Jamie Sarkonak: Homeless camps deserve to be stigmatized - "Our housing advocate contends that camps should only be cleared if those living there have been consulted. If a camp must be cleared contrary to the will of its residents, the state should have an obligation to “demonstrate that the relocation is strictly necessary and that all other alternatives have been explored.” She believes that governments oxymoronically should ensure that tent city residents “live in dignity” and provide them all of the following: clean water, sanitation, food, heating and cooling, accessibility supports, health care, drugs. Basically, she envisions a rudimentary form of tenants’ rights for homeless people wherever they decide to settle. Why? She doesn’t like that tents are torn down during evictions, and personal property is sometimes seized by police (keyword: sometimes — drugs and weapons will be seized, at very least). Evictions are “inherently violent” from her perspective, and they even evoke a “continuation of colonial state violence” which is “deeply inappropriate.” Houle, like so many other advocates, positions the homeless camp as purgatory, full of well-meaning members who are weaving the beginnings of their own budding social safety net. “Encampment residents, and advocates who work closely with them, point out that established encampments have informal systems through which residents look out for each other,” reads the report, painting them as existing in a Lockean state of nature. “In other words, they are a community with a kind of safety net of their own. Forced evictions disrupt these communities and the benefits they provide.” Missing from the picture, though, is the violence and disorder that makes these camps untenable from the get-go. They’re crime dens. They’re dangerous. They’re places no human should live, and places that the public should not have to subsidize. Even though police run patrols, and community groups run outreach programs, tent cities tend to be “governed” by gangs... The reality of camp life is grim. A teen was raped in a Victoria tent camp in 2021; a woman was captured, held and sexually assaulted over 15 hours by two residents of a Vancouver tent city in 2020. On Nov. 28, a sex assault took place outside an Edmonton homeless shelter which involved a group of 10 people. Advocates are most concerned about police actions, but often ignore the sheer amount of violence and criminality coming from homeless people themselves. Beyond that is the physical danger. Sanitation is poor, and the tents people live within are firebombs-in-waiting. People die. In one example, an Edmonton investigator’s log, filed in court, described the scene after a woman, aged 24 to 26, burned to death. Speaking to a man who said he was her boyfriend, police learned that the woman had been sick and immobile for the previous two days, but refused her boyfriend’s offer to call an ambulance. “The fire investigator, myself and the (medical examiner) all agreed that the deceased likely used the butane lighter carelessly to light a cigarette or drugs while extremely exhausted — the extremely flammable material and aerosol products nearby would have immediately ignited causing the tent to become engulfed in flames rapidly,” noted the officer’s log. “The deceased, being sickly and immobile, wouldn’t have had the strength to escape.” It’s not the state’s place to formally dedicate space to an economy that trades in cruelty and addiction. The provision of addiction treatment programs and homeless shelters (which don’t allow drugs, weapons and sex trafficking) is plenty. Nevertheless, Houle endorses the free-range model for dealing with homelessness, and advocates for “harm reduction” (the euphemistic term that refers to government-supplied drugs and drug paraphernalia). On top of imagining a world where provinces should listen to what some federal political appointee has to say, she calls for leaders to refrain from “actions and language that further stigmatizes the residents of encampments.” No mention of immigration, of course, which far supersedes construction of housing."
'Generational moral failure' to blame for homelessness in Canada - "“I think it’s a generational moral failure that there are people who are sleeping without a roof over their head in a country as wealthy as Canada,” said Fraser. The minister has promised to meet an Aug. 31 deadline — set by Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle — to provide a report on the issue. Houle has demanded Parliament ban all evictions of tent cities on public lands and “ensure police, bylaw enforcement officers and private security firms do not play any direct role in managing encampments.” She also recommended homeless residents receive “access to clean water, sanitation, food, heating and cooling, accessibility supports, health care and harm reductions.”"
Of course, if you don't feed the homeless-industrial complex by enabling and encouraging homelessness, that is a moral failure
CBC panelist says “racism” “poverty” and “colonialism” are the root causes of homelessness : CanadaHousing2 - "Someone needs to tell that to the countless homeless white dudes I see in my city."
"Even in ultra diverse Vancouver it’s mostly white dudes sleeping rough."
