City Park

[bjsilent]

I rarely go downtown and had the displeasure of having to go downtown the other day,i parked on Bernard and within two minutes i was harassed for change and cigarettes by three different people.I could not believe how many transients i came across during my time downtown.Near Queensway bus loop i witnessed people openly drinking alcohol,doing drugs and harassing everybody who walked by for change.I also had the pleasure of driving along Leon Ave near the homeless shelter and it looks like a warzone,carts everywhere,people laying all over the sidewalk,garbage strewn everywhere ( homeless shelter should be bloody embarassed at what goes on outside their building ) Hopefully i wont have to go downtown anytime soon.

[Rider59]

*removed*

[GoStumpy]

Today we're complaining about needles, if it wasn't that we'd certainly find something else to complain about. And when we run out of things to complain about we'll just complain about each other.

Not true, anyone that knows me knows that it's pretty hard to get me riled up about something... but when the safety of my kids is involved, it friggin matters.

[jimmy4321]

Be interesting if enough time has gone by to know the true numbers of infection rates with these needle programs/safe injection sites whether they've gone down, or remain the same.

[spooker]

Not true, anyone that knows me knows that it's pretty hard to get me riled up about something... but when the safety of my kids is involved, it friggin matters.

Any why don't we have a thread complaining about too many parents driving their kids to school? That affects my kid and so many others ... hell, the light on Gordon at Cawston is a safety issue for my kid ... but I'm not asking for all drivers to be rounded up and shipped off to some racing strip where they can safely practice their obsession ...

I'm not trying to minimize what happened ... I'm generalizing the reactions I see to often on these forums ...

Be interesting if enough time has gone by to know the true numbers of infection rates with these needle programs/safe injection sites whether they've gone down, or remain the same.

It's too hard to prove a negative ... and comparing places that don't have safe injection sites doesn't really work since everybody is trying to do something about the issue so it's an apples to oranges situation ...

[the truth]

I rarely go downtown and had the displeasure of having to go downtown the other day,i parked on Bernard and within two minutes i was harassed for change and cigarettes by three different people.I could not believe how many transients i came across during my time downtown.Near Queensway bus loop i witnessed people openly drinking alcohol,doing drugs and harassing everybody who walked by for change.I also had the pleasure of driving along Leon Ave near the homeless shelter and it looks like a warzone,carts everywhere,people laying all over the sidewalk,garbage strewn everywhere ( homeless shelter should be bloody embarassed at what goes on outside their building ) Hopefully i wont have to go downtown anytime soon.

and what is or has the city done about it, nothing , just another study after another study how many is that now in the last 10 years 5 or 10 bs studies , just jobs for there friends nothing more

[the truth]

I rarely go downtown and had the displeasure of having to go downtown the other day,i parked on Bernard and within two minutes i was harassed for change and cigarettes by three different people.I could not believe how many transients i came across during my time downtown.Near Queensway bus loop i witnessed people openly drinking alcohol,doing drugs and harassing everybody who walked by for change.I also had the pleasure of driving along Leon Ave near the homeless shelter and it looks like a warzone,carts everywhere,people laying all over the sidewalk,garbage strewn everywhere ( homeless shelter should be bloody embarassed at what goes on outside their building ) Hopefully i wont have to go downtown anytime soon.

and people will come on here saying they do not see what you seem to see downtown, i say bs its -all- over

[Frisk]

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[WalterWhite]

I'll reiterate my stance is the same as cigarette butts - why is there no deposit fee on syringes/needles? Make it worth the while to return them and maybe they wouldn't be so carelessly discarded. Certainly no solution, but might help with reducing the danger posed to the general public. The fact this element of danger even exists in areas where children should be allowed to simply, well, be kids - is beyond saddening.

[maryjane48]

sure a deposit on needles would work better than whats going on now . the problem isnt harm reduction plans infact as jlives points out its the only thing that works ,the problem is as pointed out the levels of govt diong as little as possible and the pharmists changing the methadone formula . that was huge mistake . and it shows drugs need to be made legal . there is no other choice . once that happens then it becomes a health problem and can be treated like anything else .


the area around the first insight in vancouver made a huge change in needles being left around but they have big out reach program their with people activly encouraging addicts to dispose of them in proper places . that needs to happen every where . then things will change for the better .

