Panhandlers......Be Careful

[the truth]

Should make fentynal way cheaper, and the drug that brings them back way more expensive

problem is the drug that brings them back is free to them, but the taxpayers pay for it https://www.pharmacists.ca/cpha-ca/asse ... _Final.pdf

[nordhausen]

*removed*

[dominik]

I think we have a few people here again a bit to quick at the draw.

Yes there are some individuals abusing the good nature of others, this is sadly a reality. In every crowd you will find a few bad apples. A few individuals at Walmart come to mind here, they are there for example in the evening and ask for money for a place to sleep. I am okay with them asking, that being said their behaviour and misrepresentation should not be used to paint all homeless with the same brush.

Yes some are agressive, after weeks, months, years of being ignored, not looked at their behaviour and will to be respectful have taken a toll. This is in itself quite understandable, if we feel disrespected we act accordingly and if we feel disrespected all the time, well that does shape character. To correct this won't happen overnight. It simply can't.

Some like to argue "but I have had it so hard and I worked so much harder, and that they are lazy"... Congratulations, you are one of the other 30ish million in Canada and the majority in the world who are making it, and no it isn't easy nor has anyone ever promised it to be easy. You are just one of millions doing the same thing we are all doing.

Does this mean that there aren't some who fall through the cracks? Not at all in fact it shows that it is easy if mistakes are made or we made mistakes in creating our social systems. (Part of being human) Naturally as mentioned earlier, there are some bad apples in every batch and while we will encounter them every so often we shouldn't let that deter us from doing some good.

If you don't want to donate, then don't, but don't try to make yourself sound special in that you think you are working harder than others. You don't know everyone, and I can guarantee you that there is always someone who fights harder than another to make something of their life or create something for their family.

[grapefruit]

I think we have a few people here again a bit to quick at the draw.

Yes there are some individuals abusing the good nature of others, this is sadly a reality. In every crowd you will find a few bad apples. A few individuals at Walmart come to mind here, they are there for example in the evening and ask for money for a place to sleep. I am okay with them asking, that being said their behaviour and misrepresentation should not be used to paint all homeless with the same brush.

Yes some are agressive, after weeks, months, years of being ignored, not looked at their behaviour and will to be respectful have taken a toll. This is in itself quite understandable, if we feel disrespected we act accordingly and if we feel disrespected all the time, well that does shape character. To correct this won't happen overnight. It simply can't.

Some like to argue "but I have had it so hard and I worked so much harder, and that they are lazy"... Congratulations, you are one of the other 30ish million in Canada and the majority in the world who are making it, and no it isn't easy nor has anyone ever promised it to be easy. You are just one of millions doing the same thing we are all doing.

Does this mean that there aren't some who fall through the cracks? Not at all in fact it shows that it is easy if mistakes are made or we made mistakes in creating our social systems. (Part of being human) Naturally as mentioned earlier, there are some bad apples in every batch and while we will encounter them every so often we shouldn't let that deter us from doing some good.

If you don't want to donate, then don't, but don't try to make yourself sound special in that you think you are working harder than others. You don't know everyone, and I can guarantee you that there is always someone who fights harder than another to make something of their life or create something for their family.

WELL SAID

[dominik]

Should make fentynal way cheaper, and the drug that brings them back way more expensive

problem is the drug that brings them back is free to them, but the taxpayers pay for it https://www.pharmacists.ca/cpha-ca/asse ... _Final.pdf

Just to clarify as you so nicely provided the report. Not sure if you read it from start to finish but it actually indicates that BC is behind many of the other provinces and is actively trying to catch up to save peoples lives...

Many other provinces (as indicated in your report) had implemented most of the measures, we are implementing right now, before we even looked at them. This would explain why we "only" lost ca. 960 people in 2017 vs Alberta for example which lost "only" about 590.

When you read the National Report about fentanyl overdose deaths in Canada you can clearly see that we (BC) hadn't addressed the issue fast enough nor had we followed warnings issued by other provinces.

Saving lives is what matters most. Our pocketbooks, quite honestly come second. We can disagree here but the ethical, and morally correct thing to do is to save lives.

[Bpeep]

Spoken like a true liberal.

Ask the first responders how they like saving the same lives, over and over and over.
Often multiple times in the same work shift.

[dominik]

Spoken like a true liberal.

Ask the first responders how they like saving the same lives, over and over and over.
Often multiple times in the same work shift.

I am confused, you think our EMT's like to deal with finding people dead? Simple math, our EMT's got the pleasure over 1450 times last year, the current numbers indicate that there is a decline in these finds due to the availability of noloxone.

And please don't give me the "spoken like a true liberal", I may have some liberal views when it comes to saving lives and taking care of those who need the help, but you do not know me.

[Bpeep]

The emts I know would rather find them expired than keep on bringing the same idiots back to life, over and over, sometimes the same dead idiot 3 times in 8 hours.
As for saving lives, when you're saving idiots such as that, it doesn't seem like much of a life is being saved.
People don't get it.
All that's happening everywhere is parasites eating the host.
And the host consider a himself a hero.
Lol. Funny.