Canada’s housing advocate has a roadmap to end homelessness. What is it? - "The report called on the provinces to strengthen the protection of tenant rights, including rent control and vacancy control, as well as protection against above-guideline rent increases, forced evictions for rent arrears and evictions into homelessness... Houle said cities must ensure clean drinking water, sanitation, cooking facilities and waste collection on-site or in reasonable proximity to encampments. For encampment residents suffering from substance addiction, she said cities must ensure access to harm reduction services and regulated safe supply. The report urges that human rights must be at the heart of the approach to end homelessness."
Clearly, supporting homelessness and deterring landlords from renting out their property is the way to end it
‘Fear, stress’: Toronto residents pen letter to city over homeless encampment - "“Residents are experiencing fear, stress and anxiety from this encampment,” the letter reads in part... Residents say they have witnessed a number of incidents over the past several months alone. Among them is an alleged physical assault on a female employee from a nearby business. Their major concerns also include harassment, human feces and urine in the park and tents being heated with propane tanks. “We would like this park cleaned up. We would like it to be a safe place again,” said Jason Backs, a property manager in the area and resident himself. “We would like to be able to take our children to the park.”... “Unfortunately, during COVID there was an explosion of tents,” he said. “Now they have a generator. There’s been a number of fires.” Toronto Fire Services (TFS) confirms it recently responded to a fire at the encampment. Video obtained by Global News shows thick smoke billowing and flames. TFS tells us there were no reported injuries and a cause has not been determined."
All the virtue signalling left wingers should be forced to live beside the homeless
As homelessness in Moncton grows, so do challenges for downtown businesses - "According to Patrick Richard, executive director of Downtown Moncton Centre-ville, downtown businesses continue to raise concerns about an uptick in theft, vandalism, break-ins and concerns over customer safety. Flint opened the Groggy Frog Café about three years ago, just a few blocks away from two homeless shelters. She said she has encountered many people experiencing a mental health crisis in the café and has discovered people injecting opioids in the washroom... Colpitts Menswear on Main Street locks its front door during business hours, requiring customers to ring a doorbell before coming in. Manager Mathieu Hunt said the clothing boutique was dealing with "grab-and-run" thieves, and people on the sidewalk were making customers feel unsafe because of what he called "questionable" activity. "You're walking down Main Street and you'll hear people screaming at you for no obvious reason," he said... A few blocks away on St. George Street, another clothing store is now shuttered after packing up and moving. Boutique 2nd Look, a women's consignment store, moved in the fall to a new location in the suburban north end. Owner Ginette Robichaud said downtown crime played a part in her decision. She was looking for a bigger space and said the city centre was "off-limits" in her search."
Weird. We're told it's a myth that the homelessness increases crime rates
Toronto residents demand action after popular four-star hotel becomes homeless shelter - "Their phones are full of photos and videos of things they say have become a daily occurrence in their Toronto neighbourhood. Used needles, piles of garbage, human waste on the street. Some residents of The Esplanade say these things they encounter far too frequently. Things that they say have only been an issue since February, when the city opened a temporary homeless shelter at 45 The Esplanade... "My first thought was, the homeless have to live somewhere," long-time resident Laura Ormesher told CTV News Toronto. "I was sympathetic to them, but it has been an absolute nightmare." Romie Skeat, who's lived in The Esplanade since 1988, says the neighbourhood has changed dramatically since the shelter opened. "The most significant change I would say is the fact that I am no longer comfortable when I am walking home," Skeat said, adding she doesn't leave her home much anymore due to fears for her own safety. Other residents, fearful to speak publicly, show pages of notes, detailing hundreds of incidents, from fist fights, to aggressive encounters, to open drug use and overdoses on the street. Incidents that draw police and paramedic visits to the street almost day. "It's also brought quite a number of other people to the area that are looking to either piggyback on the drug dealing that's going on around the 45 The Esplanade site, or to try and get in to 45 The Esplanade”... Residents say while the problems outside the facility are obvious, there also appear to be problems inside the hotel as well. Photos posted to a community Facebook page show a room that appears to have been trashed, with furniture broken and carpet ripped up. Another photo shows a room with excessive garbage being cleaned by two people in protective clothing. Other photos show a smashed toilet, and a vandalized door... several residents say they don't feel safe. "I'd like to feel that my safety and my comfort are given equal priority and I don't,” Skeat said. "Right now I feel that as a taxpaying citizen I'm shovelled to the back.""