[Frisk]

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[Green-light]

Chris Rock once came up with a solution to gun violence.
He sated that if we made bullets expensive, people wouldn't be so quick to dispose of them into another person's body.
Same is true for needles.
Make them as filthy expensive as the filthy addiction they feed.
If needles were outrageous expensive, you can bet there wouldn't be many dropped and left behind.

Yes, it's true that it would cause an increase in shared needles.
I'm willing to suffer the consequences, as the losses I'll suffer will have no detriment to my life.
Yes, there will be more diseases spread from using shared needles resulting in more deaths.
I've got to be honest: I care less with each passing day, and many days have passed.

We need to stop puddy-footing around on this and implement a solution NOW, before more people stop caring about what's left of your gibbled loved ones.
The more time passes, the more of these useless zombies are being formed by the destruction of brain tissue.
This is no joke.
We need a solution NOW.
NOT tomorrow, and certainly NOT the next day or week or month or year.

[pepecat]

I rarely go downtown and had the displeasure of having to go downtown the other day,i parked on Bernard and within two minutes i was harassed for change and cigarettes by three different people.I could not believe how many transients i came across during my time downtown.Near Queensway bus loop i witnessed people openly drinking alcohol,doing drugs and harassing everybody who walked by for change.I also had the pleasure of driving along Leon Ave near the homeless shelter and it looks like a warzone,carts everywhere,people laying all over the sidewalk,garbage strewn everywhere ( homeless shelter should be bloody embarassed at what goes on outside their building ) Hopefully i wont have to go downtown anytime soon.

If being asked for spare change makes you anxious and afraid, then you should probably avoid urban areas. If seeing marginalized and hopeless people on the sidewalks near homeless shelters elicits feelings of disgust and contempt then you should probably avoid driving past those areas too. Most of us who live and work and play in and around downtown realize that the human race is made up of diversity. Rather than look down your nose at people who don't meet your standards, look them in the eye and give them a smile. You might be surprised.

[WalterWhite]

I rarely go downtown and had the displeasure of having to go downtown the other day,i parked on Bernard and within two minutes i was harassed for change and cigarettes by three different people.I could not believe how many transients i came across during my time downtown.Near Queensway bus loop i witnessed people openly drinking alcohol,doing drugs and harassing everybody who walked by for change.I also had the pleasure of driving along Leon Ave near the homeless shelter and it looks like a warzone,carts everywhere,people laying all over the sidewalk,garbage strewn everywhere ( homeless shelter should be bloody embarassed at what goes on outside their building ) Hopefully i wont have to go downtown anytime soon.

If being asked for spare change makes you anxious and afraid, then you should probably avoid urban areas. If seeing marginalized and hopeless people on the sidewalks near homeless shelters elicits feelings of disgust and contempt then you should probably avoid driving past those areas too. Most of us who live and work and play in and around downtown realize that the human race is made up of diversity. Rather than look down your nose at people who don't meet your standards, look them in the eye and give them a smile. You might be surprised.

I disagree. There never used to be the need for private security at businesses downtown. Now, a number of establishments do. I, or anyone, shouldn't have to avoid any area because of being solicited in what for some is exposure to very aggressive panhandling. Leon is an absolute disgrace, and I agree the Gospel has done little to counter the mess that entire block has become. To think that should be countered with nothing more than a smile, well, you left out the unicorns and fairies.

[JLives]

If being asked for spare change makes you anxious and afraid, then you should probably avoid urban areas. If seeing marginalized and hopeless people on the sidewalks near homeless shelters elicits feelings of disgust and contempt then you should probably avoid driving past those areas too. Most of us who live and work and play in and around downtown realize that the human race is made up of diversity. Rather than look down your nose at people who don't meet your standards, look them in the eye and give them a smile. You might be surprised.

Thank you. This is how I feel about it too. They're just people with different circumstances. I walk around downtown often, even at night, and have not had any issues. I don't consider a brief request for change or cigarettes being harassed. I acknowledge them and continue on my way. This culture of fear and division needs to stop. We're all on this rock hurtling through space together. Be a better person.