homeless people

[Disco_Whore]

Originally Posted by dabbler

%90 of the people who ask me for money have obviously made the choice to live on the street. of course, that might have a lot to do with the area's i walk in, but it's still really annoying. I only give money to those who play music

Some panhandlers aren't homeless at all, which only perpetuates the image of people choosing to live on the street.

[lildonkey]

I'm going to rename this thread to:

"Can you guys help me do my homework?"

[Courtney]

Originally Posted by dabbler

like i said in my first post, it's probably due to the area i'm in. I didn't say anything about the whole of downtown

Yeah I understand what you're saying I feel the same way about some homeless people as well and it's frustrating because it's hard to tell who is genuinely in need at times.

[Carrie]

I hate the people that ask for money with their nice printed up and laminated signs.

[Webber]

Originally Posted by Courtney

Addiction is a disease...
For some of these people the disease is just in them and after doing it once, they are hooked. No one DESERVES to be on the street

everything these days is a god damn dease, no one wants to take responsablity for their mistakes or assign blame to others.

If you try a drug and think you need it/really want more of it, you have a choice infront of you - don't touch it again and ride out what ever comes your way or do more of it and possible become a waste on the street
which is why i don't feel sorry for them - they made the wrong choice

and I disagree again, there are ppl who deserve to be on the street, I've met two ppl who openly admitted to me they deserve to be where they are.

[Courtney]

^ Why? That has no relevance to whether or not they are genuinely in need...

[Courtney]

Originally Posted by Webber

everything these days is a god damn dease, no one wants to take responsablity for their mistakes or assign blame to others.

If you try a drug and think you need it/really want more of it, you have a choice infront of you - don't touch it again and ride out what ever comes your way or do more of it and possible become a waste on the street
which is why i don't feel sorry for them - they made the wrong choice

and I disagree again, there are ppl who deserve to be on the street, I've met two ppl who openly admitted to me they deserve to be where they are.

Your the type of person I really don't understand and it upsets me to think so many people think the exact same way you do.But, you are entitled to your own opinion.

[thechix0r]

^^^ There's a different between people who are homeless and people who are just addicted to (insert various substances here).

Those who are truly homeless are willing to accept the resources and the help that the government has put in place. Those who are addicted only want something to further their addiction.

Nabs mentioned to me something he noticed. On Christmas we handed out some food to the homeless and the further we were from the main druggie streets (Hastings and Main), the more appreciative the people were. The closer we got the more harsh and mean and offensive the people got. They didn't want help, they wanted money.

[Webber]

edit: opps

[Courtney]

that comment wasn't meant for you..it was for carrie..

[Webber]

Originally Posted by Courtney

Your the type of person I really don't understand and it upsets me to think so many people think the exact same way you do.But, you are entitled to your own opinion.

I'm not saying these ppl shouldn't get help, I'm saying they need to go out and make the effort to stop using the drug(s) that they are on under their own will. There are places they can go that will assist them /give them support to quit.

My view is more for the ones who are out there and don't make an effort to stop, but if i lump them into one big group that's the view I'm going to go with.

edit: oh bad karma :P guess my opinion is uneducated

[Carrie]

if they know how to make a sign and get it laminated, they can go work at kinko's instead of asking me for my change that I worked hard for.

[Courtney]

Originally Posted by Carrie

if they know how to make a sign and get it laminated, they can go work at kinko's instead of asking me for my change that I worked hard for.

oh really?
is someone going to hire someone who is dirty, has no clean clothes, no address and no social insurance number?

Sure, there are places that can help, but not ENOUGH. People may know where to go for help but these places may not always be able to help due to a HUGE lack of funding

[Courtney]

Originally Posted by Webber

I'm not saying these ppl shouldn't get help, I'm saying they need to go out and make the effort to stop using the drug(s) that they are on under their own will. There are places they can go that will assist them /give them support to quit.

My view is more for the ones who are out there and don't make an effort to stop, but if i lump them into one big group that's the view I'm going to go with.

edit: oh bad karma :P guess my opinion is uneducated

Fair enough

[Carrie]

your point is that there isn't enough help out there to get these people jobs and home and off the streets


my point is that if you have the time and effort and ability to make a printed out sign and get it laminated.. then you could have used that money to wash your clothes and print up a resume and try to get yourself help.

[Carrie]

I offer people to buy them some food, and they look at me in disgust cause they just want my money

if they wanted my help, they would take the sandwich I would have bought for them

[Carrie]

I don't have enough money to have a drug/alcohol problem of my own.. not going to help someone else have theirs.