Weird. We're told that it's a myth that homeless shelters increase crime. Probably the studies reporting that looked at shelters where discipline is enforced. But that is literal fascism, so
Fire at Clarence Park encampment just now : toronto - "Encampments are filled with drug abuse, prostitution, fire hazards, needles. You name it Made me laugh when we had actual protesters trying to keep these places up. Almost like they were happy these homeless people live in squalor"
Homeless camp tavern pops up on Denver street: cops - "A decked-out, open-air tavern for the homeless that also rents out tents for prostitution has popped up in downtown Denver... She said an encampment serving liquor to the unhoused would only exacerbate the city’s homeless problem, citing a report claiming over 80% of the homeless have experienced lifetime alcohol and/or drug problems. A 2022 report on street mortality showed that drugs and alcohol were the cause of 60% of homeless deaths"
Meanwhile, left wingers claim there's nothing wrong with the homeless being on drugs, because normal people are too and the homeless need stress relief too
5 charged after guns, $73K in drugs seized from downtown Calgary homeless camp
Target unacceptable homeless camps by treating drug addiction - "Instead of tolerating or enabling encampments, governments need to telegraph that we, as a society, don’t accept that they are an acceptable solution to homelessness — and that we will address the root causes of the problem, which include a dearth of low-income housing, inadequate shelter space, rising mental illness, and growing drug addiction... Portugal. In 2000, that nation famously decriminalized the possessions of all drugs, from cannabis to heroin. But what most people don’t know is that use is still illegal. If you are caught using drugs, you get a ticket and must appear before the “dissuasion commission”. There, you will be given options to meet with social workers, psychologists and other professionals to help get you clean. No free drugs, no needle exchanges, no sleeping on the streets and shooting up. As for dealers, they are still dealt with in the criminal justice system. Today, Portugal’s rates of substance use by people aged 15 to 34 are some of the lowest in the world. Overdoses are rare and HIV transmission among drug users dropped from 518 cases in 2000 to only 13 in 2019. Social costs, including the costs of crime, also fell. The results are so promising that Alberta is currently studying the model in hopes of implementing it as well. That’s not to say that Portugal does not have any homelessness. Increased costs of living have provoked a surge in homelessness in the past few years, and the country’s president has vowed to combat the problem. But Portugal’s homeless encampments are not fuelled by drugs like they were before decriminalization; they are the product of migration and displacements of low-wage workers who cannot afford rising rents."
Meme - "Reminds me of how back the late 80s a bunch of anarchists would try and stop the NYPD from cleaning up and renovating Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, which was full of homeless people and drug dealers at the time. There's a bizarre strain of anarchism in America that sees drug addicts as noble and oppressed underdogs in need of liberation, and not deeply pathetic and broken people who need serious help in the form of an intervention--and who need to be separated from the general public because they can become dangerous without warning."
"You will die alone and unwanted. Like...genuinely, you have fundamentally misunderstood why people care about homeless people and are so misanthropic you can only see empathy as supporting their current suffering."
Swann Marcus on X - "This stuff is so funny to me. All the places with both a) the most homeless and b) the most fucked up homeless are places where progressives have the most power I don't think every progressive is faking empathy, but their version of empathy is called "enabling" at interventions. They don't want to do anything to try and get drug addicts help - because they think the state doing anything about it is inherently oppressive - so their idea of "empathy" is giving homeless people a park to sleep in and free rein to die of fentanyl overdoses. Cali is responsible for half of the country's unsheltered homeless population and there are more homeless people in Los Angeles county than in TX and FL combined. Ppl in Cali probably "care" about the homeless more than ppl in TX, but it doesn't seem to help the homeless any"
The Notorious S.E.B. on X - "there is a major streak of poverty fetishization on the Left. Their version of the right wing homesteader fantasy, the poor are noble and uncorrupted by capitalism and the bounds of the state"
What we heard: Vomit, drug use and harassment scare riders from CTrain. But could a crackdown cost lives? - "We've had hundreds of people write in — stories about vomit, getting hit or pushed, seeing drug use, experiencing fear and a finding new determination to stay as far away from the train as possible. Many say they use the bus instead when they can because then a driver is present. Carver Philips said the drugs and harassment made him switch to the bus but it doubled his commute time."
