How widespread are the homeless/mental health/addiction issues in your city/province?

[urbandreamer]

Ha! However, what we're doing now is useless.

Edmonton and Winnipeg may be lost causes; however alcohol prohibition across Canada could lead to less poverty, addiction and mental illness.

[thebasketballgeek]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

Ha! However, what we're doing now is useless.

Edmonton and Winnipeg may be lost causes; however alcohol prohibition across Canada could lead to less poverty, addiction and mental illness.

??? We are not a third world country there is no such thing as a city in Canada that could be a lost cause.

Interestingly the 2 cities you referred too have the highest Indigenous populations in Canada. I wonder if you actually saw the Truth & Reconciliation marches throughout Canada. Winnipeg had BY FAR the biggest turnout, scale, and general vibrancy.

In fact, I’ll open this can of worms for you. If Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is a “problem for Canada” then Winnipeg’s North End should be #1 on the priority list for revitalization. Just because Canada doesn’t give a shit about the prairies doesn’t mean you discard a decent portion of the countries population and economy.

Alcohol prohibition has never worked and it will never work. If you want people too buy alcohol on the black market where consumers are in risk of far greater danger then ask yourself if you truly want what’s best for Canada and especially Indigenous people because your comment quite frankly is wrong place and wrong time.

The root cause of the issue is the trauma imposed by British imperialism and the Catholic Church on the general Indigenous populace because of racism from the Eastern part of Canada. As a visible minority living in Winnipeg I don’t seem too have much issue with racist remarks because guess what Winnipeg and Edmonton are literally 2 of the most diverse cities in the entire planet. However, the white man always thinks with his Eurocentric lens and thinks the established white (usually racist) population of both cities is a representation of the whole municipality.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

Ha! However, what we're doing now is useless.

Edmonton and Winnipeg may be lost causes; however alcohol prohibition across Canada could lead to less poverty, addiction and mental illness.

You can't be actually serious.

Prohibition has never worked. It currently doesn't work for opioids and pharmaceutical drugs. We're just shy of 5 years away from the government recognizing that it doesn't work for weed. Alcohol prohibition didn't work 100 years ago, when you had to send physical messages to people and somebody had to teach you in person or read it in a book. Nowadays with the internet it would be 10x harder to try to prevent people finding how to make it, where to get ingredients, etc.

Alcohol is so easy to make. Yeast is a magic little bug that will do all the work for you, just give it some sugar to eat. It can be made anywhere (not needing tropical ingredients) and puts off nothing but carbon dioxide.

Any source of sugar. Sugar, molasses, most grains, fruit, fruit juice. I make gallons of hard cider every summer using nothing but whatever apple juice is on sale and a packet of yeast.


... actually, I bet a new prohibition would be extremely profitable for me

[urbandreamer]

I think the root cause is the trauma imposed by poverty, loneliness, isolation and the consumption of drugs and alcohol.

I drove around the North End extensively, as my grandmother's family lived in Luxton; I stayed on the other side of the river in the Bronx 'hood. Although I criticize it, I actually really like Winnipeg. It was easy to forget about the city when I left it: from Bird's Hill PP and towns like Dugald, the skyline practically disappears and feels like you're in the middle of nowhere.

What FN need to do is start businesses, employ their own kind so to speak and generally follow the typical route to success immigrants have done for centuries.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

What FN need to do is start businesses, employ their own kind so to speak and generally follow the typical route to success immigrants have done for centuries.

Many if not most FNs are doing those things. And I've seen examples in your province as well. And many Indigenous people have moved to cities for work just like many immigrants have done.

The big difference is education. Most of the immigrants coming here are well educated or have had experience in business. Many Indigenous people did not get through the education system that they were exposed to but things have gotten better for the younger ones.

[Wigs]

House the homeless (everyone that wants shelter, a few are resigned to the life they've been living for decades) and then deal with their substance and mental health issues.
Every Canadian deserves a roof over their head.
Finland and other nations are doing this right now. Housing First

Look at how callous Americans are. "I got mine, if you didn't get yours go ---- yourselves. Not with MY taxpayer dollars"

Finland's reduction in homeless with their Housing First strategy is a success

https://oecdecoscope.blog/2021/12/13...success-story/

[Loco101]

That is really interesting to see concerning Finland. The Nordic countries often give us good ideas of how to and how not to handle many issues. We have a sizable Finnish-Canadian population in Northern Ontario so I'm surprised that nobody here has mentioned the Finnish model. I realize that things here aren't exactly like in Finland but it's definitely something worth exploring and trying.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Loco101

That is really interesting to see concerning Finland. The Nordic countries often give us good ideas of how to and how not to handle many issues. We have a sizable Finnish-Canadian population in Northern Ontario so I'm surprised that nobody here has mentioned the Finnish model. I realize that things here aren't exactly like in Finland but it's definitely something worth exploring and trying.

it took exactly 3 seconds of googling

Our elected officials aren't even TRYING.

[niwell]

Just a little too close to “socialism” for us to try. Ignoring that’s the whole basis of our welfare state. But whatever I guess.

[thebasketballgeek]

Originally Posted by niwell

Just a little too close to “socialism” for us to try. Ignoring that’s the whole basis of our welfare state. But whatever I guess.

