Downtown a Wasteland !!!

[Fruitloops]

City and Coast. my bad

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by Fruitloops

As a society we do a terrible job in responding to the big 3 social issues.

A case in point. Perhaps many of you have seen the gent who lives in a pile of garbage on York Blvd, west of Queen. I often see By law, citu, ciadt and Ems attending. Yet no matter the gent remains. Clearly he has refused help. So how is he better off in that pile than in a shelter. Wheres the leadership in our virtue signalling politicians to get the right thing done. God help this man and others who need us.

No kidding. I feel terrible for that man. Clearly has some serious serious mental issues, but letting him live in his own pile of garbage is somehow more compassionate than forcing him into West 5th. Some people can't help themselves, why is that such a controversial take for people like Nann/Kroetsch/Wilsons?

[Fruitloops]

Bang on HonestMaple.

The 3 politicians you mentioned suffer from fear of criticism.

Zero leadership qualities combined. ( There are others). They dont want nor can handle tough decision making.

You will not please everyone but geez stand up and do the right thing.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

Agreed. I travel a lot and it is the same everywhere. No one has found a cure for homelessness and the drug problem.

Finland has come up with a good solution. House the people first, then deal with their substance abuse or mental health issues.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/...d-homelessness

in my humble opinion, Canada is becoming more like the US where cruelty seems to be the point.

Look at how the Ford administration is treating healthcare in Ontario: making cuts, starving the system then telling Ontarians "privatization" is the cure. Also hiring nurses and staff from staffing agencies which costs regional health systems 3x as much then hiring directly. It's bonkers.
According to ONA, Ontario has a nursing shortage of almost 25,000!

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Finland has come up with a good solution. House the people first, then deal with their substance abuse or mental health issues.

The "tiny shelters" pilot would be a start to doing this. I'm not sure if any treatment was planned to follow, but giving homeless people a place to live in relative safety and security seemed a good start.

[ScreamingViking]

double post

[craftbeerdad]

In Utah, of all places, they gave the homeless free homes because it was cheaper than relying on social assisted housing and support. Although it hasn't resulted in a meaningful transition up the housing chain (and opening spots up down the chain), it has reduced homelessness by a considerable amount.

I suppose there's a fine line, because we all know there's individuals who need help and there's some who joke about the system and how they can still live there lives and afford beer, smokes, food, etc. How do I know? Go to the Beer Store on Barton and wait in line and over here the chatter.

Not sure were any closer to solving the problems, but identifying people who want help is relatively important versus people who do not care.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by craftbeerdad

In Utah, of all places, they gave the homeless free homes because it was cheaper than relying on social assisted housing and support. Although it hasn't resulted in a meaningful transition up the housing chain (and opening spots up down the chain), it has reduced homelessness by a considerable amount.

I suppose there's a fine line, because we all know there's individuals who need help and there's some who joke about the system and how they can still live there lives and afford beer, smokes, food, etc. How do I know? Go to the Beer Store on Barton and wait in line and over here the chatter.

Not sure were any closer to solving the problems, but identifying people who want help is relatively important versus people who do not care.

But then there are also those who are incapable of helping themselves, which I suspect is something like 95% of homeless. Giving a hardcore opiod addicted homeless person a free apartment is no solution, and doesn't work. They won't get off the drugs, and they won't become useful members of society. What they will do is continue their drug use, destroy the apartment and eventually end up on the street again.

What you need is drug treatment (likely forced in a compassionate facility), then long term supports and supervised housing. Some will recover and enter society, some will unfortunately not and need to be institutionalized. Some have developed such severe mental health issues that there simply is no recovery. Recognizing that is important.

What you don't need is free drugs, free places to inject those drugs, and free housing with no supports. That we know, all you have to do is take a look at British Columbia.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

But then there are also those who are incapable of helping themselves, which I suspect is something like 95% of homeless. Giving a hardcore opiod addicted homeless person a free apartment is no solution, and doesn't work. They won't get off the drugs, and they won't become useful members of society. What they will do is continue their drug use, destroy the apartment and eventually end up on the street again.

What you need is drug treatment (likely forced in a compassionate facility), then long term supports and supervised housing. Some will recover and enter society, some will unfortunately not and need to be institutionalized. Some have developed such severe mental health issues that there simply is no recovery. Recognizing that is important.

What you don't need is free drugs, free places to inject those drugs, and free housing with no supports. That we know, all you have to do is take a look at British Columbia.

We both agree on this point - help those we can - institutionalize the rest.

[downtown_eddie_brown]

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...o-homelessness

Housing First costs money, of course: Finland has spent €250m creating new homes and hiring 300 extra support workers. But a recent study showed the savings in emergency healthcare, social services and the justice system totalled as much as €15,000 a year for every homeless person in properly supported housing.

What if, get this, we give people what they need and it ends up being cheaper than the haphazard bullshit we're doing now?

[bvbborussia]

I agree that homelessness is a problem in major and mid-sized cities throughout the country and, indeed North America, but when I read from some posters that cities like Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal also have problems in this area it sounds almost like Hamilton should just resign to the same fate.

I am not sure what the solutions are but I do believe that compared to the cities mentioned above Hamilton's downtown might have more riding on getting it right. Eahc of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal are political, financial and cultural centres in their own right. Their downtowns and employment bases are in a much better position to withstand these types of issues than Hamilton. Our downtown revival is far more tenuous and alot of good work that's been done over the past decade could easily be undone if the problem is not managed properly.