The "solution" to homelessness - let them terrorise riders of public transit. If you disagree, you're heartless
I am homeless But I now understand why there's so much Hate towards the homeless. - "There's a significant number of homeless individuals abusing the system (Ontario Works) as they received their cheques over the past few days. Today, I experienced something incredibly distressing. (I've managed to secure a gym membership to stay clean, shower regularly, and work on improving my physical health.) While heading to the gym just a few hours ago, I encountered a homeless man nodding off in a hallway, standing up, hunched over with his back arched at a 90-degree angle, showing signs of overdosing. I immediately called an ambulance, but the shock and horror lingered with me."
Clearly, the problem is heartless conservative governments not giving enough social support
The “Housing First” Approach Has Failed: Time to Reform Federal Policy and Make it Work for Homeless Americans - "Progressive political leaders have insisted that homelessness is caused by lack of affordable housing, but in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, the number of people on the streets has increased year over year despite large-scale investments in subsidized and permanent supportive housing. In order to reduce homelessness, policymakers at all levels must understand that chronic and long-term homelessness is not primarily a housing problem—it is a human problem. According to a 2019 report from the University of California Los Angeles analyzing data from 64,000 surveys, 75 percent of the unsheltered homeless have substance-abuse disorders, 78 percent have mental health disorders, and 84 percent have physical health conditions... In recent years, the federal policy response to homelessness has centered on a single concept: Housing First, which holds that the public should provide permanent housing for the homeless without requiring abstinence from drugs and alcohol, or even participation in substance abuse treatment or mental health services... Today, the vast majority of federal homelessness funding is spent on Housing First programs. According to a recent analysis, HUD allocates approximately 74 percent of all competitive grants to permanent supportive housing projects—even though these projects were originally intended to only serve the small fraction of the general homeless population that is “chronically homeless.”... What went wrong? Despite Housing First advocates’ insistence that their approach would be “research-and-data-driven, performance-based, and results-oriented,” the policy failed to produce results even on its own terms... In the most rigorous studies, Housing First increases overall costs—the precise opposite of what Housing First activists have claimed. However, the real problem with Housing First is not that it increases costs, but that it does not help human beings... The most devastating evidence against the Housing First approach, which is used in many Western countries, is a recent control group study in Ottawa, Canada, which compared outcomes between a Housing First population and a nonintervention control group. Although the Housing First group showed higher rates of housing retention after 24 months, it also showed higher rates of substance abuse, mental illness, and death than the control group—which consisted of people who were simply left on the streets. The Housing First cohort was provided with free housing, medical care, case management, substance abuse treatment, and mental health services. And yet, the control group, which was not provided anything, reported lower rates of substance abuse and psychiatric symptoms, and higher rates of family connectedness and overall quality of life after 24 months... many Housing First programs end up concentrating the worst aspects of street homelessness—drug abuse, psychosis, and social pathology—into physical housing complexes. This can create a vicious cycle and, tragically, make it nearly impossible for the homeless to overcome their personal challenges... One HUD report found that 41 percent of Housing First residents in the study disappeared for weeks or months at a time, choosing to live on the streets despite having access to secure housing... Fortunately, there is an emerging body of research that supports an alternative policy: the so-called Treatment First approach"
The left want to give everyone free houses, probably because they like the idea of free stuff and hate "stigma"
Establishing a right to housing is a bad idea - "In the 2014 decision in Tanudjaja v Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that a claim by a coalition of applicants that actions and inaction on the part of Canada and Ontario resulted in homelessness and inadequate housing was not even justiciable. The Court underscored that the government had no positive legal obligation to provide equitable housing and that the dispute was for policymakers to resolve. The proscription against finding positive legal obligations under the Charter was also emphasized in 2002’s Gosselin v Quebec, where the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an argument that s. 7 of the Charter requires the provision of a minimum level of social assistance adequate to meet basic needs. There are good reasons for this. The judiciary is not democratically accountable and not representative of the local community or political spectrum. It may not levy taxes nor formulate budgets. The notion of a court dictating to governments the precise number of shelter beds they must provide in order to avoid running afoul of the Constitution effectively inserts the judiciary within the dynamic activity of governing. Asserting a constitutionally protected right to shelter is not only doctrinally questionable, it’s also impractical. In New York City, the City has had a “right to shelter” policy since the 1980s. The policy mandates the City to provide a bed for anyone who requests one. But it hasn’t worked. That policy is currently beleaguered due to a high influx of migrants exceeding the city’s shelter capacities. The City has apparently decided that “right to shelter” or not, there are limits to how many people taxpayers can afford to house. New York’s current shelter space crisis exemplifies why it is governments and not the judiciary that can rightfully commit itself to a policy as onerous as a “right to shelter”: it is the City that must assess whether to slash other social programs, request federal funding, raise taxes, or decide the policy is simply no longer viable. None of which are powers judges possess. The Charter is a classical liberal document that grants individuals rights against the state: to refrain from interfering with an individual’s right to express herself, move about, exercise free conscience, and be free from discrimination. Judges are well positioned to play referee when government actions wade into private life without sufficient justification. They are very poorly positioned to decide how best to resolve complex policy debates."
