adma
Superstar
Let Mies van der Rohe have the final word in this thread
|
|
|
Nathan Phillips Square Homeless Issue
- Thread starter condovo
- Start date
Torontovibe
Senior Member
After reading all the heartfelt messages for Layton, in Nathan Phillips Square this afternoon and then reading the stupidity on here, I find it rather depressing. Enough already.
nfitz
Superstar
Agreed. Why the moderators haven't banned a certain troll is beyond me ... he is clearly doing nothing but fishing for reactions, and has lied to us about his origins.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
There is a memorial service to honour the more than 600 homeless people who have died on our streets in recent years, held on the second Tuesday of every month at 12 noon outside the Church of the Holy Trinity behind the Eaton Centre.
http://www.holytrinitytoronto.org/w...omeless-Memorial-OFFICIAL-LIST-2011-01-31.pdf
http://www.holytrinitytoronto.org/w...omeless-Memorial-OFFICIAL-LIST-2011-01-31.pdf
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Ford, the man with a big heart, wants to toss panhandlers into jail (probably those new, shiny Super-Jails that his buddy Harper is building) after a warning. Here is part one of a series of how and why many people panhandle in Toronto. It's worth a watch, each can draw their own conclusions.
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/152564--panhandlers-in-the-city-part-1
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/152564--panhandlers-in-the-city-part-1
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
Before heading out to The Beaches for lunch with a friend ( that fish and chip shop next to the Fox theatre on Queen does a $5 take out, including a can of pop! ) and a lazy afternoon on the patio at the Balmy Beach Club, I dropped by Holy Trinity to catch up on all the latest news from the homeless people who go there ( it's always better to go directly to the source ), and the woman I spoke to said that Gargantua and Pentagruel are planning a crackdown on the homeless soon. She pointed out that the benches under the walkways at the Square have now been removed, and that Frick and Frack will be "enforcing the bylaw" to have people removed from the property and make life even more difficult for that unfortunate community. She, along with many other homeless, doesn't want to go to a shelter because they're apparently full of drug addicts who have been evicted from apartments for non-payment of rent, and thieves. She made the point, which seems quite sensible to me, that if their rent was paid for them then they wouldn't cash their assistance cheques and spend the money on drugs.
EMP1729
Active Member
I don't understand what you mean. If a person has their rent paid for them by someone else, what is stopping that person from spending their assistance cheque on drugs? Or do you mean that instead of giving out assistance cheques, prepay their rent?
Having worked with social assistance recipients for many years, I have long advocated for prepaid rent and some sort of food voucher system. However, like anything, it's not simple. Not everyone needs help with budgeting or stretching an insufficient monthly budget to cover costs, but some folks do. I've worked with people who love this type of arrangements and others who wouldn't thank you for it. I've seen people go hungry, including children, living without heat, risking eviction and the list goes on.
So what to do? A blanket prepaid rent system? That works out well for those who don't/won't pay their rent and for the landlords who then get paid on time, but what about personal pride, learning budgeting skills, taking responsibility,etc? Let people try and if they're struggling after a certain amount of time, start a prepaid/voucher system?
I've struggled with these questions for years!
So what to do? A blanket prepaid rent system? That works out well for those who don't/won't pay their rent and for the landlords who then get paid on time, but what about personal pride, learning budgeting skills, taking responsibility,etc? Let people try and if they're struggling after a certain amount of time, start a prepaid/voucher system?
I've struggled with these questions for years!
DarnDirtyApe
Active Member
To me it seems pretty simple - rental allowances should be paid directly to landlords. If the tenant has a problem with the landlord, their case worker can deal with it. At a certain point we should not be worrying about personal pride, and more concerned that people do not get evicted.
byont
New Member
The people sleeping on those benches are there out of choice. The new massive Salvation Army homeless shelter at Jarvis and Shuter is half empty most days.
byont
New Member
Food vouchers don't work. The homeless trade them for cigarettes and alcohol.
greenleaf
Senior Member
What NYC is doing (similar to what we're doing too, with the New Edwin Hotel residences on Queen St E as an example):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/n...s-helping-bronxs-chronic-homeless-adults.html
"Infusions of government money have revitalized many poorer neighborhoods in the Bronx, but the problem of people living on the streets has persisted. Now, though, a new strategy is showing surprising results: the number of single, homeless people in the borough has dropped roughly 80 percent since 2005, according to a recent estimate by the city.
