update: there’s human waste outside my building

Remember the letter-writer whose building was being plagued by human waste outside it? Here’s the update.

The pooping has stopped!

It was actually just a small group of six people who were causing the biggest problems. There were mental health issues at play as well.

Our boss had several conversations with the police and created a plan that involved him monitoring the security cameras at night and calling the police non-emergency number any nights that group was sleeping under our awning. The police would send the homeless outreach team to give resources and ask the individuals to move on. If they didn’t move on, they were given no trespassing orders.

There is a public park with a small covered area near our building, so the group was welcome to stay there instead, just not under our building’s canopy. We’re also within a few blocks of a shelter and resource center- although they don’t have open public restrooms at night.

It took a couple of weeks before the cycle was broken, but now it’s been a month without any poop. We also had a power washer come out and clean things once. And our boss has cleaned things since then.

After I talked with my manager about how much the poop was bothering me, it seemed to spur faster action. Working from home until it was cleaned up really helped give me some physical and mental distance from the issue. I also changed our home setup so all shoes stay at the back door.

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