Jump to content

      



























Photo

Victoria homelessness and street-related issues


  • Please log in to reply
25851 replies to this topic

#13981 tjv

tjv
  • Member
  • 2,403 posts

Posted 19 March 2018 - 03:32 PM

^and as VicHockeyFan said its now $335 a month so that additional $100 should more than cover toilet paper, dish soap, etc



#13982 Rob Randall

Rob Randall
  • Member
  • 16,310 posts

Posted 19 March 2018 - 03:49 PM

But how is it possible to get an apartment? Unless you are in a romantic relationship and can share a bed in a studio.



#13983 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 19 March 2018 - 04:28 PM

You rent a room, or share.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#13984 LJ

LJ
  • Member
  • 12,701 posts

Posted 19 March 2018 - 07:24 PM

You don't live in Victoria.


  • Love the rock likes this
Life's a journey......so roll down the window and enjoy the breeze.

#13985 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 19 March 2018 - 07:31 PM

Now if you say “she needs to live in Victoria, this is where her friends and family are” then those are the people that are most likely to help her with food and shelter. Welfare should be last resort for those with no other support.

And we’ve already gone over this before. Our Place serves free daily meals and you can arrange free bus travel to there if needed.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 19 March 2018 - 07:33 PM.

  • tjv likes this
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#13986 Mike K.

Mike K.
  • Administrator
  • 83,172 posts

Posted 19 March 2018 - 07:35 PM

You can’t get welfare unless you’ve exhausted all options for assistance. Of course there are agencies that will help you apply and although I can’t say for sure if they have sway or pull, they certainly can’t harm your application.

To be honest the average joe has an uphill battle to secure welfare.

Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.


#13987 LJ

LJ
  • Member
  • 12,701 posts

Posted 19 March 2018 - 07:40 PM

Don't worry Mike, the poverty pimps will provide all the assistance you need to get on welfare, they need to get their hands on your money.


  • pennymurphy2000 and A Girl is No one like this
Life's a journey......so roll down the window and enjoy the breeze.

#13988 Sparky

Sparky

    GET OFF MY LAWN

  • Moderator
  • 13,115 posts

Posted 26 March 2018 - 07:00 PM

Look I have said for years the periphery oh schools and parks is an excellent place for housing. But this temporary container housing is designed to be a wedge to try to assure people it’s only temporary. But we know how that goes. It’s BS.

 

The name "temporary" is referring to the occupants.....not the building.

 

I met Stanley Q. Woodvine a week or so ago in Vancouver. We have exchanged emails since. This man has the the best perspective on homelessness that I have encountered so far.

 

Actually I don’t believe there will ever be an end to people falling into homelessness and people should probably stop looking for one. Instead I believe we should be building a sort of social escalator that will continually help lift as many homeless people as possible back into the mainstream of society so they can be self-supporting, contributing citizens. 
Social housing by itself doesn’t change behaviour, people do.

This would ultimately involve dealing with as many barriers as possible: literacy, depression, skills training — the third world conditions of reservations—but if this sounds too ambitious, we could just start with the drugs.

 

If you want to read a perspective on homelessness from an intelligent person that is currently in his 14th year of being homeless...this from 2014.

 

https://sqwabb.wordp...e-drugs-stupid/


  • Nparker, AllseeingEye and Love the rock like this

#13989 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 26 March 2018 - 07:09 PM

The Coalition told be today that the homeless count report will be made public in June.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#13990 David Bratzer

David Bratzer
  • Member
  • 516 posts

Posted 26 March 2018 - 09:05 PM

The Coalition told be today that the homeless count report will be made public in June.

 

Great. A few questions before they release the report:

 

Are they going to do that thing again where they release a summary report first, without all the technical data, so it is impossible to dispute their talking points before a media narrative sets in?

 

Are they still going to count people serving federal prison sentences in halfway houses as "homeless"?

 

Are they still going to count people living in transitional housing as "experiencing homelessness"?  BC Housing defines transitional housing as something that can be as long as three years. 

 

Are they going to continue reporting mystery directors such as "Michael L" in their annual return to the Canadian Revenue Agency?

 

Are they going to continue reporting to the Canadian Revenue Agency that they do not use any fundraising methods (not even the Internet), even though the Coalition web site has fundraising links on it?

 

In 2016 the Coalition reported $8,679 income from interest payments from their investments. Yet they only received $11,016 in total donations that led to a tax receipt being issued.  Does it seem strange that they are getting almost as much money in interest payments as they are from citizen and corporate donations?

 

I have more questions but that's enough for one night...


  • VicHockeyFan, LJ, Hotel Mike and 4 others like this

#13991 spanky123

spanky123
  • Member
  • 20,976 posts

Posted 26 March 2018 - 09:42 PM

The Coalition told be today that the homeless count report will be made public in June.

 

They said that a summary report would be released the week after the count as they did 2 years ago. All that was released, as far as I can tell, is a count of 38 people living in Sooke with the unsubstantiated claim (there was no related question on the survey) that the people have fled Victoria due to safety concerns. There is also messaging coming out of the Coalition that the homeless numbers may be up due to the increase in housing prices and foreign money, yada, yada. Again there was no question on the survey asking if someone was homeless due to high housing prices or Chinese investors. 

