Regarding the Homeless in Vancouver, BC
Homelessness is a major problem in Vancouver, especially in Downtown Vancouver. They’re everywhere. Most of them are harmless and mentally disabled, but it is simply an unpleasant site. Call me prejudiced and snobby if you like, but Vancouver is supposed to be a nice clean city, and the mere sight of irresponsible, erratic, job-less, and homeless people piss me off and I don’t feel that they belong there. I feel that the value of our city is reduced significantly because of these folks. This is quite a major issue in Vancouver, BC, and it needs to be stopped or reduced somehow. Here are my angry radical thoughts on it.
The Short Term Solution : Evict them
This probably won’t slide too well with the overly sympathetic citizens nor with the two-faced government officials who do not have the luxury of being brazenly honest with their opinions, but I am in full support of evicting the homeless out of the city. Wind them up, put them all in a bus, and take them somewhere else. Make a camp for them somewhere. Feed them, house them, and make them do some labour perhaps. Some may tell me this is a horrendous idea that is against human rights, but I feel that human rights should be earned, not granted (especially in a country like Canada where it is so easy to get a simple job and start your life).
The Long Term Solution : Make it VERY difficult for homeless people to survive in Vancouver.
Many homeless people answer that they simply choose this lifestyle because they refuse to be part of the system where they work for money and spend it back into the consumer pool. OK, but why do they expect the public to give them change, and operate safe-houses and operate soup kitchens for them? If you don’t want to work for your own living you should just starve to death. The tax dollars should be spent on those who deserve it. Take away all permanent support for homeless people such as sheltors or food banks. Temporary support for those who became unfortunate can be given by the government in form of child support, unemployment insurance, etc. Beef up the government services more, but always limit it to a certain time period. Limit subsidized housing to a maximum term.
Educate the general public to NOT give change to homeless people – it only feeds their addiction. They get food from other sources. Most of their change goes towards drugs or cigarettes. If you want your change ending up in the hands of cheap drug dealers who feed off the addiction of the homeless, toss them change. I NEVER do.
Have the police patrol the streets to remove anybody sleeping on the streets. It’s a public place, and a bum sleeping on the streets is an eyesore that I do not deserve to be exposed to as a taxpayer. Remove them. Kick them out. Never let them fall asleep anywhere visible. Make it hell for them.
They will either leave the city, or go get a job just to avoid the hassle.
Also, educate people. Let the younger generation be aware of the homeless situation. Let them know it would suck to be homeless in Vancouver because there are unsympathetic hard-asses like me.
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Jeff, your opinion is understandable and you hit the nail on the head when you say that the homeless don’t want to try because there is enough that they won’t starve to death.
We live in the greatest country in the world! Canada! It is very hard to starve to death in Canada so that puts my mind at ease.
See, you are looking for a solution to this problem that is exactly the way a homeless person thinks. Just do it the easy way and not try to figure out this problem with more ingenuity.
So, you have the same mentality. Don’t gasp at my lack of empathy.
The problem with homeless people is their will. And if you know how to change the will of the people then I”m sure you can lead this country into as a more positive world influence. Agree?
Jeff, you are tired of seeing homeless people so you want change, that is good. You might be the leader that these homeless have been waiting for! You are at least willing to do something about it!
Rise up Jeff and go lead these homeless to the promise land! You can do it!
Yeah, any solution must always include the long term effects of it, and that involves cutting the problem from the root.
The police force looks to reduce speeding and drinking and driving – NOT collect more money through more tickets and charges!
Homelessness is a degrading factor for this city…
one thing that amazed me when I was in Las Vegas was that they had barely no homeless people (they had a bunch of illegal Mexicans handing out hooker fliers though). I wonder how they did it…
Ezekiel (16:49-50)
The real sin of Sodom
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did detestable things before me (literally, ‘committed idolatry’). Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
(Ezekiel 16:49-50, New International version”. (MCC)
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
(Ezekiel 16:49-50, King James version
This clearly shows your a sodomite, with your view. You consider what you say and do. Most Asian nations and other nations are mostly poor with the small percentage, you included, come here and ignore all those in your own nation, then come here and rebuke these people, The lowest person on the street is higher in god’s eyes than you. You show little concern for the poor and needy and actually believe they are the problem. Its not them its people like you who walk past people with out giving. I alway give to the street people, or the homeless and volunteer all you do is point fingers.
Oh great now we have a bible thumper here. This is Vancouver – using biblical quotes is probably one of the worst ways to get respect and attention. You just lost a lot of credibility. Other people don’t accept your religion as the staple, so forcing that as an example os not a wise choice.
And congratulations, most of that money went to drug dealers and hell’s angels – so you can be proud of having funded a few more gangs and gunshots. The money they use to get food/coffee only allows them to live another day to get more heroine and crack.
This is the exact example of people who live by feelings and ideologies and self-righteousness without looking at the practical and financial gains/losses of each situation.
You just showed your true colours. Your a total waste of time. I wish homelessness on you and you live as they do. I can think of only one way to shut you up is to ignore you, you will get what you deserve… Last comment low life.
