How to solve homeless issue?

[SubHuman]

People climbing onto the subway tracks, or the guy carrying around a large bag of bottles and rocks he throws at cars and through the biggest windows he sees while screaming at the invisible demons in his mind, should be in a psychiatric institution, not in shelters for the night where they can freely leave every morning to create their mayhem.
Likewise the catatonic guy with little or no idea of where he is, who has been soiling himself and wearing the same clothes for two years, should be in some kind of long-term health care facility, not a shelter.
If the shelters were used only by those who were not problematic (to themselves, and the rest of us) and otherwise lucid, no one would have any problem with them being in their vicinity.

 

[Admiral Beez]

People climbing onto the subway tracks, or the guy carrying around a large bag of bottles and rocks he throws at cars and through the biggest windows he sees while screaming at the invisible demons in his mind, should be in a psychiatric institution, not in shelters for the night where they can freely leave every morning to create their mayhem.
Likewise the catatonic guy with little or no idea of where he is, who has been soiling himself and wearing the same clothes for two years, should be in some kind of long-term health care facility, not a shelter.
If the shelters were used only by those who were not problematic (to themselves, and the rest of us) and otherwise lucid, no one would have any problem with them being in their vicinity.

Indeed. The insane and addicted should be institutionalized if necessary. Everyone else who’s homeless should be triaged and assigned a mini home (like in Halifax and Peterborough below) until more permanent housing can found.

 

[Towered]

Coming out of Tilt on Saturday and getting into the car on Queen Street, some vagrant swore at my 7 year old son. I went nuclear on this guy - like, we're talking Bugatti 0-60 rage acceleration.

I used to be such a chill person.

 

[Lisa1956]

Coming out of Tilt on Saturday and getting into the car on Queen Street, some vagrant swore at my 7 year old son. I went nuclear on this guy - like, we're talking Bugatti 0-60 rage acceleration.

I used to be such a chill person.

The lack of consequences is part of the problem. Not referring to jail but the fact that everyone just takes this crap, never says anything in response. Nothing wrong with letting someone know their sh*t belongs to them and they ought to keep it to themselves.

 

[fstocker]

So there I was, at the old greyhound station, -20 weather, wrapped up in 4 sleeping bags and a tarp. I looked like a pile of garbage, that was intentional, kept the police and riff raff from harassing me as I tend to like keeping to myself.

Didn’t work out that way that day, camouflage only works until it doesn’t … Police came, threatened to arrest me and throw my things in the garbage, that is when I started recording. The officer's tune changed incredibly quickly when I informed him that he was currently being streamed on YouTube.

I asked him if he could give me his name and badge number, he said ‘it’s right there’ pointing at his name tag in the dark … Officers are required to give their name and badge number upon request, I didn’t get that, treated like I was sub-human, apparently not deserving of any courtesy being a street urchin, a cretin in their eyes.

I then asked if the officer was going to come back and harass me for being on the sidewalk … His response: “It’s public property, do what you want, the city doesn't care”

So why bother me in the first place?

I think his comment clearly shows what the city’s attitude is given that he was a uniformed City of Toronto Police Officer, on duty and harassing a homeless person … to punish and degrade, not serve and protect

The video is on YouTube, but really it seems that nobody cares about that either … The city and its people have abandoned those of us who have no home, and not by only discarding us, but by treating us like we are lesser than the filth on their shoes.

“It’s public property, do what you want, the city doesn't care” … It still echo’s in my head, ringing, stinging worse than the frostbite I was suffering on my feet at the time. It still affects me, to be so easily discarded, thrown away like a used diaper.

Tell a person that they are nothing, treat them like they are worth less than the jam between your toes, and see, over time, how they crumble to dust.

I will not live up to their expectations, becoming just dust on the wind.

I will be a leaf on that wind … watch me soar

F Stocker

 

[evandyk]

You registered just to post that?

