Downtown East Side.

[Shanghai]

All one has to do is follow the money.
There is a ton of cash given to agencies who purport to help the homeless.
When that help comes, the word gets out and people are drawn to the area.
The coronavirus has resulted in the welfare cash these people get to double their income.

Anyone think this is getting a little bit out of hand? I came to Vancouver a few decades ago and the skids occupied a shameful half dozen blocks on Hastings between Main and Carral. Drove by on Sunday and it seems to go right up to Jackson or some such. Also it has spread over to Powell.same distance. Thousands of people. Oppenheimer Park finally got clear and they set up a new tent city in Crab Park. An official said they would have to wait for a court decision,as any attempt to clear them would be unconstitutional and risky as far as law suits.
Anyone else think there is something seriously wrong? I just have WTF? seizures when I see it. Vancouver was pristine 30 years ago in comparison to this. The homeless seem to have become emboldened and in charge. What to do?

 

[licks2nite]

Following in the footsteps of heroes. Been watching the Downtown Eastside devolve in step with the devolving Canadian economy, ever since Boeing Aircraft Company left Vancouver. Right-to-Work and proper taxes in the States sucked talent out of Canada as trade unions in Canada asked employers for too much too soon. Canada's veterans including many aboriginals were left to loiter on the streets near the employment insurance office that was at Carroll Street just south of Hastings, and in Victory Square Park that was near the Beatty Street employment office. Over the years the ranks were joined by any downtrodden that were turning to alcohol and drugs in the midst of lost opportunities. As the decaying Canadian economy sought ways to economize, the mentally disabled joined.

 

[susi]

At someone else's expense. If you decided to squat on the sidewalk and shit and eat and trash your immediate surroundings, 50 years ago, someone in authority,probably wearing a blue uniform, would put a stop to it. Nobody now is doing a fucking thing about it and it is exploding. Nobody is in charge? As someone pointed out, housing people in brand new facilities when they can't even be put in charge of wiping their own asses is a waste of money. My sympathy for them is gone. A lot of them are mentally ill, so mental hospitals would be a cheaper and more practical solution. Many of them are their due to a long lifetime of personal choices. Not all of them deserve sympathy. Singapore seemed to have a pretty good solution about 40 years ago. Friggin army camps with drill instructors. Drug addicts left there after a year in good shape and no longer drug addicts. May seem a bit Hitlerish, but something has to be done. Tough love or what. The situation at the moment is total bullshit with nobody taking responsibility for the freedom the marginalized enjoy. They need some fucking margins.

wow, just wow.....so many stereo typical ideas... addiction is a symptom of deeper issues.... a year in an army camp will not work, full stop... it's been tried and failed miserably....

bad decisions...? was it a bad decision to get a head injury? was it a bad decision to be abused as a child? was it a bad decision to be kidnapped to a residential school...? need i go on?

this kind of thinking is why bad policies were created and have made the situation so much worse. these things you are saying have been tried...it failed...

please try to contain your bias and do a little research before making yourself look foolish.

the war on drugs and viewing addicts as "making bad choices" has caused wide spread harm and thankfully is in decline.

perhaps when we stop thinking this way and show some empathy for those impacted, we will see an improvement in the situation for the most marginalized among us.

love susie

 

[uncleg]

susi.....not jaded, well maybe a bit....but sure am damn tired of all the people claiming to walk with the angels, whose only concern is, "what's in it for me."

 

[angry anderson]

wow, just wow.....so many stereo typical ideas... addiction is a symptom of deeper issues.... a year in an army camp will not work, full stop... it's been tried and failed miserably....

bad decisions...? was it a bad decision to get a head injury? was it a bad decision to be abused as a child? was it a bad decision to be kidnapped to a residential school...? need i go on?

this kind of thinking is why bad policies were created and have made the situation so much worse. these things you are saying have been tried...it failed...

please try to contain your bias and do a little research before making yourself look foolish.

the war on drugs and viewing addicts as "making bad choices" has caused wide spread harm and thankfully is in decline.

perhaps when we stop thinking this way and show some empathy for those impacted, we will see an improvement in the situation for the most marginalized among us.

love susie

I know. wow. like wow. My bad. Comes a point where if my front yard is full of squatters, each and every one with their own special sob story, I will say I've had enough. I am not disputing the thousands of people now gracing our streets have had terrible lives.mental problems and generally never getting a chance at a future. How that translates into thousands and thousands of people shitting in the street isn't really my problem to solve. As someone else pointed out, there is a gravy train for professionals in the business of welfare and housing for the needy etc. There is a solution out there. 50 years ago Vancouver didnt look like this. It isnt because boeing closed. Some fuckers have dropped the ball. I am tired of looking at it.

