Ending Chronic Homelessness

[dtkvictim]

They didn't bulldoze it down.  Does anybody read.  The people took their personal belongings.  What was left behind was loaded in the bucket of a front end loader and taken away. 

That mess was there for a.long time and needed to be removed. It is not an appropriate spot for people to have a make shift camp.  Did you see the human excrement everywhere?

Don't you question what you read?

"The people took their personal belongings"...then what exactly what being bulldozed?

Do I want to see excrement everywhere? No...maybe we should provide people bathrooms so they aren't forced to poop in the street?

If not there, then where? WHERE? Bulldozing these people's belongings does not make them not homeless, it just makes them more miserable and more destitute. Where exactly DO you think is an appropriate place for them to put up a tent? Somewhere out of view? That would make it easier for the rest of us to forget about the suffering.

Oh, and for bonus points today we get to watch our tax dollars used to pay a helicopter fly over with a banner advertisement for the stupid museum exhibit which they claim was going to attract out of town visitors. We truly live in the darkest timeline.

You can and should question what you read, but that doesn't mean you can make up alternative claims without proof. Hell, I question what The Record writes because I've seen them publish outright pro-homeless lies in situations I've have had inside information on. Given their generally sympathetic view towards the homeless, why would they not question and publish information about wanted possessions being destroyed?

I don't know what the right answers are, but I don't think allowing encampments is helpful to anyone. Try seeking out some online discussions from Toronto, and see how their encampments (or even temporary shelters) have affected local residents. It's genuinely pushing people out of walkable urban neighbourhoods. For added fun (slightly unrelated), check out how the complete tolerance to anti-social behaviour is driving people away from public transit and into cars.

Sorry if it's a little aggressive, I don't know any of the individuals living in this encampment and I don't want to blame my general experiences on them either. But I understand the general sentiment; my last four years downtown has been the lowest quality of life I've ever had, and that's exclusively been driven by the mentally ill and addicted. That's also in spite of the incredible park, businesses and shopkeepers, and ability to live a walkable and bikeable life. I'm personally at the end of my rope, and when I read the experiences of those in Toronto and other cities living near encampments I read the same experiences I've had.

I want solutions, and I'm willing to pay for it (financially, but not at the expense of my own sanity as I'm currently doing). The current trajectory of near complete tolerance mixed with a lack of real action is making things worse.