3790 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

correct. rent has been flat at $375 for over a decade now.

[A Girl is No one]

But the non rent portion has increase by $275 (I think) over the last couple of years all the while free services were also increased (free food, etc).
More drug money for those who use drugs? If I remember correctly, There was a jump in OD deaths last time IA rates were increased (erased all the gains made in the year before) and it looks like we might be possibly be heading in the same situation again.

[A Girl is No one]

Sounds like we are forcing people on IA to live in government housing or a tent while providing them with more play money...seems flawed

[todd]

“Not depressed, but not flourishing: How 'languishing' became the dominant feeling of 2021

Languishing may be the landing spot many people find themselves in after our period of collective pandemic grief, but there's hope we can all flourish again....”:
https://nationalpost...feeling-of-2021

[Victoria Watcher]

But the non rent portion has increase by $275 (I think) over the last couple of years all the while free services were also increased (free food, etc).
More drug money for those who use drugs? If I remember correctly, There was a jump in OD deaths last time IA rates were increased (erased all the gains made in the year before) and it looks like we might be possibly be heading in the same situation again.

 

here is a recent article:

 

 

 

 

 

The government of British Columbia is permanently increasing income and disability assistance rates in the province, as temporary COVID-19 supports introduced last year end.

 

According to a government release, more than 300,000 people will receive the increased rate, which it calls the "largest-ever permanent increase to income assistance and disability assistance."

 

Beginning with payments in April, income and disability assistance will rise by $175 per month. A single person on income assistance will receive $935 each month, while a single person on disability assistance will receive $1,358.42.

 

For couples, the income assistance rate will be $1,427.22, and disability assistance rates for couples will increase to $1,947.56.

 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...se-bc-1.5952538

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 25 April 2021 - 10:13 AM.

[pontcanna]

Five years into the overdose crisis, Victoria's street drugs are stronger than ever

In the absence of widespread safe supply, drug checking is saving lives

By Nina Grossman - Apr 26, 2021

On April 14, the front steps of the BC Legislature building were heavy with the collective grief of more than 7,000 lives lost to BC’s opioid crisis.

To mark five years since the province declared a public health emergency, families joined Moms Stop the Harm at the BC parliament buildings, immortalizing their victims on poster boards, the abbreviated dates of their lives marked below young, promising faces.

“The government can no longer ignore the number of deaths, the number of our children, our loved ones who are dead because they could not find safety in the drugs they needed,” Leslie McBain, the group’s co-founder, told the small crowd.

 

More: https://www.capitald...onger-than-ever

Edited by Mike K., 26 April 2021 - 07:38 AM.

[Mike K.]

Just a quick heads-up, that due to copyright we cannot display more than a couple of paragraphs from articles, We can, however, display full press releases of statements.

 

[Nparker]

“The government can no longer ignore the number of deaths, the number of our children, our loved ones who are dead because they could not find safety in the drugs they needed,” Leslie McBain...

What addicts need are treatment options in order to live happy, productive lives, not lives of perpetual addiction.

[sebberry]

What addicts need are treatment options in order to live happy, productive lives, not lives of perpetual addiction.

 

I think the goal is to keep them just on the edge so the services helping them stay there can rake in the big money.

[Nparker]

I think the goal is to keep them just on the edge so the services helping them stay there can rake in the big money.

As cynical as that sounds, I suspect it's not entirely untrue.

[A Girl is No one]

What addicts need are treatment options in order to live happy, productive lives, not lives of perpetual addiction.

Saying this puts you firmly in the “haters” category..

[Nparker]

I know it does, but sometimes the truth hurts.

[Victoria Watcher]

What addicts need are treatment options in order to live happy, productive lives, not lives of perpetual addiction.

 

yes.

 

"the drugs they needed", what a bunch of crap.

 

where is the addicted doctor, lawyer, teacher, any professional or really any social justice worker that is "in need" of street drugs and wants to show us the situation? 

 

it's sheer garbage that anyone addicted to street drugs has no other options.  especially in the major centres with hundreds of social service agencies dedicated to street needs.  are they addicted?  YES, i believe many or even most are.  but more street drugs or "clean" government-supplied opiates is not the way to a good outcome.  it's not even a good temporary measure.    

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 April 2021 - 08:02 AM.

[pontcanna]

Just a quick heads-up, that due to copyright we cannot display more than a couple of paragraphs from articles, We can, however, display full press releases of statements.

 

Funny, I thought that's what I did (from the Capital Daily article). Mind you, I'd just worked a midnite shift so who knows what I posted - I don't remember

[Mike K.]

Funny, I thought that's what I did (from the Capital Daily article). Mind you, I'd just worked a midnite shift so who knows what I posted - I don't remember

 

It's all good. I think there were eight or nine paragraphs total, but granted if an article is very long posting that many might not seem like a lot, especially after a long shift 

 

That being said, your updates are so very much appreciated.

[todd]

It’s best to use your kind gloves right now. I find folks right now are acting a bit erratic/etc (lineups, driving, etc). All the languishing I guess.

Edited by todd, 26 April 2021 - 02:30 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Toxic drug deaths killed 158 people in British Columbia last month, pushing the total number of deaths linked in the province's overdose crisis to 498 since the start of the year.

 

A statement releasing the figures from the BC Coroners Service and the Public Safety Ministry says the deaths in March are a 41 per cent increase over the 112 fatalities recorded in the same period last year.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...oner-1.24313170

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 29 April 2021 - 10:03 AM.

[Barrrister]

Makes one wonder how many drug addicts there actually are in the province? Is a forty percent increase in deaths mirrored by a forty percent increase in addicts?

[todd]

It’s best to use your kind gloves right now. I find folks right now are acting a bit erratic/etc (lineups, driving, etc). All the languishing I guess.

“Mental health calls up in March: Sooke RCMP

Mental Health Act calls mark a 32.5 per cent increase from a year ago” https://www.oakbayne...rch-sooke-rcmp/

I find a little chamomile tea surprisingly goes a long way. Even if it isn’t illegal. Large cup, two teabags let sit for a few minutes stir leave the teabags in stronger the better.

Edited by todd, 29 April 2021 - 12:26 PM.

[kitty surprise]

Makes one wonder how many drug addicts there actually are in the province? Is a forty percent increase in deaths mirrored by a forty percent increase in addicts?

If the number of addicts stayed the same then a 40% increase in deaths among a static number of individuals is something.

If on the other hand BC welcomed more addicts into the province (e.g. the population of addicts increased by a greater rate than the 40% increase in deaths) then the metric is simply keeping up with population increase.

With dubious point in time reporting and so many underreported and undocumented anonymous people in parks and elsewhere, I would argue BC's addict population increased by a greater rate than the increase in overdose deaths among them.

Edited by kitty surprise, 29 April 2021 - 12:30 PM.