25959 replies to this topic

[Sparky]

^ Adele Peters, who wrote that article for Fast Company, also states in another article that only 17% of homeless people in the US “chronically abuse substances; most do not.”

She does not share where she receives her statistics from but I am going to suggest that from a Canadian perspective, that seems low.

In the article linked above she states “Bergen County also committed to a “housing first” approach, meaning that people move into permanent housing as a first step before also getting help with finding a job, mental healthcare, or other issues.”

Until we stand up and shout out and address drug addiction to be the predominant root cause of homelessness and crime instead of burying the ugly fact with terms such as “other issues” the problem will only escalate until our streets are filled with the walking dead.

If you don’t believe me just swing by and park in front of 844 Johnson or “Their Place” on Pandora for 1/2 an hour.

These human beings need “Treatment First” even if they think they don’t. Then and only then can they be housed alongside their fellow homeless.

[Victoria Watcher]

housing first employs a lot more cupe workers.  for "supports".  the other models are not good at that.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 March 2019 - 11:24 AM.

[Nparker]

...These human beings need “Treatment First” even if they think they don’t. Then and only then can they be housed alongside their fellow homeless.

If not "treatment first" at least "treatment at the same time as housing".

[rmpeers]

Always curious about the CoV's enthusiastic attitude to unlicensed and illegal pot shops, even though folks pointed out that they were quite possibly connected to other parts of the illicit drug trade. I assume it was just the fact that their eyes lit up and saw dollar signs and that presumably made them less concerned about who they were getting into bed with.

In any case, I'd be shocked to ever see our local government try to take a firm stand against street drugs. Because if they did, this city might actually start to make a real step towards reducing homelessness. And if that happened, our thriving poverty industry and its well-compensated executives would be in trouble.

[Nparker]

It looks like Chrissy is going to get a slap on the wrist.

The Crown is recommending a course of restorative justice for a tent city organizer charged with obstructing a firefighter last year.

Chrissy Brett, founder of Saanich’s tent city in Regina Park, was arrested and charged under the Fire Services Act after allegedly blasting an air horn in the ear of a firefighter on July 6...

https://www.timescol...city-1.23662933

 

[Victoria Watcher]

It looks like Chrissy is going to get a slap on the wrist.

 

that's a political hot potato people (courts and prosecutors and politicians) are likely to want to avoid.

.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2019 - 07:53 AM.

[rmpeers]

When the courthouse tent city closed, after Chrissy did her stunt of leaving the site and then sneaking back in, there was a rumour that our great mayor instructed VicPD not to arrest her.

[Jackerbie]

Not Victoria, but there will certainly be some nervousness in Vancouver surrounding the upcoming results of the homeless count (conducted March 12-13). Vancouver has built 600 units of temporary modular housing over the last year and a half, so there will be an expectation that there will be a significant dent in last year's final count of 2,181 homeless or sheltered individuals.

[Rob Randall]

^Any other initiatives that might move the needle there, like new rent subsidies or people given resources to move to other towns?

[rmpeers]

Not Victoria, but there will certainly be some nervousness in Vancouver surrounding the upcoming results of the homeless count (conducted March 12-13). Vancouver has built 600 units of temporary modular housing over the last year and a half, so there will be an expectation that there will be a significant dent in last year's final count of 2,181 homeless or sheltered individuals.

In Victoria, it seems to be the opposite concern and the numbers seem to be spun to inflate or distort the stats.

[Victoria Watcher]

the city just gave more money our place to extend their summer evening hours. nothing we are doing is going to slow the numbers.

[rmpeers]

No local government has done more to encourage and increase homelessness. Bring it on, indeed.

[VIResident]

Cheaper to place homeless into these homes in Vancouver.

 

It’s being reported that dozens of multi-million dollar homes on Vancouver’s westside have come up for rent as a result of the provincial Speculation and Vacancy Tax and the city’s Empty Homes Tax.

