25967 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

We do only hear of the bad instances, though, so it’s tough to say what the positive outcomes rate is of the foster program. I do know, though, from the personal experiences of people in my life, that the program isn’t perfect.

 

this is true all likely true.

 

and i suspect that the system can't be perfect.  whether it's the former upbringing of the child or the child's developmental or other issues or indeed the poor environment of some foster homes there are bound to be problems in some relatively high number of cases.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 January 2021 - 08:05 AM.

[Awaiting Juno]

There's also a double standard.  In divorced or seperated circumstances the obligation to support the child is extended until they are done with post-secondary education and are capable of securing the necessities of life on their own.  That same obligation does not apply to married parents (who can toss the kid out at 19 if they so choose).  My sense is that many of these youth need a "professional guardian" who can coach them through to the adulthood finish line (ie. a dependable resource until age 25).

[Victoria Watcher]

Four pilot projects in Vancouver and Victoria have received $15 million in federal funding to provide safer drugs for people at risk of dying from overdose as British Columbia faces a record number of annual fatalities.

 

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson joined Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, and MP Hedy Fry to announce the funding on Monday.

 

They said more people are using drugs alone without anyone to help them if they overdose, which is an unforeseen consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, while locally produced substances with extreme concentrations of fentanyl have replaced drugs that are not available due to border closures.

 

Malcolmson said 23,000 people are getting substitute prescription medication, a 395 per cent increase since March, as registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses are trained to provide legal alternatives as part of an order last September by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...-b-c-1.24275713

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 February 2021 - 04:52 PM.

[Nparker]

...Four pilot projects in Vancouver and Victoria have received $15 million in federal funding to provide safer drugs for people at risk of dying from overdose as British Columbia faces a record number of annual fatalities...

Will safer booze be provided to alcoholics at risk of dying from cirrhosis of the liver? Can safer cigarettes for lung cancer patients be far off?

[kitty surprise]

Will safer booze be provided to alcoholics at risk of dying from cirrhosis of the liver? Can safer cigarettes for lung cancer patients be far off?

 

I'm surprised the tobacco and liquor lobbies aren't in a uproar looking for their share of taxpayer-funded addiction enablement.

 

For the record, I do not want my hard earned taxes going to enable addictions of others!

[A Girl is No one]

Went for a walk tonight, for a change I walked up Fort street from Wharf to Cook. Dire situation. Most businesses have the black gates and those who don’t have people sleeping in their alcoves. I saw human excrements twice (I know that’s what they were ugh). Then I remembered about all the broken business windows lately. It all makes sense now.

So generous and kind of Lisa Helps to offer to pay for the broken windows... with other people’s money while at the same time encouraging the behaviour that causes all the damage.
#not sustainable

[Victoria Watcher]

AVI is currently supporting 89 people, the vast majority of whom are men who are homeless and living in encampments, said Heather Hobbs, project manager for the Victoria Safer Initiative.

The outreach team has connected those people with doctors who can prescribe pharmaceutical alternatives to the toxic supply available on the street. They’re primarily prescribing hydromorphone, which doesn’t always meet the needs of people with a particularly high tolerance for opioids, as well as oxycodone and stimulants, Hobbs said. She’s hoping the project can expand to provide pharmaceutical-grade heroin and powdered fentanyl.

https://www.timescol...gram-1.24275855

so they are already supplying drugs to nearly 89 people in parks and they are looking to expand their reach.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 February 2021 - 09:39 PM.

[Nparker]

...She’s hoping the project can expand to provide pharmaceutical-grade heroin and powdered fentanyl.

What a tragic place we have reached as a society when "pharmaceutical-grade heroin and powdered fentanyl" are considered to be something positive. 

[Tom Braybrook]

AVI is currently supporting 89 people, the vast majority of whom are men who are homeless and living in encampments, said Heather Hobbs, project manager for the Victoria Safer Initiative.