Clearly, declaring something a human right, or a crisis, will solve the problem. But liberals believe words matter more than actions, so
Homeless encampment fire - "This is the third homeless encampment fire in as many days"
We need more liberals to demonstrate to support their "neighbors in tents", and block attempts to remove encampments
Cities crack down on homeless encampments. Advocates say that’s not the answer - "City officials are particularly frustrated by people who have housing, but won't stay in it. Michael Johnson, 40, has been homeless in San Francisco for six years. Before that, he lived with his pregnant girlfriend and was a driver for a commuter van tech start-up. But he lost his job, and their baby died. He was assigned a coveted one-room pre-fabricated structure with a bed, desk and chair, a window and locking door. But his friends aren't there and to him, it feels like jail, so he's sleeping in a tent. At his tent, friends hang out, including Charise Haley, 31, who says shelter rules can make grownups feel like children. She left one shelter because residents weren't allowed to keep room keys and had to ask staff to get in... There are many reasons why someone might reject shelter, say homeless people and their advocates. Some have been assaulted at shelters, or had their belongings stolen. Sometimes, they don't want to pare down their belongings, or follow rules that prohibit drugs and drinking, officials say. Of the 20 people at the San Francisco encampment, six accepted temporary housing and seven declined, said Francis Zamora, a spokesperson for the Department of Emergency Management at the time of the August operation. Two people already had housing and five wouldn't communicate with outreach workers, Zamora said. The city has connected more than 1,500 people to housing this year. It's unclear, however, if they remain housed... “They just totally failed to connect people to shelter or to housing,” Lander, who opposes sweeps, told the AP. “If you’re gonna help them, you have to build trust with them to move them into housing and services. The sweeps really went in the opposite direction." A spokesperson for Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Charles Lutvak, disagreed. He said 70% of camp sites cleared were not re-established and homeless residents accepted offers of shelter at a rate six times higher than under the previous administration."
Weird. Liberals mock the idea that some people choose to be homeless
Meme - "Seattle is the worst place in the world full of the worst people in the world: middle-to-upper class white liberals
Dr. CBS @blackleftaf: "Liberalism in a nutshell."
The Needling @TheNeedling: "Homeless Encampment Swept Ahead of North Seattle Walk to End Homelessness"
What happens when you give 50 homeless people $7,500 each? A Canadian study found out - "the study did not include people with severe substance or alcohol use or mental health symptoms... Zhao calculated that the handout generated a net saving of almost $800 per recipient, taking into account the costs that would have been involved in providing shelter accommodation... Spending on “temptation goods” was no different between the recipients and the control group."
The cost savings might say more about the bloat of the homeless-industrial complex than giving money to homeless people
Of course the fact that the population was screened won't stop liberals from demanding that all homeless people get free money
NYC Confronts Homelessness Crisis as Shelters are Overwhelmed - The New York Times - "For over a year, record numbers of asylum seekers have arrived in New York from across the globe, nearly doubling the city’s homeless population in one huge spasm: More than 100,000 people now live in shelters in the city. Unlike other American cities, especially in the West, where thousands live in the streets for lack of other options, New York City is legally required to give anyone shelter who asks for it. But now the shelters are full."
NYC Mayor Eric Adams' controversial new approach to homelessness - "New York City Mayor Eric Adams gave the city’s first responders, including its police force, a controversial new task this week – to enforce a state law that allows them to involuntarily commit people experiencing a mental health crisis... The move follows a raft of violence in New York City and also increasingly visible homeless encampments in New York and cities around the country. Adams framed the policy as a way to help people who need it... Mental health professionals are questioning it. “We are defaulting to an extreme that takes away basic human rights,” Matt Kudish, CEO of the New York chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said in a statement after Adams’ announcement."
Allow more Jordan Neelys then use their deaths as political leverage. Winning strategy