 

[evandyk]

The activists are tweeting that the cops were in Dufferin Grove to clear the encampment, but the video they posted as evidence shows nothing happening. Anyone know what’s going on?

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[evandyk]

A more detailed article on it, describing the situation of some of the park residents.

https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-hall/dufferin-grove-homeless-encampment-residents-fear-imminent-forced-eviction-11214956

During the time they’ve lived in the park, Sad said city workers have offered referrals to municipal shelters and once to a supportive housing facility. But they said they have refused these offers because they don’t want to live in a place where they are surveilled by city workers.

I understand the view that refusing shelter space is reasonable because of the terrible conditions in the group shelter. But if you’ve been offered and refused supportive housing, the city should be moving you out of the park.

Where to? I don’t know, but not next to a playground.

 

[Towered]

Gee, maybe we'll get our beloved park back by next summer. What's the rush, city clowns?

I hope my won will still care at that point.

 

[txlseries4]

Heard a helicopter overhead earlier this morning in the west end, read it was a news chopper and may be related to the eviction at Dufferin Grove. The Dufferin Grove Encampment posted a video within the last hour showing city staff and contracted security on site. The video shows two large parks trucks right up against a person's encampment, though no one's belongs are being moved, people are understandably agitated with the situation. Can't help but think the oversized F250s just adds to the tension.

The dwindling number of tents over the past year has felt apparent to me. I remember going through at one point last year and there were 30. Last week I saw just 10.

It was surreal to walk through the park's farmer's market last Thursday, featuring meagre artisan loaves for $7 and 3L baskets of fruit for $9, and just 100m away there are people living in tents.

 

[evandyk]

The dwindling number of tents over the past year has felt apparent to me. I remember going through at one point last year and there were 30. Last week I saw just 10.

It was surreal to walk through the park's farmer's market last Thursday, featuring meagre artisan loaves for $7 and 3L baskets of fruit for $9, and just 100m away there are people living in tents.

According to the city's numbers, there are currently 9 people living there and 14 tents. The security and support costs are about $150K/month. At the height of the encampment they said there was over 100 tents.

 

[txlseries4]

According to the city's numbers, there are currently 9 people living there and 14 tents. The security and support costs are about $150K/month. At the height of the encampment they said there was over 100 tents.

I'm fairly certain it was Alexandra Park that had 100 back in 2021. I've never seen anywhere near that amount at Dufferin Grove

 

[evandyk]

I’m going by memory from the presentation the city gave at a community meeting earlier this year. We moved near the park last year, and the number in June and July was certainly more like 100 than 30.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

According to the city's numbers, there are currently 9 people living there and 14 tents. The security and support costs are about $150K/month. At the height of the encampment they said there was over 100 tents.

The cost of that over a year is equivalent to 720 person-month of rent (using a rough average rent of 2.5K/month for a one-bedroom). Granted not all of it can be spent on housing given the needs of the population - but there has got to be a better way than spending vast amounts for an inferior outcome.

AoD

 

[Admiral Beez]

It was surreal to walk through the park's farmer's market last Thursday, featuring meagre artisan loaves for $7 and 3L baskets of fruit for $9, and just 100m away there are people living in tents.

Community events like farmers markets bring balance to areas that are otherwise often surrendered to encampments and addicts. A few weeks back we had the Cabbagetown festival and several people remarked to me that it felt like a take back your streets action, with what they called, just normal folks and families enjoying the day, visiting vendors, listening to live music, all without the beggars and unpredictable muttering vagrants loitering outside shops and doorsteps. In truth they were still there, but vastly outnumbered by normies. And that's how we can take back our parks and reduce the impact of the encampments, etc. by using the parks ourselves. Imagine Allan Gardens park (not just the greenhouse) with Buskerfest, or an art and music festival that brings hundreds of sane, sober and sheltered families to the park - it would soon leave the impression that this is not discarded, neglected public space, countering the broken window theory.

Of course this does nothing to resolve the homelessness crisis, only supportive permanent housing can. But as they say on the Riverbank, that's another story.