 

To answer your question David, there is no doubt that the data that will be released will be a subset of the actual report and then only that which supports the messaging the coalition wants. Exactly what happened previously.

 

What they won't be able to hide is that despite hundreds of millions of investment, fewer people counting, less time to count, and larger zones outside of the core, there will be more people on the streets now then there was two years ago. The biggest single reason why people are homeless in Victoria (in my opinion) is because they have moved here to take advantage of free services and fewer restrictions at low barrier facilities.


Edited by spanky123, 26 March 2018 - 09:45 PM.

  • LJ, David Bratzer, lanforod and 4 others like this

#13992 David Bratzer

David Bratzer
  • Member
  • 516 posts

Posted 28 March 2018 - 08:45 PM

The Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness is issuing an RFP for a new web site.

 

RFP closes on April 30th.


Edited by David Bratzer, 28 March 2018 - 08:51 PM.


#13993 Dr.Strangelove

Dr.Strangelove
  • Banned
  • 32 posts

Posted 29 March 2018 - 03:15 PM

I will never give a Pan-Handler money.................but I will go buy them some lunch, or a cup of coffee.

 

I never forgot years ago when the Times Colonist ran a story on (I believe his name is shawn). He is the guy with the physical disability that sits in his wheel chair on government St.

 

When you walk by he usually says in a very heavily slurred voice (due to his condition) "spare any change" ...but if you don't give him any, he is also very well known for swearing and cursing at you. This is why all those years ago a reporter for the TC decided to investigate him. It turned out he was doing quite well for himself financially making on average $300 dollars a day in the Summer Season pan handling, as well as receiving a government disability cheque on top of that.

 

Because of his history of cursing at people who won't give him money, and because it was revealed how much he makes down there every day....I have never given him the time of day, and I never will.

 

And he hasn't changed all these years later.....I walked by him last year and He insulted me out of the blue. He didn't think I heard him because of his heavy slurring, but I did.  So I bent over over him in his wheel chair and I told him that I remember the article the TC did on him all those years ago, and I told him I heard exactly what he said, and I then proceeded to tell him exactly what I thought of him using some words I shall not repeat here.

 

All the guy did was look down and he wouldn't even look me in the face because I just completely busted him, and called him out for it.   In the all the years that guy has been down there, that was the very first time I ever had any interaction with him, and after what I told him...I think it will be the last .


Edited by Dr.Strangelove, 29 March 2018 - 03:19 PM.


#13994 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 29 March 2018 - 04:24 PM

Panhandler makes $300/day from willing donors on top of his $15k/year disability and you are disgusted.

Jordan Peterson earns $2000/day from willing donors on top of his $120k/year professor salary.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#13995 Dr.Strangelove

Dr.Strangelove
  • Banned
  • 32 posts

Posted 29 March 2018 - 04:48 PM

Panhandler makes $300/day from willing donors on top of his $15k/year disability and you are disgusted.

Jordan Peterson earns $2000/day from willing donors on top of his $120k/year professor salary.

 

So I suppose one could say that BOTH are simply successful businessmen, and both are confidence tricksters? LOL


Edited by Dr.Strangelove, 29 March 2018 - 04:53 PM.

  • Matt R. likes this

#13996 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 29 March 2018 - 05:02 PM

Ya!

Seriously though, willing donors in both situations.

Why complain about that...

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 29 March 2018 - 05:03 PM.

<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#13997 jonny

jonny
  • Member
  • 9,211 posts

Posted 29 March 2018 - 08:58 PM

I've pushed that guy up to Our Place late at night a couple of times.

He's obviously severely disabled. Why would you bully a guy like that Strangelove?
  • Matt R. likes this

#13998 Dr.Strangelove

Dr.Strangelove
  • Banned
  • 32 posts

Posted 30 March 2018 - 05:04 AM

I've pushed that guy up to Our Place late at night a couple of times.

He's obviously severely disabled. Why would you bully a guy like that Strangelove?

 

He is Physically disabled......not Mentally disabled. Mentally he is no different then anyone else, and when he shoots his mouth off, he knows exactly what he is saying and exactly what he is doing, and he is fully responsible for it.

 

And as I stated, he is known for cursing and swearing at people who don't give him money, as well as throwing random insults at people when they walk by him.

 

I simply put him in his place, for throwing an insult at me when I walked by him. And you know what it worked. When I walk by him now he puts his head down and keeps his mouth shut.

 

 So many people were complaining about his behavior years ago that the TC did an investigation on him, so I can assume I am not the only person who has ever confronted him ( as people should) Just because he's in a wheel chair and is physically disabled, does not give him a get out of jail free card for his behavior towards the public.


Edited by Dr.Strangelove, 30 March 2018 - 05:13 AM.


