A while back I had a discussion with Matt Senate about the declining number of Sudoroom members. His comment was that the single biggest factor in his view was the lack of affordable housing which he referred to as the "horror of housing".
This week in Marin county a homeless encampment near me in San Rafael was razed to the ground by a gasoline-can wielding arsonist. The police posted a "campsite warning notice" 3 days prior to the attack, then went on to say that there is nothing they could do about it because a of a recent federal ruling. This situation caused a near uproar among Marin county residents on sites such as Nextdoor.
The victim of the arson attack Damain stated that he was sieeping inside a structure with his girlfriend when he heard a thump on the roof and a whoosh of the structure erupting in flames. He was barely able to escape and pull his girlfriend from the fire. When the fire department arrived they took no action to put out the fire. The police were laughing at Damian's girlfriend who was wearing nothing but her underwear and was wrapped in a blanket. The emergency responders did not check the victims to see if they were suffering from burns or smoke inhalation. Afterwards the police said that fires start at homeless campsites all the time and that Damian should consider moving on.
Here is a link to an article that came out today in the MarinIJ:
I am currently working with an ee engineer in the area to deploy sensors on the site and have delivered supplies and clothing to the victims.