I tried to post a response to your thoughts with respect to this subject but believe it may have been too long. I have taken the liberty of posting it on a blog on yahoo, as well as sending it to you by email.
http://ca.360.yahoo.com/disabledcanadian
I do not think we have anything further.
Immigrants are a major problem in Vancouver, especially in Downtown Vancouver. They’re everywhere. Most of them are harmless and mentally disabled, but it is simply an unpleasant site. Call me prejudiced and snobby if you like, but Vancouver is supposed to be a nice clean city, and the mere sight of irresponsible, erratic immigrant people piss me off and I don’t feel that they belong there. I feel that the value of our city is reduced significantly because of these folks. This is quite a major issue in Vancouver, BC, and it needs to be stopped or reduced somehow. Here are my angry radical thoughts on it.
Changes the whole thought process when you just change a couple of words. Prejudice takes on many forms.
I agree with the notion that homeless people are unpleasant, but I’ve seen more white homeless people more than anything else.
Immigrants are the ones who come here to live a better life and take advantage of the better environment. Of course I’ve seen asian/mexicans but there are more white homeless people. I see them all the time as I walk around downtown. And also note that a lot of the Hastings people may look foreign but if you look closer, they just look really fuckin messy and darker-skinned but they are white.
It’s the stereotype of the lazy, spoiled white-trash of this country.
Most homeless people are MENTALLY ILL. They are not capable of doing ‘labour;’ they are not lazy – the CAN’T work for a living. And, yes, there are starving people in Canada – I’ve met them on the streets of Vancouver. You are an asshole.
I agree with you 100% as bean observed by every one who visit Vancouver BC
GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM!!! Your not wanted here. Your kind come here buying up property to the point its beyond a average Canadian, the white homeless you talk about. Your scum to feel the way you feel. No one is homeless on purpose its because they can’t afford to buy or even rent. Your kind criminals in most cases come here and buy up realistate.
How is it possible for a home in Vancouver cost a average of $600,000 all result of off shore buyers who should be taxed 75% on any purchased and a rule you must live in the place for 5 years before you can turn it over.
You and people like you are the cause of the homeless problem, the solution just go back home give them thier homes.
Keep up with the global economy you bigot – it’s a global competition ground, and if you can’t handle the higher intensity competition and standards, move to the interior where no foreigners want to go. Besides our prices are still lower than other high-end cities like New York, Paris etc.
Offshore buyers being taxed etc. is exactly the kind of protectionism that slows down the growth of an economy. If the competition gets tough you can either keep up with it, or leave for a cheaper and less desirable place. That’s just reality, there’s no right or wrong with it.
And we come here because it’s easier to succeed in North America – more to go around, less stiff competition because many people sit and whine about how the governments, corporations, unions are messing things up for them while I work hard to make something out of myself and be able to afford a 1.5M condo one day.
Are you white? Sure now that you or your heratige are in the door all other immigrants should go home. Does squeezing the homeless out of Vancouver into other neighbourhoods (Surrey?) really resolve the core issue?
I don’t see how a simplistic anwer that you have presented will reolve this dilema.
you suck dink man u suck dink u should go fuck urself only if i could kill you….your a fucken bitch man dont even care about homeless…suck a fat dink
Ya ya ya keep on bitching you low-life degenerate with no ambition or vision in life.
BTW I’m not fat, and I hate fat people too.
Just shut the fuck up you scum. I hope you get what you deserve. Your garbage and wasting Canadian land go back to Korea and keep your ignorance there. Also there are Asian street people in China equaling the total population of Canada so stop talking out of your ass.
ok i dont see how people can go and just like hate against people for almost no reason! like yah theres alot of homeless people in Vancouver and whatnot but like not all of them chose to be homeless some of those people cannot work..because they are disabled, ill, and elderly………. I dont really like seeing them all when im in Vancouver but like still i dont go on sites and put them down and all. but i donno thats just me! you have your right to your opinions so im not gonna say anything rude to you..
Jeff, I think you are bang on.
I drive through the DTES every morning on my way to work.. which I work hard 50 hours a week, and EARN my wage so that I can AFFORD to live in vancouver.
The truth is vancity is an expensive city to live in. The price of real-estate is bound to go up, making it less affordable for the lazy , less hard working people of our city.
My thought are : Hire RoboCop… well thats not going to happen.
another thought would be to shoot them with tranquilizer guns, ship em off to a barren island in the NW terretories.. survival of the fittest.
Jeff, you are a bold man, we need more people like you. The APC is a joke, and I would encourgage police to keep beating these idiots.
As for David Cunningham… or David Cuntingham..
This guy is such an idiot. Why doesnt he just realize that he’ll have to suck it up, put down his crack pipe and start working more than 2 days a week, at a real job… not making hemp necklaces for his hippie friends.
APC is a bunch of lazy crackheads.. why dont they just realize that there is such thing as an increase in property value.. the olympics are comming, vancouver is a desirable place to live… this will drive the price of housing up… if you cant afford to live there, then move.