 

[AuldMagpye]

According to FEANTSA & Foundation Abbé Pierre estimations in their 4th Overview of Housing Exclu- sion in Europe, at least 700,000 homeless people are sleeping rough or in emergency/temporary accommodation on one night in the European Union. It is an increase of 70% compared to ten years ago.
Quick Google search above. And according to Rogan on his podcasts its nuts with homeless folks all over LA SF etc.
Its world wide pretty much. I blame....err feel its the economic downturn since the 80s. Stronger drugs. Family breakdowns. Snowflakes. Its the new normal. I'm sure historians have seen this kinda thing before. Civilizations rot n breakdown. Just on a global scale now.

 

[Big_Guy_Rye]

I'm surprised people aren't resorting to thugish tactics to remove or at least regulate the homeless issue.

I mean, there are stories during late 1970s/early 1980s New York when it got so bad, people made it a hobby to shove them out of neighborhoods. ...even going so far as lighting them on fire.

And the scary thing is....IT WORKED.

Most "Then and Now" documentaries about New York proved how cleaner the city blocks have gotten over the years when the unsavory elements we're bullied out.

The only real hurdle we face are hippies activists, and social media keyboard warriors who start advocacy groups to tug on the ears of our politicians and demand more money for hopeless ventures.

 

[angry anderson]

I'm surprised people aren't resorting to thugish tactics to remove or at least regulate the homeless issue.

I mean, there are stories during late 1970s/early 1980s New York when it got so bad, people made it a hobby to shove them out of neighborhoods. ...even going so far as lighting them on fire.

And the scary thing is....IT WORKED.

Most "Then and Now" documentaries about New York proved how cleaner the city blocks have gotten over the years when the unsavory elements we're bullied out.

The only real hurdle we face are hippies activists, and social media keyboard warriors who start advocacy groups to tug on the ears of our politicians and demand more money for hopeless ventures.

I think it's called tough love.

 

[Big_Guy_Rye]

It may have "worked" to hide the issue, but it's not going to do anything to resolve the myriad issues that lead to homelessness, addiction, mental health issues, etc. Pushing the homeless, the destitute, addicts, etc., underground or so far off to the periphery that we don't have to see them, hardly absolves society of the responsibility to care for those whom cannot care for themselves.

It'll take a genuinely multi-faceted approach to even attempt to "solve" the "problem(s)" that exist in places like the Downtown East Side, Whalley Strip, etc. Facilities like Riverview will need to be reopened to deal with mental health, recovery programs to treat addiction, etc. For those whom refused to be "cured" or to seek appropriate help from the "state" then there's little than can be done...

And this is the plot-twist most people can't understand....it's a classic case of "Push vs. Shove".

You can PUSH the issue, and find an democratic way that can please all side. Educate people on the origins of homelessness, paint them up as human beings, get whatever funding you can get from the higher ups who 'care' for more shelters, drug counciling, and mental health care......

But then SHOVE is when all options have been exercised and the only solution is to go 'old school' when you're confronted with a 'do or die' situation in the moment.

Take this recent story...

Thanks to the Twitter outrage idiots, the initial reports had the landlord painted up as an asshole abusing homeless people. When the real story behind it all was that the homeless man was violent, racist, sexist, exposing his genitals, pissing and shitting on everyone and everything, littering the ground with needles. And the cops won't do anything....So what do you do?.... Answer: SHOVE back.

There comes a point, in any given incident when the democratic way doesn't help in the moment, and the message must be sent.

Still protest and demand more services from our government, of course. Keep pushing those long term solutions. "Save as many as you can." ..... but I'd tell you, if a homeless man decides piss on my wife while she's tripping over his needles, I wouldn't be hosing him down with water, I'd use gasoline and light him up without flinching.

 

[angry anderson]

And this is the plot-twist most people can't understand....it's a classic case of "Push vs. Shove".

You can PUSH the issue, and find an democratic way that can please all side. Educate people on the origins of homelessness, paint them up as human beings, get whatever funding you can get from the higher ups who 'care' for more shelters, drug counciling, and mental health care......

But then SHOVE is when all options have been exercised and the only solution is to go 'old school' when you're confronted with a 'do or die' situation in the moment.

Take this recent story...

Thanks to the Twitter outrage idiots, the initial reports had the landlord painted up as an asshole abusing homeless people. When the real story behind it all was that the homeless man was violent, racist, sexist, exposing his genitals, pissing and shitting on everyone and everything, littering the ground with needles. And the cops won't do anything....So what do you do?.... Answer: SHOVE back.

There comes a point, in any given incident when the democratic way doesn't help in the moment, and the message must be sent.

Still protest and demand more services from our government, of course. Keep pushing those long term solutions. "Save as many as you can." ..... but I'd tell you, if a homeless man decides piss on my wife while she's tripping over his needles, I wouldn't be hosing him down with water, I'd use gasoline and light him up without flinching.

As mentioned previously. Snow flake mentality is ruling this situation. Comes a point where if you are dirty and unruly and anti social , somebody needs to give you a reality check. Drive the point home that the illusion that you have the right to be as wretched and pointless as you choose to indulge yourself doesn't really have any place in normal society, let alone the main street of a big city. Shape up or ship out seems to be in order here. Maybe a kinder gentler gulag somewhere in the outback.