Is it Useless to Fight Homelessness?

It's beginning to appear that way.

And people are fed up...everywhere.
Time for some plain talk about constructive solutions.
Solutions that don't involve enabling that population's rampant drug use and often criminal activity.

Matthew McInnes wrote a letter to The Morning Star, July 10th, that goes a step further than simply enabling those folks with safe injection sites and thousands of hours of staff resources.

Here's his letter:

"Things in Vernon have gone from bad to worse regarding the homeless population.

It has skyrocketed in the past few years.  Polson Park used to be a place I loved to take my kids to but now I wouldn't even think of going there.

The last time we went there, my kids witnessed a homeless man urinate in front of them.  Polson strip mall has become a junkie hangout and I am concerned for the young employees working at the stores.  I have witnessed junkies snorting coke on the pillar at the pet store by Staples in the middle of the day.

"...instead of giving illegal drugs to the junkies,

 we use that money to give insulin to diabetics,

 provide more teachers for the schools,

 clean up the parks, or provide more nurses for the hospitals?"

Matthew McInnes          

It is about time something is done about this.  We are at the point now where kids are no longer safe no matter where we go. Every stream is littered with trash, every playground scattered with used needles.  Obviously, the safe shoot-up centers are not doing what they are supposed to.

Perhaps it is time we utilize funds for people who want the help.  Perhaps instead of giving illegal drugs to the junkies, we use that money to give insulin to diabetics, provide more teachers for the schools, clean up the parks, or provide more nurses for the hospitals?  Why do we give the drugs which are the issue to a junkie to keep them high and mask the issue instead of giving life saving medication to honest, hard working individuals who have a treatable disease?  We are putting a Band-Aid on the problem instead of solving it.

"There are kids with juvenile diabetes

 whose parents are paying

 upwards of $2,000 a month for medication,

 on top of what is covered by medical,

 for their children to be able to function."

Matthew McInnes          

People cannot be helped if they do not want the help.  There are kids with juvenile diabetes whose parents are paying upwards of $2,000 a month for medication, on top of what is covered by medical, for their children to be able to function.

"Why don't we relocate the homeless and drug addicted..."

Matthew McInnes           

It is time for change and time for action.  Instead of harboring the homeless and drug addicted to our nice parks and walkways because it is easier for the police to manage, why not invest in correcting the issue so there is less to manage?

Why don't we relocate the homeless and drug addicted and put them into mandatory treatment, or something along those lines?

Clean up our town so we can use the commodities that we pay for with our taxes."

Matthew McInnes.

"We should send them on a one-way trip to Inuvik," Kia would've stated.


Wonder where Alberta's former premier, the late Ralph Klein would've sent the addicted and homeless.

Time for tough love, in every community.
Enough is enough!
Thank you Matthew McInnes for saying what we're all thinking.


Oh...and directions to Inuvik are here.

Vernon vs. Medicine Hat

They're about the same size, with Medicine Hat at 62,935 in 2017 and Vernon 40,116 (2016 numbers).
Medicine Hat was incorporated in 1898; Vernon in 1892.
And it's just as cold on the streets of Vernon as Medicine Hat, especially this February.

But that's where the similarity ends, especially with the homeless issue that appears rampant.


This from the Medicine Hat Mayor: 
"No one in the city spends more than 10 days in an emergency shelter or on the streets. If you've got no place to go, they'll simply provide you with housing. We're pretty much able to meet that standard today. Even quicker, actually, sometimes," Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston tells As It Happens host Carol Off," reported CBC.

Here in Vernon, last Fall's civic election had a candidate who headed a task force on homelessness.  He didn't succeed in his bid.  But city council thought they'd "outlaw" shopping carts to solve the homelessness issue!


Recently, the Vernon Morning Star featured a well-respected businessman detailing that "the issues haven't changed (but) the frequency of issues has."

Here are excerpts:

"Larry Fisher of Vernon’s Fisher’s Home Hardware, located at the same location in downtown Vernon on Coldstream Avenue and 33rd Street for 84 years, attended a meeting Feb. 6 at Vernon’s Schubert Centre with members of the downtown business community, service providers, and the Social Planning Council of North Okanagan.

"A lot of stuff mentioned

 has been talked about many times before.

 It’s beating the same old bush."

Larry Fisher, Fisher's Hardware

Not surprisingly, Larry Fisher could only stomache an hour of the meeting.
I doubt I would've made it that long.



“I didn’t think too much was said or done, and it’s the same old deal," said Larry, continuing: "These meetings have the same old results.  A lot of stuff mentioned has been talked about many times before. It’s beating the same old bush."

The paper continues:  "Fisher’s Hardware, said Fisher, is at Ground Zero.



