One of the most disheartening sights of (near) winter is seeing homeless individuals treated like garbage. At Union Station, New Haven security is tasked with ensuring folks do not fall asleep on the benches.
You heard that right.
Sleep is critical to sustain life, and by forcing humans to stay awake the City is promoting an unhealthy, even deadly alternative to a humane solution. I proposed sleep pods recently, an idea long overdue. I now propose providing sections of Union Station for homeless persons to sit and sleep, and not fear being kicked out from 1 to 4 when the station closes. (And if they fall asleep lying down on benches, so be it.)
I understand the objections. I heard that an infestation of bed bugs resulted in a sanitization of the waiting area. It is perfectly reasonable to want paying travellers to feel safe from such peril. That is why a section makes sense, a section that would be sanitized at multiple times during the day.
Sadly, an overwhelming percentage of friends and family abandon their housing insecure loved one or acquaintance. I am not a psychologist, but it seems life is more "Lord of the Flies" than Hallmark would like us to believe.
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