Idiots.
They make me sick… their probably all bitter that they aren’t going to be able to sit around in their free housing and smoke dope all day..
idiots.
Jeff I appreciate your website… i think its great that we can table our opinions here.
“they shoudl move” is exacxtly my thought.
So many of these weed-smoking hippies do nothing all day, just assume that a certain degree of lifestyle should be guaranteed while others achieve it through hard work.
I work.. I don’t know how many hours I work a week, but I work a lot, all the time. I work the day meeting clients and doing stuff, I work the evening developing code and websitse etc. I deserve the lifestyle. Cunningham does not.
As for the assholes who vandalized a government office yesterday – if I was an emplyee who happened to be there I would have smoked those assholes with a fire extinguisher. Resorting to vandalism is a typical childish behaviour found in these wanna-be rebels.
I come from Korea, and I’ve seen violent protests against the government. My mother lived through one of the most violent oppressions in Korea which killed so many protestors. They tried to bring true democracy to the country, true open press etc. and that’s the kind of stuff you demonstrate against. The APC? They protest to protect the unwilling degenerates. What a joke. They should try living in a real tough country and they’ll appreciate that there are more than enough $8/hr jobs where kids can get started out of.
I feel sorry for you, it idiots like you that show no mercy for other degrade our society more than street people. These people have names, families and stories someone loved these people only drink, drugs or mental issues put them where they are, have some humanity. Unless your profiting from there hardship what does it really matter to you anyway.
Your Asian how would you feel if we went back a few generations and started treating Asian the same way they used to be treated, its the same.
I would expect better from a minority. Maybe its the immigrants from other places that are the real problem, people coming here as economic refugees to suck the blood of the citizen, this is the same disease thought you have for street people.
No ethnic group is at fault, nor the street people they all have there story, and its not that there lazy, bother to spend the time and talk with these people I do it will open your eye. Its easy to make rash comments until you understand why someone is the way they are.
Once you walk in there shoes, and it could happen, judge not or you will be judged.
That is exactly it, they need to start somewhere. Stop being lazy. Stop using “addiction” as an excuse. I do understand there are alot of mentally ill people downthere, but the majority of them are lazy and use “addiction” as an excuse. Its brutal and makes me sick.
I’d love to live down there, the DTES has some of the oldest buildings in vancouver, and some of the best views! … but the fact is I do not want to live down there because of the community of lazy drug addicts who are living down there who are ruining everyones lasting impression of vancouver.
Jeff, this is obviously a very important issue to you- I just wonder if you have done any research into it?
Is there anything that would change the way that you view ”the homeless” (keeping in mind that this is a broad sweeping term)
Not much research – just experience from different parts of the world. I grew up in Korea – now that’s a tough place to live, especially in the stock market/currency crash of 1997. That’s a world where being homeless is sort of acceptable, as people really relaly had no choice despite how much hard work they put in – there were simply not enough resources.
Here? Give me a break, if anybody does not have enough survival skills to make it here, they probably should just perish away. Survival of the fittest. Of course there’s the small portion that have mental problems or health issues, but there are programs to assist even for those situations – if you seek the solution, find the right offices and look for help.
Nonetheless. It’s ridiculous to say that to protect the small portion of people who are “legitimately” homeless (the word legitimately in quotation marks because I don’t believe in such thing – regardless of environment/situation, if the end result means you’re homeless and unable to support yourself than you really have no hope) the government and the rest of the population should put their resources in, sacrifice equity growth to provide those degenerates with shelter and food.
I guess this will require sacrifice from the small portion of those who really had no choice, but that’s reality – nobody can save the whole world, nothing’s fair. I was born with certain advantages as well as disadvantages – I don’t expect the world to make it fair for me.
Basic rights, human rights is only a man-made concept that the lower-class attempts to self-impose and is merely another struggle. I honestly don’t believe that every human being has the right to be fed and housed. I only believe everybody should have an opportunity.
I strive to give myself and others opportunity, rathern than just handing them a certain lifestyle that they do not deserve.
I took the boot out of home when I was 18, barely out of highschool. I had a few hundred bucks, which covered my first month’s rent and the U-Haul Van. I was smart enough to challenge myself to a nice job that paid me $15+ an hour, which later became over $17/hr. A year later I quit, started my own busienss, and half a year later I moved downtown to a high-rise building. I’ve crawled up myself – which make my opinions more valid than ever. If I were some rich kid from a rich family who went to university on my parents’ money and got a degree, I’d have some sympathy.
But no, I was left with the same choice most homeless people were given at one point, and I chose another path. If anybody gets to condemn them, it’s me.
It sounds like you have had a tough past Jeff. It must be frusterating to see people take from you to live when they could be making it for themselves.
I do think you may have too much faith in the systems available for the “legitimately” poor. My father has a degree in astrophysics and certification for teaching high school in NZ. But due to circumstances when we moved to Canada we ended up trying to get on our feet for almost 10 years!