The empty homes tax is set at one per cent of the home’s assessed value, while the provincial tax is set at two per cent of assessed value. So, if you own an $8-million home that sits empty for most of the year you will have to cough up $240,000 a year extra in taxes. The easy way around that is to rent out the property, keeping it occupied for most of the year.

 

Here is an example:

2: 4473 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver.

This home is a new build, and even comes with a laneway house. The Point Grey property was purchased in Sept. 2017 for just over $4 million and is now for rent for $6,800 a month. It has six bedrooms and bathrooms and the laneway house has one bedroom.

It’s absolutely new and looks it. I doubt it will go to a group of Irish youth, who are coming to Vancouver more often now (which is nice to see), but at seven rooms that’s still less than $1,000 per person. The listing is here.

 

https://vancouversun...eap-cheap-cheap

Edited by VIResident, 14 March 2019 - 07:16 PM.

[spanky123]

^ Note that the underlying story here has changed now that the original '800 mansions' in Vancouver story has been debunked as fabricated.

 

What gets me though is that even assuming that you were allowed to have 7 unrelated people living in one house (which you can't in these neighborhoods) and assuming that the owner would even consider that, would it ever happen? Heck whenever I suggest to someone complaining that rent is $1,400 that they get a roommate I receive the socialist manifesto which dictates that everyone is entitled to their own place located wherever they want at whatever price they want to pay. So having a roommate and paying $700 a month is unreasonable but having 6 roommates and paying $1,000 a month is ok?!

[Victoria Watcher]

yes there are many homes around here that rent for $3000 or $5000. i'm sure almost none of them have 4+ unrelated singles living in them.

 

here is a nice house for 7 singles up on dennison.  $7200.

 

https://victoria.cra...6839476044.html

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 March 2019 - 01:05 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

this article seems to take the stance “seattle is not so bad now it was worse in the 80’s!”

https://www.seattlet...he-80s-and-90s/

at the same time admitting it’s got a lot worse since 2000.

[Nparker]

I'd like to see how the CoV stats compare to this.

Police calls jump near supportive housing sites in Nanaimo...Police say they aren’t surprised. “We certainly expected that,” said Const. Gary O’Brien of Nanaimo RCMP. “When you drop a hundred or so people in any community in close quarters from a situation when they were of no fixed address before, we expect to see some social disorder, we expect to see some criminality.”...

 

https://www.cheknews...nanaimo-550867/

Bring it on indeed.

[Victoria Watcher]

one of the nanaimo sites also has a fire this week.

[Victoria Watcher]

The mayor of Maple Ridge is under fire after accusing homeless people with addictions and social housing residents of "raping and pillaging" his community.

 

The inflammatory comments were made in a 34-minute video uploaded to Mike Morden's YouTube page, in which he's interviewed by public relations specialist Susan Einarrson from Kingman Communications.

 

Morden suggests Maple Ridge is home to nearly a thousand people being supported by the provincial government.

 

 

https://bc.ctvnews.c...unity-1.4374308

 

it's not clear in the article who he is "under fire" from.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 April 2019 - 06:10 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

B.C.’s housing minister is being criticized for wrongly stating there’s been no crime increase around Nanaimo shelters, despite police statistics showing a major spike in drug trafficking and street disorder.

Housing Minister Selina Robinson wrote in an April 4 letter to B.C. Liberal MLA Rich Coleman that his suggestion that crime has increased around supportive housing sites in Nanaimo was incorrect. “I have received confirmation from Nanaimo RCMP that there has been no increase in crime at the sites at 250 Terminal Avenue and 2020 Labieux Road,” she wrote.

However, on April 8, Nanaimo RCMP Supt. Cameron Miller told Nanaimo council that calls for service around the Terminal Avenue shelter had increased 66 per cent when comparing the period Nov. 20, 2018 to March 25, 2019 to the same period a year earlier.

Calls for service around the Labieux Road area increased by 150 per cent versus the same time frame a year earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...mmed-1.23790553