#13999 Cassidy

Cassidy
  • Banned
  • 2,501 posts
  • LocationVictoria

Posted 30 March 2018 - 06:38 AM

I've walked by that guy a couple of hundred times at lunch, after work, and on weekends ... he's never said a word to me - bad or good.

 

He's simply a handicapped guy panhandling on the sidewalk.

 

I question the veracity of this "T/C investigation" claim, which seems to be the additional justification used in abusing this guy as he sits in his wheelchair.

I also question the veracity of the claim that "he is known" for this behavior. I know him only as a quiet panhandler in his wheelchair.

 

Regardless, physically threatening or verbally abusing a physically handicapped panhandler, one who can't even rise from his wheelchair is disgusting.

 

Additionally, the claim that a random passerby on the street can somehow diagnose this guys mental state in order to be confident enough to say:

"Mentally he is no different then anyone else, and when he shoots his mouth off, he knows exactly what he is saying"

 

......is (to be frank) utterly impossible to believe.


  • weirdie likes this

#14000 David Bratzer

David Bratzer
  • Member
  • 516 posts

Posted 30 March 2018 - 02:27 PM

<snip>

I question the veracity of this "T/C investigation" claim, which seems to be the additional justification used in abusing this guy as he sits in his wheelchair.

I also question the veracity of the claim that "he is known" for this behavior. I know him only as a quiet panhandler in his wheelchair.

<snip>

 

Here's a few excerpts from the Times-Colonist article about Sean O'Donnell, published in 1995:

 

Sandi Dunlop dreads having to wait at the bus stop outside Shoppers Drug Mart on Douglas Street.
 
She feels intimidated by a disabled beggar who she says harasses her and others during rush hour if they don't give him money as they pass his spot in the 1200-block Douglas in the heart of downtown.
 
Passers-by, employees and customers of businesses say the block is a panhandlers' haven, but the wheelchair-bound man is by far the most aggressive and frightening.
 
Often, he mumbles something at those who don't drop some money on him, occasionally yelling "b***ch" at women who ignore him, Dunlop said. Several times he made menacing gestures, she said. "I don't t feel safe," said the Fernwood woman.
 
She has spoken to staff at Shoppers Drug Mart, who she says are also concerned. Victoria Police say they've had hundreds of complaints about him but are unable to do anything, said Dunlop.
 
The manager of the Shoppers Drug Mart, who asked not to be identified, said the store has tried unsuccessfully to involve police.
 
Shoppers bookkeeper Diane Reid said staff learned to cope with the man but some customers are scared away by his antics. "He's got t to be controlled. He gets his fists going at you," she said.
 
<snip>
 
The man, who identified himself as Sean O'Donnell, 28, said he was in a coma for six months as a result of a car accident in 1988 or 1989. He "died three times" during the ordeal, he said.
 
O'Donnell, cordial during a brief interview, said he's affected by head injuries and can't walk.
 
He receives $745 in welfare but pays $500 in rent for his Fisgard Street apartment, he said. He earns another $40-$50 a day panhandling.
 
Now here's a few excerpts from the Times-Colonist article about Sean O'Donnell, published in December 2016 as part of a fundraising effort for Our Place:
 
Sean O’Donnell, 49, sat next to his friend in a folding lawn chair, wrapped with blankets. A shopping cart of suitcases and a wheelchair were tied up behind them outside the Eddie Bauer store.
 
Emergency-shelter spaces were open throughout Victoria because of the freezing temperatures and snow.
 
But McFarland and O’Donnell faced two barriers to finding shelter. First, O’Donnell’s wheelchair was stolen Saturday night as he slept in a lawn chair beside it.
 
“Some drunk guy grabbed it coming out of the bar and ran off … I couldn’t find it anywhere,” said McFarland, who helps his friend in and out of the chair and runs errands for them.
 
O’Donnell has not been able to walk or talk fully since an accident several years ago. He pushes himself around downtown backward in the wheelchair with one foot.
 
The other issue is finding a suitable shelter space.
 
“He can’t get down on a mat in the shelters,” McFarland said. “If we could get a room with a bed and a mat, that would be best. We don’t want to be split up.”
 
The men are well known to several agencies who help the homeless, but don’t appear to have a consistent outreach worker to find them shelter or housing.
 
<snip>
 
“Sadly, there are a lot of people like these guys who fall through the cracks,” said Grant McKenzie, communications director at Our Place Society. Our Place is one of the emergency-shelter locations when the provincial extreme-weather protocol is enacted. McKenzie said the shelter is consistently full, as are others around town. It’s also taxed by increased demand for meals and services.
 
By 10 a.m. Tuesday, two people had suffered overdoses in the dining area. Staff used naloxone to revive the affected persons, who took off when emergency services were called. “It’s really stressful because they could overdose again,” McKenzie said.
 
“The big thing for us this time of year is the strain on our resources financially … but we also need to keep people warm and dry with donated boots, coats, gloves and blankets. We go through lots of blankets.”

Edited by David Bratzer, 30 March 2018 - 02:29 PM.

  • Dr.Strangelove likes this

You're not quite at the end of this discussion topic!

Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
 



4 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 4 guests, 0 anonymous users