I am now making good money as a professional, but I’ve been on the other side of the poverty line and I would never assume that it is simply a matter of choice and will, when you’re down and out.
You anger is justified, but I don’t think your approach is constructive. Homelessness is ugly, but it’s real and it involves real people. Vancouver is “supposed” to be a clean city, but it isn’t, there are obviously deficiencies with the current system. Those deficiencies are caused by the over-simplified solutions such as “just get rid of them” because not enough time and money goes into understanding the problem. You blame the homeless for being lazy when you are the one who wants the world’s simplest solution to the world’s most complicated problem.
I’m afraid social economic development has come a long way since the invention of labour camps. But if you like, we can put yellow stars on the homeless and rename coquitlam as New Auschwitz.
The idea that homeless people don’t work to survive is based on the myth that social services actually provides enough for disabled people to live on. It does not. $950 a month is not enough to cover rent and food. Disabled people have to do lots of things to survive everyday, such as travelling to food banks and dealing with transportation issues, and shopping in several different stores to get cheaper groceries rather than buying in one place. It does take up time when a person does not have a car or enough to buy food for the family in regular ways. The other myth Jeff seems to be deluded by is the myth that people on disability don’t work in regular employment. Many disabled people work in paid employment but need a subsidy in the form of disability allowance to survive. Jeff seems to believe a strong believer in “Arbeit macht frei” – a concept espoused by the Nazis.
Well said, Jeff. I’m just sick and tired of hearing all these bleeding heart losers say junkies need “compassion.” Compassion is nothing more than a bullshit sounding word. The safe injecting site is going F***ing nowhere because the nimrods who run the place aren’t discouraging junkies to give up taking drugs. They should shipped off somwhere far from Vancouver, probably in the interior or something. If I were judge, I’d outlaw panhandling and put these classless drug dealers in their place.
I was at Tim Hortons late last night to grab a quick bite. This homeless fucking junky whore comes up to me, already holding leftover food in her hand, asking me if she can have my soup. I told her, “I’m not done my food, go away.”
If she at least just waited til I was done I wouldn’t have said anything, but how dare she even talk to me during my meal??? She interrupted me again saying “Is there anything I can do for the soup?” And i just lost it – there isn’t a single thing in this world that she can do for me to make me happy. I told her “No, FUCK OFF.”
Just to make a statement, when I finished my meal, I dumped the soup container upside down in the garbage.
Firstly, i’d like to say I used your email, jeff, for that stupid email – required thingie. I just don’t trust you.
)
(It was either use yours or make one up
Anyways… the homeless are a problem in not only Vancouver but many other cities as well. What has to happen is that the government should make a fake town and give simple directions to get there. They should say “this is all free” and stuff like that so the homeless will swarm there. Once a ton of em are in the “town” the govt should either, 1: blow it all up 2: send em to the moon 3: send em to ghost towns or low populated towns 4: teach em how to work 5: rehabilitate them so they won’t do drugs, gambling, and the things that generally would get people in the streets.
I like option # 2 best though cuz they could be dressed as ALIENS! And it would be pretty funny yet mean.
And to you critics out there: I don’t care what you say cuz this was written just for fun.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
Sounds intersting.. Are you keeping up with my specific province A JOKE! ) What is a Mummy’s favorite kind of music? RAGtime music! or wRAP!!!
Dear Jeff
While searching for information about homelessness in Vancouver, i stumbled upon this blog. And i would just like to say, that i am 14 years old, i am not a ‘Human Rights Activist” and i am not one of those “two-faced government officials who do not have the luxury of being brazenly honest with their opinions”. But what i have to say, is that you DISGUST me. In all my life, which, yes, has been quite short, I have never seen anyone write something so obnoxious and degrading. And i just studied the Holocaust. I still can’t believe that someone who is lucky enough to have the privilege of the internet, and, probably in your case, X-box, could write something so pompous, and atrocious. You need to wake up, and look at the problems around you like a big boy. Which is something, i’m not sure your capable of. A CAMP? Dear lord. What is your problem?
THEY HAVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES! You must know what that’s like first hand. So at least do them the favor of understanding. By the way, they tried ‘camps’ in the great depression of the 1930s and the people revolted, so you might want rethink that ‘short term’ issue you cow.
From, the 14 year old, who’s telling you to grow up.
PS- you spelled sight wrong (site), maybe you have metal health issues, maybe you should be rounded up and thrown in a camp.
Hey youngster, let me straighten some things out for you. Just to introduce myself, I’m somebody who grew up in very distinct places in the world, and I am well educated with different cultures and societies, not to mention I speak 2 languages perfectly, with 2 more in practice. I am very well versed at social and philosophical issues at a very realistic level rather than an idealistic level, and I am fully qualified to discuss my ideas in a constructive fashion.
Once in a while, shithead kids come around this blog, act all self-righteous as if they’ve seen it all.
A. I do not own an Xbox. As a matter of fact, the last video gaming console I’ve ever owned was the old-school nintendo, on which you can play Super Mario 1 2 and 3. I am far too busy with my business, my fitness, and other social activities of my life to even bother playing video games. I still manage to read up on world news, however, and stay fit.
