Do not let that be a factor in whether or not you go to Berkeley. I have been here 4 years and never once been bothered by a homeless person or anyone else in general. And yes I have lived on Telegraph and gone out at night plenty of times by myself. </p>
<p>It’s just a little quirk of Berkeley that nobody is really bothered by. For example, there’s a guy who always hangs out by Euclid. The owners of Northside Cafe and other restaurants in the area usually give him free food. He says ‘have a nice day’ to me every single day. I like want to get him something when I graduate as a thank you for always being so sweet. I can’t remember the last time a homeless person asked me for money or said anything rude.</p>
<p>There are some people (especially on this forum) who love to complain about everything. And homeless people are pretty easy to pick on!</p>
<p>Yeah there are a lot but doesn’t really affect my day. Stay with friends if you’re out at night or in the day, don’t walk too close to them. A lot of them have mental disabilities and some have scared me a little and got too close. but usually, they don’t do anything and you won’t see them much.</p>
<p>hahaha my friend from walnut creek came to visit at night and it creeped her out so bad when a couple of homeless guys asked for the time and another bunch said have a nice day. I said Welcome to Berkeley. </p>
<p>As everyone else before me said, you get used to it extremely quickly, and honestly, most of the ones that do talk to me (only a few) are pretty chill. The only time one got mad was when he complimented me and I ignored him because I was scared.</p>
<p>ok i guess not too bad</p>