[ppcock]

Originally Posted by Courtney

I would like to know your opinions on people who are homeless as well as the huge problem vancouver is dealing with.
i would really appreciate some feedback

I personally am sick of the homeless people in vancouver. They dont get what they want so they start bitching, I've turned down homeless people in the nice way and they tell me to fuck off. I dont normally stereotype. But they can all go to hell.
I also work at a bar in gas town and at night infront of the bar, homeless people all over the place begging our customers for money. It's dumb, they say its for coffee, the person gives them money. They come back when the bar is closed sketchy, and scratchy. I didnt know coffee did that to you.

Then you also tell them "no" and they come back to you 5 minutes thinking you're someone new.

[thechix0r]

^^^ you mean you sleep?

[ppcock]

Originally Posted by F*r*a*

Anyway , all this homeless talk is making me wanna crawl in my bed lol....

Have a good night kiddies!! :)

is it a maytag box?

[esoter1c]

I never give them money, only cheeseburgers.

It really is surreal to see mannequins dressed in the height of fashion in the most expensive downtown realty, dry warm & safe, with some 20 year old with mental problems dying in front of them, outside, freezing, fucked.

[firestar]

Originally Posted by 3507321C

I never give them money, only cheeseburgers.

It really is surreal to see mannequins dressed in the height of fashion in the most expensive downtown realty, dry warm & safe, with some 20 year old with mental problems dying in front of them, outside, freezing, fucked.

That's the thing about this city - it's a very rich city, and also a huge gap between the rich and the poor here (more than most cities infact) - that's why you see Ferrari's driving down Robson st. past guys in rags on their knees begging for change.

I wasn't going to comment on this because I have very strong view on the problem, but what the hell..

Vancouver is packed full of rich, ignorant people. They would rather put up brand new million dollar condos than low-income housing, I mean, that's pretty obvious, right? A perfect example is that woodwards building.. they were originally going to turn that into kind of a 'hub' for the homeless, mentally ill and drug addicted - they would have low income housing, drug rehab, councilling, shelters, etc etc all in one spot. We all know what they ended up happening there, yep, million dollar condos. (And some low income which will be bought by the rich (as it was first come first serve) and re-sold so much more than low income people can afford.. noo didn't see that coming..

Now, a lot of you are right, there are lots of shelters, rehab, councelling centres in the van east side - the thing is, a lot of them are hard to find, or offer limited resources, etc. Also these homeless people. drug addicted, etc have to want to do there, which most of them dont. There are many factors that contribute to the amount of homeless here, for instance, riverview mental hospital closing down a few years ago, the warm winters, and lack of (proper) policing in this city. Did you know it is against the law to panhandle in Australia? (including Melbourne and Sydney)

So what do we do now? 2010 coming up - and a very noticable homeless population in this city (see that's the main issue, pretty much every major city has a homeless problem, this city is one of the most noticable & agressive).
We keep pushing them deeper into a corner of the city, which now looks like a disgusting war zone, and will only keep getting worse..
I think what we need is like a huge rehab centre, much like the woodwards building. Offer rehab, shelter, counciling, education, job seeking, food bank, warm clothing, etc etc whenever they need it, and ADVERTISE it! Basically, some will, some won't, but with a big centre like that people won't have to go all over the place to find resources..

This government needs to step up with this! Nothing is being done and it's getting worse, much worse- these safe injection sites and little things here and there work, but their just band-aids of the real problem.

Stopping there.. heh..

[mojo]

Do your own homework Courtney.
: P

Originally Posted by Webber

everything these days is a god damn dease, no one wants to take responsablity for their mistakes or assign blame to others.

If you try a drug and think you need it/really want more of it, you have a choice infront of you - don't touch it again and ride out what ever comes your way or do more of it and possible become a waste on the street
which is why i don't feel sorry for them - they made the wrong choice

and I disagree again, there are ppl who deserve to be on the street, I've met two ppl who openly admitted to me they deserve to be where they are.

Webber, I must say, I am truly disappointed in you for your statements.

I don't often share too much of my personal life on this site, because no one needs to know it, but here goes....

I am estranged from my fathers side of the family. To sum it up, they are NUTS, not only are they nuts, a few of them are substance addicted, whether it be drugs or alcohol.

My father, my uncle and my cousin did not choose this life, it was chosen for them. I don't defend their actions, but it is a direct result of past generations and their habits. This is a disease that is passed on, and was passed on from their grandfather, to their father to them....

More than once, I know that all three of these men have been without the daily basic needs to live. The addiction wins. That is where the disease comes in, they lose the ability to distinguish what they should be doing, and what they are doing. They know they are doing wrong, they have taken responsibilty in some way or another, and they do what they can to make it through a day to get by.

I am way more inclined to believe the 1000's of studies by doctors and scientists then your dime store psychology. I am willing to go out on a limb and assume you have never had someone close to you in this situation.

Seriously, take your narrow-minded point of view, and fuck off.

[hardstylin]

i cant handle them.