B. The word “site” refers to a scene or a place where certain things happen, for example, when you say “construction site” or “site of accident”. The fact that homeless people exist in this city as if they belong in regular society is a calamity, hence I used the word “site” instead of “sight”. It’s more than a sight – it’s a site of pathetic beings and happenings. It’s a literary technique that grown-ups use in writing to get points across.
C. I don’t see how mentally unfit has any relevance. I’m a result oriented person. Once you stop being 14 years old you will realize that it no longer matters whose fault it was (at least not as much as when you’re a kid). Regardless of cause or reasons, if you are unfit to provide for yourself, you better hope you have some rich relatives or friends – otherwise you can’t claim your own right to survival. It’s Darwinism. In real grown-up life, whether it was ones own fault or not matters less. Also there’s the fact that a great majority of the mental illnesses of the homeless people are self-inflicted through excessive use of drugs, which has been proven to cause long-term brain chemistry alterations.
D. Rehabilitation through isolation and labour has actually been proven as one of the most successful methods of rehabilitation for homeless people. If a person does not have a chance to be self-sufficient again, there’s no point in rehabilitating them – it’s wasted investment. When these potentials were put into a situation where they had to work and were forcefully isolated from drugs and other influences, they had the best success rate. Also, when checked back 5 years later, they had the best retention rate, meaning that less of them fell out of the wagon and got back into the old grind of shooting up heroine and taking crack. This is different from the Jewish camps of Hitler. Hitler put them there for racial genocide, even though the Jews were fine people, and if anything, hard working citizens who made good money. These homeless people other hand are hopeless unless faced with extreme measures. Continuously feeding them and supporting them is not an answer, as it will never stop.
How long did it take you to think up that ‘intelligent’ response? I’m betting more than a couple of hours. And Jeff, I also speak 2 languages perfectly, but that doesn’t give me an excuse to act like a self-ritous jack-ass who sets a fine example by calling kids ‘shitheads’. But you know what- i have so much to right in response, but I’m going to be the bigger person here, which is a paradox within itself, and just say, that all i wanted, was to tell you how stupid you sound. So good-bye, and i got quite a kick reading what you wrote. It’s nice to see how many douche bags there are out there.
PS- don’t waste your ‘precious’ time writing back, because I’m not coming back on here. coming back on here.
I like the Chinese mentality the best:
Catch em with drugs…………shoot em in the head. Send the bill for the bullet to the parents of the degenerate scumbag…
No committees, no safe injection sites, no rampant drug trade, no homeless junkies panhandling for their next fix, no shit-smelling streets where a single square foot that should be worth $10,000 is worth 60 cents because of these class A losers.
Pure and simple ultimatums work best. The Chinese know it, the Germans know it, the Canadians…have their heads to far up their own asses they can actually smell the human rights propaganda they spew forth every day to the hard working people of this country.
BTW
Average cost of 1 homeless drug addict in Vancouver: $55,000 /year
Average cost of bullet in North America: 10 cents
There are over 2000 homeless addicts in Vancouver, making the average estimated bill for these assholes a whopping $110,000,000 /year
What you could do with $110,000,000:
build 10 modern high schools or
build 1 fully equipped modern 200 bed hospital or
buy 1 F-22 Raptor (I can think of some ways Vancouver could use this) or
buy 800,000 copies of Windows Vista Home Premium or
provide lifesaving food, water, and medicine for 300,000 starving children in Africa for 1 year
No further comments.
The reason I stumbled across your site…I googled homelessness in Vancouver because I was wondering what would happen if I parked a small motorhome on the street and stayed there overnight. I would not doubt if the cops would be pounding on the door but if I just got out a bunch of cardboard and spent the night on the sidewalk I would be treated like a sacred cow.
hi sorry, but its not many homeless peoples fault that there homeless
with high rent and less jobs to be found thats why homelessness has started
OH i like the way you would deal with homelessness in vancouver.
thank god your not our mayor or any leader of canada
cause a ugly short dick asian like you
i hope you crash your car, you chink eyeed fuck.
i hope you lose your job, and become homeless,
that would be ironic.
so mabye you should
a)lose some weight and stop eating your grease chinese food.
b)STFU and try out homelessness for yourself
and C) take down your disgusting site cause i doubt anyone would wanna see some fat chinese immigrant tell us how to run vancouver.
so mabye go back to china and leave your thoughts there
k, thanks
An incredibly myopic, oversiimplified and bigoted view of a complicated situation Jeff.
You acknowledge that these people suffer from mental illness, you call them disabled.. Then you go on to talk about them as though they have chosen to be leaches on the system and the best way to handle them is to force them into absolute suffering beyond the horrendous lives they already live in order to stimulate their interest in participating in society as though they suddenly are cured of their disabilities.
I cant even begin to rant at what the f is wrong with that train of thought. You have no idea what you are talking about and I truly hope you find some way to either shut the f up or learn some compassion.