The Bloomberg administration said it had been able to lure them off the streets by opening smaller and more welcoming shelters it calls Safe Havens, which typically have about 40 beds each. The Department of Homeless Services has also contracted with one nonprofit group in each borough to scour the streets around the clock, seven days a week, and persuade homeless people to move inside.
At the Safe Havens, which began operating in 2007, the nonprofit groups help homeless adults find permanent homes with social services close by.
“The city recognized it was time to readdress the way street homelessness was dealt with,” said Douglas Becht, the director of the homeless outreach team for BronxWorks, the nonprofit group in the Bronx. “The widespread success shows that the system that they set up is a really good system.” "
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/n...s-helping-bronxs-chronic-homeless-adults.html
"Infusions of government money have revitalized many poorer neighborhoods in the Bronx, but the problem of people living on the streets has persisted. Now, though, a new strategy is showing surprising results: the number of single, homeless people in the borough has dropped roughly 80 percent since 2005, according to a recent estimate by the city.
The Bloomberg administration said it had been able to lure them off the streets by opening smaller and more welcoming shelters it calls Safe Havens, which typically have about 40 beds each. The Department of Homeless Services has also contracted with one nonprofit group in each borough to scour the streets around the clock, seven days a week, and persuade homeless people to move inside.
At the Safe Havens, which began operating in 2007, the nonprofit groups help homeless adults find permanent homes with social services close by.
“The city recognized it was time to readdress the way street homelessness was dealt with,” said Douglas Becht, the director of the homeless outreach team for BronxWorks, the nonprofit group in the Bronx. “The widespread success shows that the system that they set up is a really good system.” "
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Totally the right idea - wonder how receptive the current administration would be to that though.
AoD
AoD
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Possibly, as long as they're not in Etobicoke!
greenleaf
Senior Member
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-harpers-hard-line-reputation/article2283837/
It’s the most comprehensive research experiment with homelessness in Canada, if not the world, researchers say. And it’s working.
“We now have enough experience to know this can be done,” says Paula Goering, lead researcher for the project.
The pilot project has its origins in the political dust-up of 2006. With Paul Martin’s minority Liberal government on life support, NDP leader Jack Layton demanded billions in federal funding for housing and homelessness. The bargain eventually broke down, but left behind a mounting public concern that homelessness had been ignored for too long.
The government agreed to set up a program through the newly-minted Mental Health Commission. As is Mr. Harper’s style, it was to be finely-targeted, one-time funding.
But top government officials, in touch with Ms. Goering and other researchers on the front lines, argued that homelessness was a growing scourge in every major city. And they saw a new approach in the parts of the United States that seemed to be producing results: dramatic reductions in homelessness, all while saving money on social services, and law enforcement.
The approach, known as “housing first,” rejects the traditional method of trying to fix homeless people’s underlying problems before guiding them towards affordable housing. Instead, the home comes first – heavily subsidized and with no strings attached. Then, a support team swoops in and bombards the homeless people with services of all kinds, if they want them.
It’s the most comprehensive research experiment with homelessness in Canada, if not the world, researchers say. And it’s working.
“We now have enough experience to know this can be done,” says Paula Goering, lead researcher for the project.
The pilot project has its origins in the political dust-up of 2006. With Paul Martin’s minority Liberal government on life support, NDP leader Jack Layton demanded billions in federal funding for housing and homelessness. The bargain eventually broke down, but left behind a mounting public concern that homelessness had been ignored for too long.
The government agreed to set up a program through the newly-minted Mental Health Commission. As is Mr. Harper’s style, it was to be finely-targeted, one-time funding.
But top government officials, in touch with Ms. Goering and other researchers on the front lines, argued that homelessness was a growing scourge in every major city. And they saw a new approach in the parts of the United States that seemed to be producing results: dramatic reductions in homelessness, all while saving money on social services, and law enforcement.
The approach, known as “housing first,” rejects the traditional method of trying to fix homeless people’s underlying problems before guiding them towards affordable housing. Instead, the home comes first – heavily subsidized and with no strings attached. Then, a support team swoops in and bombards the homeless people with services of all kinds, if they want them.