Moving on homelessness

[Osoyoos_Familyof4]

If you depersonalize the issue of homelessness - you will discover that:

Most people who are homeless and using front line crisis interventions like shelters are either mental ill, or mentally ill and addicted.

If you accept that this is true, then you will know that mentally ill people are often incapable of making good choices. This doesn't mean they can't become competent with appropriate treatment and supervision. But untreated they make poor decisions and find themselves in trouble because they cause trouble.

What if you could identify mental illness in the same way to might recognize someone with a developmental disorder? If you could look at a person and easily identify an anomaly that they are working with, you become more aware and are less frustrated when they don't behave in a typical fashion.

There are lots of people disabled who aren't easily identifiable, so we must be cautious when we make statements about some inherent flaw of moral character that makes them behave like ash-holes. They act like ash-holes sometimes because they are untreated ill people, not because they are inherently bad.

That being said, of course, some people are just ash-holes and totally capable of running on all cylinders but choose not to. I think however that is a minority.

[the truth]

Another "study" on homelessness is an utter waste of time and money. There are hundreds (literally hundreds...not hyperbole) of studies on this issue in dozens and dozens of cities big and small. If they are looking for a very specific regional analysis, spend one day with the workers at Kelowna Gospel Mission.

What a crack of total crap, spend the money on actions, not on more rhetoric.

exactly

[lightspeed]

Study schmuddy. $1,000's siphoned off to "associates".

This is an industry in and of itself. Instead of studies, action and cleanup, please.

[Ken7]

I keep hearing the cause of homelessness is the closing of the psychiatric institutions.

I question, what percentage of these people on our streets have issues where they should be in a mental hospital?
What percentage of homeless is by choice?
What percentage is addictions?

Lastly what percentage of these people are there because, they have no responsibilities and can live better by not being accountable?

Right now any one of us could go and live on the streets, sign all our belongings off to show ZERO balance. If employed quit your job. Once you are there you have no pressure. Have a bank account and they will give you a monthly cheque you need not do a thing. It matters not if you could work, you are healthy or you are addicted to alcohol or drug. They will give you money, service clubs or churches will cloth you and you can eat for free in several location and in most all Canadian Cities.

What really is the incentive for these people on the street to make positive change?

What are we as a society doing to aid them in getting back to living a traditional or normal life?

I've said it before, if we continue to provide a percentage of these people with everything they need or require to live why do they need to change?

Look at most all of us here, we work or are on pension. We have a roof over our heads, most here are mentally stable. We have pride and we try to better ourselves. We need to stop the cycle and I feel by making people accountable and responsible for their needs is a start. We hear the stories of farmers offering those in need work, but they laugh as there is no need to do anything. I look at the third generation families on welfare I've worked with.

Why does this cycle continue? I grew up in a home where we worked, and work hard to move forward. IF government continues to hand out and hand out, what is the incentive for those who could work?

I'm at a loss, we make it too easy for those who would rather lay on the couch or the beach all summer to do as they please. We need to start at the bottom and make the changes. For those with Mental health issues, we need to get them the care they need and once healthy we may see a difference in their life styles. Make those who are riding the system to be accountable and if necessary re-school them, make them employable and put them to work, stop the hand out system.

I as a taxpayer am taxed to death or near, maybe it's time I too sign everything off to my wife and live tax free, responsibility free and off the system. I think she will let me sleep in a bed, eat her food and use the household amenities.

[the truth]

-----excellent post---------------

[Osoyoos_Familyof4]

I see it like this,

The taxpayer is paying anyway for these folks to have a sub-par life. A person who is chronically homeless due to chronic drug addiction, and or mentally ill or both is a tremendous drain on the social service sector. They have extended hospitalizations for a host of medical and psychiatric reasons. They likely collect welfare, because they are too ill to work both physically and mentally. These folks subsidize their sub-par quality of life by criminal activity sometimes, and they can be a problem neighbour in any community when they congregate. They cost the healthcare system tremendously and they cost the policing tremendously. They cost homeowners and business owners who have been ripped off and choose to pay to have security upgrades.

So, make no mistake, you're already paying.

What if half of these people had supports in a community based setting (supervised group-homes), or even better, at home with their families but some kind of worker who could relieve family members from the burden of full time care? What if we were able to get these folks help with maintaining a prescription drug regime that assisted in controlling their mental disorders so that perhaps they could work, even part-time? Maybe these folks who now have some kind of supervision and autonomy would improve their overall health and not have to use hospital services to treat the physical and mental symptoms associated with poverty, addiction, and mental illness?

Sounds expensive right? Ya, it is. But the end game here is reducing the number of the chronic of the chronic. We will never solve poverty, mental illness and addiction completely, but if we can reduce the numbers significantly enough, it's a good start. But many homeless folks could be capable of being semi-independent instead of totally dependant, and that's a good start too.

[the truth]

a little update on story https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#200270

i am sure she is a great person but seems to me that dr kyrah is more qualified for business admi that a study on homlessness
http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/Programs/Area ... Myrah.html

[WalterWhite]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/20 ... olson-Park

This will in all likelihood become a more frequent occurrence. I realize this happened in Vernon, but the problem is in every community and growing exponentially daily. Vernon has recently permitted camping in public parks between the hours of 9PM and 9AM. Unfortunately, some of the temporary park residents are apparently unable to get along and some form of altercation took place, resulting in the entire park being closed.

This is not a solution - it simply further deepens the divide. Residents should not fear wanting to use a public park. I thought the army cadet training barracks just up the street have been sitting empty - surely that's been looked into.

Leon Ave. at certain times practically is a mirror image of LA's Skid Row or Vancouver's East End at Hastings - just in a somewhat smaller scale - for now.

[the truth]

fyi the vernon cadet camp is busy in june and full all of july and august