THIS ISNT N.Korea. If you want to live somewhere where social systems are non existant, where the disabled and unsightly are carted off to die in hidden private misery, move to N.Korea.
If you have any sense in that vapid head of yours perhaps you will come to see that part of what makes our nation great is our ability to recognize that our most vulnerable members of society require our assistance, however meager it happens to be at least we try.
asshole.
I know this blog post was written a long time, ago, but I just stumbled upon it after looking for resources on what I can be doing to help the homelessness in our city. Honestly, people, this guy must have like 40-50 followers max, so we are just feeding into his sad attempt to make us come on here and click on one of his stupid ads so that he can make 40 cents. He’s a glorified bum, begging for his 40 cents, which is why he’s so upset about this issue because deep down the homeless remind him of himself because he feels the hopelessness of where he wants to be, but how far he actually is from it. The solution: take his voice away from him and STOP subscribing to his blog and DO NOT click on any of the ads. Although, because I am a compassionate person, I will give you your much needed 40 cents and click on one of your stupid ads. You’re very welcome, Jeff.
You’re an heartless idiot. This survival of the fittest mindset, if they can’t make it- too bad. This is the mindset that allows people to turn a blind eye. A lot of homeless people are sick, and honestly i have no idea why they even keep living. But things are not always what they seem. I know people, who have an education, no drug problems and they are homeless, because they lost there jobs, then their families left them and they had nothing. these people aren’t bums. they got screwed by the system. The people on the street need help, real help, not band-aid solutions.I don’t doubt that many are beyond help, and don’t want it. But there is no need to be angry at them, under the guise that your tax dollars are funding them. Cause you tax dollars are so misspent everywhere that if the government wasn’t so corrupt, there would be more than enough money to fund proper programs, that help. instead we misspend tax dollars on trivial contracts and systems.More of your tax money is misspent each year in international aid and padding political bank accounts than we currently spent on social assistance, look it up. Stop being so ignorant, people should care about people, we are a team, the fact that east hastings is as bad as it is is because, we have made it easy to turn away. I know people care, they just don’t know what to do, they fear for their safety. A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. And people like you are actually the weakest link, cause you can do something and you choose not too. Use you head and your heart, compassion is self healing as well as outwardly healing.
I will not insult you and I respect that you are entitled to your own opinion. I will only offer you the following statistical facts for you to consider. To ensure that my statements can’t be confused with emotional rambling, I have included references.
B.C. has the lowest minimum wage in Canada. The “First Job/Entry Level” minimum wage is $6.00/hour. It rises to $8.00/hour only once a person has worked for more than 500 hours. This is unique to British Columbia.
http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/facshts/firstjob.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_in_Canada
Vancouver has the world’s least affordable housing:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/01/26/consumer-home-affordability.html
This means that even working full-time 45 hours a week at $6.00/hour, the minimum wage monthly income is less than $700 after taxes. The average rent for the “cheapest” Vancouver one room apartments is $575-$650 (unsubsidised.)
Factor in the low availability and waiting lists for subsidised housing for those who are eligible:
http://www.bchousing.org/applicants/housing_listing
In 2003, more than 9,000 households were on BC Housing’s waiting list for social housing in the Lower Mainland and over 60% of them were families. (Non-profits and co-ops have their own waiting lists.) Families take priority, consider the chances for singles.
http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/publications/factsheets/housing
Even if you look at these numbers outside of any social environmental influences (such as mental illness, poverty, substance abuse, job availability, lack of family support, etc) the viability of having a thriving population under these long-term conditions in *any* urban centre is low.
The number of homeless people in the lower mainland (as of 2008):
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/08/bc-homelessness-report.html
http://www.straight.com/article-273777/vancouver/homelessness-doubles-ahead-vancouver-olympics-report-shows
Homelessness in Vancouver is not simply a matter of personal motivation or discouragement-through-punishment. Under the current social and provincial infrastructure conditions, even shooting people as a deterrent would not decrease the levels of homelessness. This is a matter of logic, and I think any reasonable person can appreciate weighing these statistics fairly.
To the other replies: I am ethnically Chinese, born in BC, and I find some of these racist insults to be very sad. What you need to understand is that the population in East Asia is so huge that in the working market, it is brutally competitive to survive. However, the cost of living is also very low- so if you really bust your ass working, there is a way to eat and survive. That is why a lot of East Asian immigrants have a hard time understanding that simply working hard is not enough to stay off the streets. It is a different culture of survival and family support.
I started out renting a bedroom in a 3 bedroom place for $200/mth. Then I moved to a slightly better place and paid around $375 a month. It was a basement suite rented by this older couple. Kitchen and all – it was a perfectly fine home, nothing short. Parking space, separated rooms and walls, laundry/dryer etc.
I appreciate that you were able to bring up facts and figures, rather than like the rest of the idiots who commented based on their feelings and emotions, and called me a heartless idiot. You’re smarter than the rest of those idiots up there.
