ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Ann Arbor, Mich., a quiet college town in the post-industrial Detroit area, has been trying to discourage the homeless drawn by its social services.
But those efforts are quite gentle, The Detroit News reports.
The homeless shelter now offers beds only to people whose last real home was in Washtenaw County. The city council has appointed a task force to study how to discourage panhandling and is urging University of Michigan students to give to social service organizations instead of handing money to street people.
Officials say the number of homeless in Ann Arbor has increased significantly with several homeless encampments in the area. The founder of Camp Take Notice, the largest, is from Seattle.
Don Schwartz, 55, a mentally ill man who came from Detroit several years ago, said the services available in Ann Arbor attracted him and he plans to stay. At the shelter, another homeless man told him they should not publicize Ann Arbor so more people in Detroit and other cities would find out about it.
"They already know," Schwartz replied.
Some homeless people like the university atmosphere. Many academics dress so sloppily the homeless blend in.
