"Let's push them back and take back our town"

[alanjh595]

Round them ALL up together, and then sort them out. The ones that are druggies will show tell-tale signs in about 12 hours of waiting for processing. No need for blood tests.
One group can be cared for by simple housing, a hot meal, and support, the other group will need extra assistance and medical attention. Easy peasy.

[sab30]

Facts are:

1. Consensus is that these poeple need help, they are not getting it or going to get it themselves as posters have noted.

2. The current strategy is not and will not work. The problem has continued to get worse while attempting the strategy of safe injection, harm reduction etc etc. Common sense is that you cant solve the problem of drug use and poor decisions by promoting they do just that. Some individuals have been resuscitated 4 and 5 times in Vernon. Face it sooner or later they are going to kill themselves or die on the street.

3. Somehow, someway they need to be removed from society and the peer groups they are in, provided safe warm housing with proper nutrition. Build a centre away from downtown cores, have 24 hour consellors and drug addition personal on site. Provided for them everything they dont have and build an enviornment for rehabilitation. Community is happy and these people have every resourse available on site without dying from exposure living on the street.

The cost?? Well arent we paying for for it anyways. The opiod crisis is putting a massive dent of our medical systems and emergency services.

We must go a different direction for everyone involved.

[liisgo]

Facts are:

1. Consensus is that these poeple need help, they are not getting it or going to get it themselves as posters have noted.

2. The current strategy is not and will not work. The problem has continued to get worse while attempting the strategy of safe injection, harm reduction etc etc. Common sense is that you cant solve the problem of drug use and poor decisions by promoting they do just that. Some individuals have been resuscitated 4 and 5 times in Vernon. Face it sooner or later they are going to kill themselves or die on the street.

3. Somehow, someway they need to be removed from society and the peer groups they are in, provided safe warm housing with proper nutrition. Build a centre away from downtown cores, have 24 hour consellors and drug addition personal on site. Provided for them everything they dont have and build an enviornment for rehabilitation. Community is happy and these people have every resourse available on site without dying from exposure living on the street.

The cost?? Well arent we paying for for it anyways. The opiod crisis is putting a massive dent of our medical systems and emergency services.

We must go a different direction for everyone involved.

Agreed, This is exactly what every one needs to realize, that the system now is not working. We cannot help them if we continue to submerse them into these drug cities we have supported and created.
Build a place of function, heath, resources, counselling away from it all.

Our system is suffering far too much from it. Emergency services personnel are beat up, hospitals are packed with it. Wait times for reg. health emergencies are delayed, unsupported. Related crime is growing. Public safety is a real concern now as well.

[bob vernon]

Sounds like the opening round of the race for the mayor's chair. As predicted before, Scott has seized the wheel of the business bus and will use it to run over the street people. What he might lack in humanity he more than makes up with political ambition. I almost expect to see some Chamber members wearing hats with "Make Vernon Great Again" on the front.

Former mayor Wayne Lippert has already announced that he's running but he seems like a guy on the sidelines right now without an issue to run on. You won't be able to outflank Scott's right wing, Wayne. Akbal might want to be a reasonable leader, but expect Scott's people to brand him as soft on crime. Letters to the editor expressing their outrage are already being written.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/22 ... ing-divide

[Gixxer]

Start by getting rid of the methadone clinic.

[JayByrd]

Start by getting rid of the methadone clinic.

Yeah. Get those folks back on real heroin, like any self-respecting druggie would be.

[Bsuds]

Start by getting rid of the methadone clinic.

That's a really dumb suggestion!

[Gixxer]

That's a really dumb suggestion!

Really care to explian why thats a dumb suggestion?

[bob vernon]

Sure, let's get those addicts off the stuff that regularly satisfies their craving. Get them back onto street heroin and into the hands of the big dealers. And that will raise the price of their fixes so that there will be even more break and enters and purse snatchings.

[Gixxer]

I got news for you. Most of them are still heroin or some other street drug like crack or crystal meth.

[JayByrd]

I got news for you. Most of them are still heroin or some other street drug like crack or crystal meth.

That's not news.

And what of the the ones who *are* using methadone as a foothold on sobriety? The ones that are maybe able to hold down a job and keep their family in one piece because of it? You've got a better plan for them too?

The pharmacy I use, supplies methadone. I see people come in, take their swig and be on their way. Some of them look strikingly like normal folks.

[Gixxer]

That's not news.

And what of the the ones who *are* using methadone as a foothold on sobriety? The ones that are maybe able to hold down a job and keep their family in one piece because of it? You've got a better plan for them too?

The pharmacy I use, supplies methadone. I see people come in, take their swig and be on their way. Some of them look strikingly like normal folks.

Few and far between

[ranger49]

I've lived places where there is no homelessness. Police picked degenerates up and put them in jail.

Where they were fed, cleaned, clothed, given medical treatment, and educated. If you relapse, you're jailed longer, if you aren't deemed ready to leave, you stayed. This was particularly effective at curbing migration of new degenerates, because they learned to stay away from our city to avoid jail. It kept our community safe while helped actually rehabilitate those suffering.

Give them free food, free shelter, a free place to do their drugs with no consequences is just enabling.

I'd like to look more into the Japanese culture on homelessness because, Toyko Metro has 60X less homelessness than Vancouver Metro.

[Catsumi]

Just returned from Japan where we did not see once, the awful clusterduck of homeless camps,drug dealings,dropped needles, and panhandling that blights our towns and cities.

There are a few people there who choose to live "rough", sleep in those beautiful parks at night, gather their belongings early in the morning and somehow vanish (maybe sitting on park benches, I don't know). I do know that they did not make nuisances of themselves as they were in no way evident.

Please see further comments I made re Japan in Canada, tattered flags thread.

Japan is a good example for us to look at. Whatever they are doing it is obviously working.

[Gixxer]

When I worked up in northern towns like Fort St John, Dawson Creek, and PG I didnt seen a homeless/druggie situation like there is here.