Talking to some of my right-wing friends they think Canada is already a communist country so might as well go full throttle to socialism

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

Talking to some of my right-wing friends they think Canada is already a communist country so might as well go full throttle to socialism

Ask them if they've ever been on EI.
then call them Commie bastards

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by niwell

Just a little too close to “socialism” for us to try. Ignoring that’s the whole basis of our welfare state. But whatever I guess.

Canadians: We're not Americans

Also Canadians: Capitalism is the best system we have. We cannot have a hybrid system or any talk of helping Canada's less fortunate populations. I didn't cause them to be homeless, have a drug problem, or mental illness. It's not MY responsibility.

meanwhile...

While there is no OECD-wide average against which to compare Finland’s homeless rate of 0.08%, other countries with similarly broad definitions of homelessness provide points of reference, such as neighbouring Sweden (0.33%) or the Netherlands (0.23%)

0.08%!

[Coldrsx]

@jkenney
LIVE: The Government of Alberta is announcing $187 million in new funding to address addiction and homelessness in Edmonton and Calgary
---

@AmarjeetSohiYEG

for making today’s announcement happen. The $70M announced today will support many important initiatives and also help close the funding gap between Edmonton and Calgary to support our unhoused neighbours.

https://twitter.com/jkenney/status/1576263015380709376

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

@jkenney
LIVE: The Government of Alberta is announcing $187 million in new funding to address addiction and homelessness in Edmonton and Calgary
---

@AmarjeetSohiYEG

for making today’s announcement happen. The $70M announced today will support many important initiatives and also help close the funding gap between Edmonton and Calgary to support our unhoused neighbours.

https://twitter.com/jkenney/status/1576263015380709376

Yup. close down safe injection sites. (that can help people get off drugs). Close or privatize Addition centres or make a number of then religious based.(a lot of people have religious based Trauma).
(This will stop a lot of people from getting help). Move some out of the cities To areas that are less accessible. Stop funding support services. Then at the last minute refund some things.

Ever since the UCP have been in power I have seen a steady increase in the number of homeless and poverty in the inner city. That homelessness is now being seen in a large part of Edmonton not just the inner city. I now walk around at lunch and always carry a Neloxone kit with me.

The inner city services that I do volunteer work with are beyond max capacity. It is going to take a generation to recover.

When Danni gets in I can see this getting worse again.

Medicine hat the City that said it beet homelessness, had issues 7 months later and its only getting worse.

My big beef is that the people and Political leaders that profess to be such great strong Christians are the least Christian I have encountered.

I know a lot of good religious based groups , they don't push their religion on you. they are there just to serve where they can. but the leaders and the fundamentalist Christian groups are the problems.

I'll be doing dinner service at an Inner city church on Friday. It will be interesting to see if we have enough to serve everyone.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Airboy

Yup. close down safe injection sites. (that can help people get off drugs). Close or privatize Addition centres or make a number of then religious based.(a lot of people have religious based Trauma).
(This will stop a lot of people from getting help). Move some out of the cities To areas that are less accessible. Stop funding support services. Then at the last minute refund some things.. .

Opening safe injection sites in Vancouver hasn't made a dent in drug use or overdose fatalities.

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Opening safe injection sites in Vancouver hasn't made a dent in drug use or overdose fatalities.

When they closed them down here the poisoning deaths went up. I am trying to find the report from Lethbridge, after they closed theirs down they had a huge jump in deaths.

However as a friend told me( he is EMS Paramedic). There are a lot of calls from the burbs as well. We just see it more in the homeless community. About a year ago he had a call to a well off neighborhood. Apparently the husband and wife both needed help. he indicated that about 1/3 of his calls are drug related. He does not work in the inner city but in the Burbs and rural areas.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Airboy

Yup. close down safe injection sites. (that can help people get off drugs). Close or privatize Addition centres or make a number of then religious based.(a lot of people have religious based Trauma).
(This will stop a lot of people from getting help). Move some out of the cities To areas that are less accessible. Stop funding support services. Then at the last minute refund some things.

Ever since the UCP have been in power I have seen a steady increase in the number of homeless and poverty in the inner city. That homelessness is now being seen in a large part of Edmonton not just the inner city. I now walk around at lunch and always carry a Neloxone kit with me.

The inner city services that I do volunteer work with are beyond max capacity. It is going to take a generation to recover.

...

Ever since the UCP came to power they single handedly ruined any "Alberta Advantage" of the province.

Alberta used to have, arguably, the top public education system in Canada (very recently one of the top in the world) with healthcare not far behind. Now teachers, nurses, doctors have left the province in droves as they've cut funding to both sectors.

Sounds like you're a good soul volunteering in your community for the less fortunate

[Acajack]

Just saw a report on TVA about the city of Granby wondering how to deal with the burgeoning number of homeless encampments in the city.

Granby is a city of around 65,000 people about an hour east of Montreal. It is not part of the Montreal metro.

I would guess that the last time a place like Granby had this type of issue would have been around the Great Depression.

[Loco101]

This made me think of the Conservatives ad in 2015 trying to scare voters of the legalization of cannabis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OI-Y2seFco

[urbandreamer]

Well it's been proven that drinking more than 2 servings of alcohol weekly is detrimental to our health, so outright banning it makes sense.

I've noticed quite a number of black & FN - African? - homeless in downtown Kitchener vs the small number of old school German Canadian men you'd see 20-30 year's ago.