tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post5930747671037699957..comments2023-12-02T00:38:46.467-08:00Comments on House Hunt Victoria: Rev. Al Tysick For Mayor!HouseHuntVictoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07456914359088891317noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-72375708529157887252007-09-25T20:30:00.000-07:002007-09-25T20:30:00.000-07:00i agree with aleks that the panhandlers have never...i agree with aleks that the panhandlers have never seemed threatening to me. i've never once had an incident with any of them, and most of them wish me a nice day when i say 'no' to their requests for change. that said, there is always the potential for something to go wrong, but there is always the potential for all kinds of things to wrong. panhandlers in downtown victoria are an eyesore more than a threat. i'd say that the fact that there are needles lying about is the biggest (and most likely dangerous) worry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-70705930799818756862007-09-25T18:34:00.000-07:002007-09-25T18:34:00.000-07:00I knew that this post would raise a few eyebrows a...I knew that this post would raise a few eyebrows and perhaps the hairs on the back of a few necks. I'm willing to accept the consequences of that.<BR/><BR/>My "suggestions" were very much poorly thought out. I am not even remotely educated on the issues surrounding homelessness in Victoria beyond what is available in the MSM and that is very apparent. I'm simply looking at it from an economics perspective and suggesting that money be spent on wages to attract support workers, doctors and the other professionals into places where housing is substantially more affordable. <BR/><BR/>I do not believe that anything we've read in the past few weeks though is anything markedly different that what we read last year, with the exception of Geoff's letter. That was really the point of my rant. <BR/><BR/>If change is to come, we need to get on with it, as Al Tysick suggests. But simply looking at the government to fix things hasn't worked thus far. <BR/><BR/>Do people really believe that creating supported housing projects in Victoria will alleviate the problem here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-61478560662942922882007-09-25T11:58:00.000-07:002007-09-25T11:58:00.000-07:00With all due respect, I'm pretty confident that Re...With all due respect, I'm pretty confident that Reverend Tysick understands the problem better than you do. And what he's talking about here is not the status quo. The status quo is for government to do nothing and leave it all up to charities like The Open Door which are not even remotely equipped to pick up the pieces.<BR/><BR/>What he's talking about is for government to step up and take care of the mentally ill so that that duty doesn't fall on our emergency rooms, where it costs far more.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure what you think a ban on pan-handling would accomplish. What do you expect police to do, fine them? Put them in jail, which costs us how much per day? These are people with no money. If they can't panhandle, they're going to turn to real crime to pay for their addiction.<BR/><BR/>You're afraid to walk downtown now, because of "aggressive" panhandlers. How afraid will you be when the panhandlers start breaking into cars and mugging people?<BR/><BR/>And I'm really not sure what the deal is with people feeling afraid of panhandlers. Have you ever been threatened, physically accosted or put in any actual danger? I haven't. In fact, last week I walked by a couple of guys getting ready to shoot up on the steps as I was entering the library parkade (ironically, or perhaps fittingly, after I'd attended an investor's meeting hosted by Phillips Hager and North). They were very polite. I believe one of them wished us a good evening.<BR/><BR/>If anything, outlawing panhandling would maintain the status quo. It doesn't deal with the real problem, it's just an attempt to push the problem farther out of sight. But if you arrest people for panhandling, or just force them to commit other crimes and then arrest them for that, what have you really accomplished? Now they're in prison, which is like subsidized housing except way more expensive. And at the same time, police are wasting their efforts dealing with a social problem rather than doing actual police work, like trying to catch the drug kingpins who are pushing the stuff.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104704096049638272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-88366271231634272692007-09-25T08:54:00.000-07:002007-09-25T08:54:00.000-07:00Quote: "Why not suggest that we create a plan that...Quote: "<I>Why not suggest that we create a plan that provides supported, subsidized housing in say, Sayward, or Port Alberni or any number of struggling towns on the Island or in the interior...</I>"<BR/><BR/>Why not send the homeless to a deserted Island off the west coast and turn it into a reality TV show? The ad revenues would pay for the whole project!<BR/><BR/>HHV check out the following article at the Boston Globe regarding the Housing First program in that city: http://tinyurl.com/2cu3js<BR/><BR/>The obvious downside to sending the homeless to somewhere like Port Hardy or wherever is that these people are for the most part ill. They are often drug addicted and many are mentally ill and up until the 1990's would have been housed in the Riverview facility on the lower mainland.<BR/><BR/>They still require services and like it or not are entitled to them in our society. How much do you think it would cost to hire support staff (Doctors, nurses, social workers, etc..) to work with these people in Port Wherever? Good luck with that recruitment campaign.<BR/>Taxpayers may want to consider what they used to pay to house these people in "institutions" compared to what they are paying today in terms of a lower perception of safety and subjection to panhandling. <BR/><BR/>We live in a democratic society where the stronger support the weaker in many cases. That may be one of the reasons our country is consistently ranked as one with the highest standard of living in the world despite our panhandling problem.<BR/><BR/>Drug addiction, mental illness, homelessness and less fortunates have been a part of society since the dawn of recorded history and the politics and economics of treating these ills is apparently zero sum.Tony Danzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11834617529220173312noreply@blogger.com