Pull the money from drug-addicts and give it to families and working people then. That’ll solve it. Doing a drug is a choice, and blaming poor upbringing and traumatic childhood is an excuse for the weak that are not fit to survive in the long run anyways. Some emotional responses are genetically predisposed, and there’s nothing we can do to fix it. Some are stronger in the face of adversity, some are weaker. Some rise through the worst environment to become successful while many sink from great upbringing to low-life reality… that’s proof of weakness that exists in oneself.
I love and suport the homeless that need our help. Howevere the determination of who is homeless and who is fuckin lazy remains. Challenged indivduales need our help, but the system is bogged down by people who want and can physically get but will not. Thank god i live in the burbs, cause you fuckin vacouverights that never grew up here are screwing it all up. Move back to Manitoba yale town wanabeies!
I’m glad and proud I didn’t grow up here – i’ve grown up in many different parts of the world and I can offer a wider perspective and a view that is not that of a hopeless dreamer’s who thinks the world should be “fair” to the homeless. And I’m happy/proud to be a Yaletown resident, nothing wrong with that – and I would never bother living in the suburbs. I’m from South Korea, not Manitoba.
Oh, Dirk wasn’t referring to you when he said “move back to Manitoba.” But it is because of you that Manitobans are coming to Vancouver. He’s referring to the Canadians who are flocking to Vancouver because of the economy immigrants are stimulating here.
Quite frankly, some homeless people simply cannot handle living in a home. Landlords have to deal with and pay for thousands of dollars worth of property damage – most of them are small business owners trying to get by. Do you realize how many homeless people get kicked out of government housing because they distroy their home? How much should hard working individual have to pay in taxes?
Pretty cool blog entry: three years later, and it’s still quite active in terms of replies and comments, some of which are thoughtful. (Why don’t you delete the comments that are unconstructive and purely offensive?)
I agree with you Jeff: more draconian measures for the benefit of all. But different measures for different categories of poor.
There are poor people and families who continue to strive. Generally, they’re not homeless, but they live in poor conditions. Social welfare can help these people, who want to helped.
Then, there are also homeless children and youth who have left worse conditions at home. Kids need strict parental guidance. If their parents cannot give it to them, the state should step in. None of that letting the kids do what they want b/c it’s a free society. These kids should be shipped off to a boarding school or to a military school that will teach them proper values and work ethics.
But for the mentally ill who become drug addicts and the drug addicts who become mentally ill, they’re at the point where they can’t be helped. They should be classed as criminals and have their liberties stripped. Drug abuse is criminal, after all.
There are a lot of Filipinos in Vancouver living on temporary working visas, who work as housemaids or do manual labour in factories that anyone can do. They don’t speak English, they don’t earn much, and they are not homeless. They work hard, and they are a model to all Canadians. These workers are by far more disadvantaged than any Canadian counterpart. Yet the Canadian counterpart is just determined to be homeless.
Agreed – I should clarify more what I define as the “poor”. I believe it is a social duty and a righteous path to help the poor working families in unfortunate conditions (disabled father who can no longer work in construction, etc.) to support them – that, after all, will help the younger generation grow up straight so they do not add to the casualty of the Downtown East Side.
I believe in governmental support for single women (up to a certain # of babies tho – there are women who abuse the child support system by continuously getting knocked up – that’s just wrong). And I believe in good assist for the temporarily unemployed that are going through the motions. I’ve been there once – was on EI for 2 months or so until I nailed another job. Now I run my own business.. so I guess I’m even more volatile but I work hard to get her done!
I keep getting e-mails from this blog, so here I go again. Your a sad case for a human being. Please don’t use the bigot card with me. My friends span all races, its ignorance I have a issue with.
Also Women don’t abuse the system, who do you think ‘FUCKED’ them in the first place. The issue is men and thier unconcerned behavour. Its NEVER a women’s fault so much as it is the man that knocked them up. If they were responsible women would take responsability, I am sure you might have a few mistakes out there as many men have me included. My mother was a single Mother who worked to care of us as my father decided fatherhood was not for him.
With respect to my religious comment. Your ignorance is so wide spread its amazing you can even start this blog. Spend some time and talk with these people, I have. Each one has a story, each one has a life. Each one deserves respect that you would demand yet can’t give them, why? maybe its your short coming and not theres. Religion is the key, there is not one that wants to ignore, or do away with the poor as some of your comments push.
Oh yes, why did you not just buy her a cup of soup, what you did was a act of ignorance, I pity you more than I would ever pity her.
You are what the homeless aren’t inhuman. I work with homeless people and call many friends something I could never call you,
Its you that has a problem not the homeless, please just shut up.
So while I was reshearching homelessnes for a class projected I came apon this. I have gone down town and donated to homelss by giving them food and clothes. Clothes that use to be mine. Have you ever even has a converstaion with a homeless person. Most of them just had shitty luck or a shitty life. One man I ment was on the street and homeless because his house burned down. You want to send him away or treat him like shit. You say that you had a tough life back in Korea. Then you should know that almost none of those people want to be there. Homeless people die all the time living out their be it cold or hunger or something else. Many are also out their because they don’t make enough money to live. Sure they have a shitty apartment but once they pay for that they don’t have enough money for food or clothes. Their human beings who have the right to live and be treated like humans. Ever person has the right to live and no be treated like wothless scum because THEIR NOT!!!