[grapefruit]

The emts I know would rather find them expired than keep on bringing the same idiots back to life, over and over, sometimes the same dead idiot 3 times in 8 hours.
As for saving lives, when you're saving idiots such as that, it doesn't seem like much of a life is being saved.
People don't get it.
All that's happening everywhere is parasites eating the host.
And the host consider a himself a hero.
Lol. Funny.

I'm a nurse! How atrocious it is and shameful to talk about people who are needing to be resuscitated. No EMT I know would think like that as who knows what the situation is. Hope you or your family are never in this situation. A life is a life.

[mekathy]

My family has worked hard for everything we have. I wake up each morning grateful for the life I have worked hard for and am able to enjoy. My husband, myself, my children have never known hunger, homelessness, abuse nor some of the many hardships that others have faced or continue to face. I don't pretend to know what path has led someone to where they are now, and thankfully I don't need to ridicule or dehumanize them in my day to day life to feel better about myself. If I see someone with a sign that says hungry and if I am going into the grocery store I sometimes ask them if they would like a sandwich and if so what type? I have never had someone say they would prefer money, and when I give them the sandwich they say thank you and I feel good. I don't usually give out money , because as many said I don't know what issues some deal with. There used to be an older gentlemen and his dog at the West Kelowna Walmart and then later at the Save on. I used to give him what change I had on hand and he was always willing to have a conversation. If you don't want to give that's fine. I just feel really sorry for anyone that is so angry in life they have to kick others when they are down. Many have made and continue to make poor decisions, some have chosen this life over working but some, maybe few but definitely some have fallen through the cracks and just need to be shown a little dignity

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

A lot of TRUTH in the previous post..

[W105]

I used to give that old gent and his dog mekathy a cooked chicken and a bottle of oj every time I saw them at Save On in West Kelowna...nicest guy ever !! and always, always grateful...his puppers would get all excited when he smelled that cooked chicken cause he knew he would be getting some :)

I say give if you want to , give what you want to, give to who you want to..or don't...but stop judging those who do..why ?? cause it's nobody's business who one decides to help but the person doing so...

[grapefruit]

My family has worked hard for everything we have. I wake up each morning grateful for the life I have worked hard for and am able to enjoy. My husband, myself, my children have never known hunger, homelessness, abuse nor some of the many hardships that others have faced or continue to face. I don't pretend to know what path has led someone to where they are now, and thankfully I don't need to ridicule or dehumanize them in my day to day life to feel better about myself. If I see someone with a sign that says hungry and if I am going into the grocery store I sometimes ask them if they would like a sandwich and if so what type? I have never had someone say they would prefer money, and when I give them the sandwich they say thank you and I feel good. I don't usually give out money , because as many said I don't know what issues some deal with. There used to be an older gentlemen and his dog at the West Kelowna Walmart and then later at the Save on. I used to give him what change I had on hand and he was always willing to have a conversation. If you don't want to give that's fine. I just feel really sorry for anyone that is so angry in life they have to kick others when they are down. Many have made and continue to make poor decisions, some have chosen this life over working but some, maybe few but definitely some have fallen through the cracks and just need to be shown a little dignity

That's an awesome post.....Happy holidays to you and your family

[grapefruit]

I used to give that old gent and his dog mekathy a cooked chicken and a bottle of oj every time I saw them at Save On in West Kelowna...nicest guy ever !! and always, always grateful...his puppers would get all excited when he smelled that cooked chicken cause he knew he would be getting some :)

I say give if you want to , give what you want to, give to who you want to..or don't...but stop judging those who do..why ?? cause it's nobody's business who one decides to help but the person doing so...

A lot of good karma hopefully comes your way ......totally agree

[dle]

My family has worked hard for everything we have. I wake up each morning grateful for the life I have worked hard for and am able to enjoy. My husband, myself, my children have never known hunger, homelessness, abuse nor some of the many hardships that others have faced or continue to face. I don't pretend to know what path has led someone to where they are now, and thankfully I don't need to ridicule or dehumanize them in my day to day life to feel better about myself. If I see someone with a sign that says hungry and if I am going into the grocery store I sometimes ask them if they would like a sandwich and if so what type? I have never had someone say they would prefer money, and when I give them the sandwich they say thank you and I feel good. I don't usually give out money , because as many said I don't know what issues some deal with. There used to be an older gentlemen and his dog at the West Kelowna Walmart and then later at the Save on. I used to give him what change I had on hand and he was always willing to have a conversation. If you don't want to give that's fine. I just feel really sorry for anyone that is so angry in life they have to kick others when they are down. Many have made and continue to make poor decisions, some have chosen this life over working but some, maybe few but definitely some have fallen through the cracks and just need to be shown a little dignity

That's an awesome post.....Happy holidays to you and your family

I never give out money either - except to the Salvation Army. I would always wonder if the money I gave the person helped them buy the fix that finally killed them. In reality they are quite likely to die from an OD on any given day but I just don't want there to be even the slightest chance I could be a contributor to that.

If they have a sign saying they are hungry and they mean it they will gladly accept an offer of food or gc's to a coffee shop.

I think they can get all their basic needs met for free from food and lodging at the Gospel Mission (as long as they don't bring drugs in), the Food Bank, the Salvation Army etc. Any $$ given to them is most likely going to end up going towards their possible demise. I said most likely as we don't know which ones are on drugs and which ones are mentally ill without drugs so I won't take the chance.