The outreach team has connected those people with doctors who can prescribe pharmaceutical alternatives to the toxic supply available on the street. They’re primarily prescribing hydromorphone, which doesn’t always meet the needs of people with a particularly high tolerance for opioids, as well as oxycodone and stimulants, Hobbs said. She’s hoping the project can expand to provide pharmaceutical-grade heroin and powdered fentanyl.

https://www.timescol...gram-1.24275855

so they are already supplying drugs to nearly 89 people in parks and they are looking to expand their reach.

89 clients x 365 days x 3 years  = $42/person/day if current service levels are maintained

[On the Level]

What a tragic place we have reached as a society when "pharmaceutical-grade heroin and powdered fentanyl" are considered to be something positive. 

 

I agree....if this is to just give them drugs under the "Harm Reduction" banner as it isn't really reducing harm.  However, if there is out proper outreach, then perhaps it can help some and help stop the blowback like theft from neighboring families.

 

The problem isn't medical professionals, it's politicians and their associated activists.    

[martini]

The problem isn't medical professionals, it's politicians and their associated activists.    

Bingo

[North Shore]

 I saw human excrements twice (I know that’s what they were ugh). Then I remembered about all the broken business windows lately. It all makes sense now.

 

 

Read an interesting article in The Tyee yesterday - written by a guy who seems to be homeless by choice...he said that one of the hardest things to get, if you're living on the street, is access to a washroom.  Many/most restaurants are closed, or restricting access.... 

[JimV]

That may explain why some new tents have popped up on that little woody patch at Cook and Dallas near the public washroom.

[Sparky]

Read an interesting article in The Tyee yesterday - written by a guy who seems to be homeless by choice...he said that one of the hardest things to get, if you're living on the street, is access to a washroom.  Many/most restaurants are closed, or restricting access.... 

 

That guy is Stanley Q. Woodvine. He is a living legend. Yes he is homeless by choice. He also is a regular contributor for The Georgia Straight. 

 

I looked him up a couple of years ago while I was in Vancouver....a bit of a challenge to find a homeless guy in a downtown core of 700,000.

 

Here is a link to that article. He takes great pictures too. Well worth the read.

 

https://thetyee.ca/N...Pandemic-Diary/

[mbjj]

I'm not sure what to think about Stanley. Is he capable of doing something to help himself? Does he want a small apt? It's hard to tell from the article. If he's homeless by choice, well now what? Why does he think others should pay for his electricity? 

[A Girl is No one]

That may explain why some new tents have popped up on that little woody patch at Cook and Dallas near the public washroom.

Or new transplants from Central Park? Beacon hill park is getting very crowded.

[Victoria Watcher]

Beacon hill park is getting very crowded.

 

it is? we are less than 60 days until homelessness is over.  in this town.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 February 2021 - 05:49 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

There may be less than two months for a homeless shelter in Sooke to find a new home, but that doesn’t shake Amy Bell.

Bell, the Sooke Region Communities Health Network’s shelter operations manager, said she hasn’t lost hope to relocate 19 people experiencing homelessness, as she’s been closely working with B.C. Housing since opening last July.


https://www.vicnews....y-end-of-march/




Currently, the shelter is filled to maximum capacity at 19. Bell said they have got a growing waitlist but didn’t specify how many people were on the list.








so the organiser has been working with BC Housing since July. but the shelter is full and they refuse to disclose the size of the wait list.

does not seem like that current operator is doing a good job. this wound be a good time to end their contract.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 February 2021 - 05:04 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

medicine hat 2020:

 

 

 

Harm reduction methods for tackling the problem of homelessness, addiction and mental illness are mostly ineffective, Clugston explained, noting the problems are symptoms of a greater challenge.

 

“You’ve got to get a place to live first, before you can even attempt harm reduction,” he said. “We call harm reduction, ‘palliative care’ – keeping someone alive until they eventually die from their addiction. We don’t have supervised consumption sites here, because they create more headaches and problems, and it decreases business in the area.”

 

https://winnipegsun....ed-homelessness

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 February 2021 - 04:22 PM.

[Nparker]

But by all means, let's just keep doing the same thing and eventually we'll see the results that have been promised.