Yeah I know I’m only 16 years old and your just going to read this and think that I’m some stupid kid. At least I know what I’m talking about I have made the effort to talk to them and know the real story unlike you who just sit back and watch.
Reasons why you are 16 and stupid:
1. You’re still wrapped up in the mentality that you should help others no matter what. From an evolutionary perspective they are better off perishing.
2. Most of homeless people lie to you with all sorts of stories, and you cannot decipher them. Not many will say “Oh yeah I was too lazy to work, got into drugs so I fully deserve to be out here and I don’t deserve sympathy.”
3. You still have the young naive mentality that every human being has basic rights and are equal. The more you open your eyes you will learn that such utopian ideas cannot be realized in real life.
4. If somebody can’t make enough money to afford a home, that’s not our problem – it’s their lack of capacity.
5. You believed the house burning down story? Come on. Homeowners have insurance and that covers it. I rent, and I still have insurance. So either A. he’s lying through his teeth, or B. he was too cheap or stupid to have home insurance covered so he kinda deserves the shitty luck for not being prepared.
6. THEIR -> THEY’RE
Q9htll http://f8j3ndYbs83Bbq06Wlavp.com
I think you’re a disgusting pig.
Jeff Kee, I support your views. I have helped out at homeless shelters in the past and have realized that all I had done was make the problem worse. These people have become dependent on the help, like a drug. They need to become self sufficient, this is one of the main staples of life. Sorry for all the heartthrobs out there but by giving anything for free you are creating a serious problem for everyone’s future. Here are the options.
A. Pickup every homeless person in the morning at 6:00 am and FORCE them to cleanup streets, parks, roads etc… in return they can get food and shelter if they did a good job.
or B. Send them all into the army and to teach them how to wake up early, work hard, do something with their lives, and learn self respect and discipline.
This is where it must end, these homeless people are just a disgrace to humanity, clean up you lives and join the army. Our ultra soft Canadian Government is disastrous, why should I work hard long hours to pay for my life and pay taxes when these people can just lie there knowing they have food and shelter at night. Homeless people should be paying all the taxes as they are a burden to the system.
…oh and by the way, too those who feed “the pidgins” (ie homeless) remember the story
Give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime.
You selfish people are just trying to feel good about yourselves and give a few coins, but you have destroyed this persons chances of getting out of their current homeless position! You have made these people reliant on what you give. STOP GIVING!
The problem is not the homeless, the problem is the people giving so much not allowing them to force themselves into creating a life on their own.
I hope you run for mayor…I also hope you get a few Rambo’s to help you.
i have a sick son lost in van hes under the mental health act he was put out of the hotel he lives in for 14 yrs to make room for the games he may not even know his name hes on the police missing list hes been missing since end of august he so sick that hes lost his pention so hes got no money dont know what hes living on
i hurd hes hanging out at the united church on hasting iv been there so many times and have not seen him id like to find were he is so i can try to heip the mental health do nothing they dont care they phoned me one moth after he went missing id like to try and get him aroom so then ge can get his money so he can have a few things this is horrible iv tried every were looking i think hes to scarred to go in for free meals
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Wow, I can’t believe that you would preface your thoughts by stating that they are radical. Your ideas are classist, juvenile and plainly wrong.
The homelessness problem in Vancouver is a Canadian Problem, not just a Vancouver one. People come from all over the country to reside here because of the weather and easy access to illegal substances due to the port. One of the many reasons people have difficulty getting out of such a hopeless situation is because of stigmatization – you have displayed the exact brand in your ridiculous uneducated blog entry.
When it comes down to it, people are people. Everyone has some kind of problem. Unfortunately our society is tailored to hide some and amplify others. The municipal government has done a huge disservice to this city by relocating vulnerable populations when the going gets tough instead of setting up programs to help them.
It’s natural for people to mirror what they see in the everyday. Many of the people suffering from the reality and effects of homelessness are their because they are ill or compromised in some way. If we truly believe that we are all in this together, maybe we’ll be able to promote positive change by taking individual empathetic action.
Jeff, I truly hope that no one close to you ever suffers from a serious illness or life circumstance, because as it stands, you wouldn’t be much help.
Hi Jeff
Its good to read the views of those other than the homeless and people already working with the homeless. I agree the homelessness is an issue for Vancouver and like you said; it needs to be dealt with. However it all depends on how it is dealt with. Our bible quoter earlier passed all sorts of abuse on to you; however the bible, I think, says that work is what we do. I could give you chapter and verse if you want.
So I raise a question – why they are in Vancouver and why they are homeless at all? Answer: Homelessness seems to exist in most Cities of the Western Culture. I’d love to wave the magic wand and clear homelessness for all cities but maybe we need to look at our culture of independence, nice if you have the cash- but not so if you haven’t.
Thank you for the insight