2 reasons why homelessness and addiction will never be eradicated in Vancouver DTES

[Danbones]

Yeah cops usually don't quite get the picture especially with the mentally disabled, they work for the property owners.
The robberies could be people scamming a second set of pills or they could be for punky debt recoveries.Once one gets away with something word gets around.I know one guy makes a grand a month just clearing peoples sellable pills to buyers, and the buyers are various professionals around town who have jobs.

There is a borderline mental health care fail at street level IMHO.

 

[Corduroy]

I volunteered in the downtown eastside for a number of years... around the time Picton was at his height as a murdering John... and I realized then how horrible the charities were for trying to get their "piece of the funding pie" as I used to say. They were all very protective of their activities and none wanted to collaborate to provide better services or help to those in need. I came to see it as a vicious cycle ... jaded me quite a bit.

I've noticed the same tendency in non-profits in a lot of other industries. It does make you jaded, but it shouldn't be an excuse to abandon compassion. It seems like these kinds of stories come out and people use them as excuses to do nothing. If the current model of charity isn't working on the DTES, what should we change to make it work?

 

[petros]

There is plenty of compassion to go around. In such an environment you can't go in thinking you will make change.

 

[MHz]

Why are people on disability about $5k a year below the poverty line to begin with? Seems like a set-up really.

 

[Danbones]

At times it looks like a tough job that should pay more.
...and its better then many get.
half and half, I guess

If you have family or a house you can do OK, if you are mentally ill usually you are left alone more and the lower you fall the lower you stay.

Here they cut off the second months rent gift from welfare for a room because landlords were booting people out for nothing, and keeping the money, while re renting in the same time, because of a loop hole in the law: the cops would throw them out for any excuse or none.

It's really hard to get them off the street these days, and back into payed shelter, and getting slowly worse.

 

[Mokkajava]

I've noticed the same tendency in non-profits in a lot of other industries. It does make you jaded, but it shouldn't be an excuse to abandon compassion. It seems like these kinds of stories come out and people use them as excuses to do nothing. If the current model of charity isn't working on the DTES, what should we change to make it work?

I didn't say it crushed my compassion... it did cause me to feel less than sympathetic to the countless charities taking money and donations but doing more harm than good on the front lines. I still do, and always will, give my time and energies to my local community through volunteer work and activism, but I rarely give money to any one organization. I have yet to find one doing something I believe is helping mankind.

 

[bill barilko]

...... I still do, and always will, give my time and energies to my local community through volunteer work and activism, but I rarely give money to any one organization. I have yet to find one doing something I believe is helping mankind.

Pretty much the same here-anything to do with the DES in Vancouver I steer clear of-more & more just do short term special event gigs- people get together/have some fun and hopefully it brightens their day a bit.

 

[petros]

The only thing in Downtown Eastside Mario's worth going there for is New Town Bakery on Pender.

Best bbq pork buns this side of the Pacific.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I've noticed the same tendency in non-profits in a lot of other industries. It does make you jaded, but it shouldn't be an excuse to abandon compassion. It seems like these kinds of stories come out and people use them as excuses to do nothing. If the current model of charity isn't working on the DTES, what should we change to make it work?

1. Reinforce information. Make people more aware of the percentage of charity revenues that go to charitable work (private solution). I hear lotsa folks got this machine nowadays that they can look stuff like that up on.

2. Remove tax-exempt donation status or government contributions from any charity that spends less than X% of its revenues on charitable work (conservative solution).

3. Criminalize a charity's failure to spend less than X% of revenues on charitable work (liberal solution).