Their property adjoins the Gateway Shelter and the former Enlighten Salon, which has been turned into another shelter facility. Unlike other businesses that have a storefront on a city sidewalk – and Fisher makes it clear he’s not diminishing their problems – Fisher’s Hardware has adjoining property, paid parking in behind the store, a compound area, and back of the store.

Staff constantly deal with trespassers through their property, he said. They remove garbage of all types, including shopping carts, on a daily basis. They collect spent needles, drug-related paraphernalia and condoms. The sex and drug trade business, said Fisher, is right at hand. They clean up human feces.

Staff deal with shoplifting as a result of interaction of the street-entrenched people on their property and travelling to and fro, he said. There’s outside theft, loitering, graffiti, vandalism, sleeping in entrances, concern by fearful shoppers, said Fisher, that do not like the presence of some of the street people, and feel intimidated by them. There’s the loss of (our) paid parking from people out behind the store that don’t want to park there anymore because “there’s always somebody pooled around their cars.”

“It’s the whole gauntlet,” said Fisher, who said he did not speak at the meeting, and thought the meeting was handled “differently."

“The issues at hand seemed to be smokescreened by the social system,” he said. “Their approach to the whole thing was like ‘what can we do for the homeless,’ never mind what can we do for the business people and the community that’s encroached by them.”

System is right.
Larry Fisher is right.
 
But maybe...just maybe it's the new mayor learning from the old mayor that is the problem! 
 

It's entirely natural for a new mayor to learn the ropes from an outgoing mayor.  Victor Cumming is no exception, and shadowed outgoing Mayor Mund for some time before taking the reigns.

"Maybe the Cumming pup shouldn't have followed old dog Mund around," Kia would've said.

Perhaps.
Because it's widely known that Akbal Mund achieved diddly-squat concerning homelessness.

But Akbal Mund was successful in his bid for councillor.
After winning a seat, he stated "Over the next four years, I'd like to continue working on affordable housing in the community."

Where is that incredulity emoticon when you need it???!!!!
Ah....here it is.

Comment from Mund leaves people incredulous!

Wayyyyyy Too Many Committees

Tackling the homeless situation in cities is tough.
But I'm convinced adding one or two--or five--new committees to discuss the issue is a waste of time.

All these committees "study" the issue, and end up coming back with the same opinion(s) that the elected mayor and council considered...so round and round they all go.

The following quotation is  Castanet's take on Vernon City Council's meeting...count the number of committees that are studying this problem:

"It took about an hour for the list of recommendations created by the Activate Safety Task Force to be read at the Monday afternoon City of Vernon council meeting.

There were eight recommendations all explaining possible solutions to issues that plague downtown Vernon.
Most of the issues brought up were in some way related to Vernon's street entrenched population.
Annette Sharkey, executive director of Social Planning Council of the North Okanagan, along with the Partners in Action Committee  have been following the process of the Activate Safety Taskforce very closely and have looked at the recommendations put forward.
"The driving force of the organization [Social Planning Council] is the Partners in Action Committee who problem solve, set up action teams and then follow through on solutions," she says, adding that she understands why downtown businesses are frustrated.
"The Partners in Action Committee understands the fear, anger and frustration that some local businesses have experienced as a result of the lack of shelter beds and the need for more treatment and recovery programs."
"It is not okay that people are forced to sleep in alleys and doorways or that businesses have to clean up feces and garbage every morning."
Sharkey wants to see more longterm solutions to Vernon's housing crisis.
"Due to the urgency of the current situation, the Activate Safety Taskforce focused on immediate concerns and the role of enforcement in the community," she said. "The Partners in Action Committee works closely with the Bylaw Department and the RCMP through the COOL Team (Camp Okanagan Outreach Liaison Team) and knows that there is a huge demand on enforcement services."

"If more resources are put into enforcement, we will continue to work closely with these officers."
One recommendation to council by the Activate Safety Taskforce was regarding public washrooms.
Both the Partners in Action Committee and the Activate Safety Taskforce agree that safer public washrooms are needed in the downtown area.
"The Partners in Action Committee has long been an advocate for more public washrooms in the downtown core and have been equally frustrated by the vandalism with our current location," Sharkey said. "The current washrooms were meant to be a temporary measure so new washrooms with a redesign focused on security would be welcome."
Washrooms with an open top, bottom and blacklight was recommended to council.
The Partners in Action Committee hopes there will be more open communication between downtown businesses and the service providers.
"Immediate strategies are needed to support local businesses and non-profits in the downtown core," Sharkey said. "Working closely with the Bylaw Department and RCMP, addressing the lack of public washrooms, promoting the services of the Community Safety Office and providing a communications bridge between frustrated businesses and service providers are all valuable strategies. "
To date, Partners in Action has focused on longer-term solutions.
"More shelter beds and affordable housing as this is ultimately how we will resolve the crisis permanently," Sharkey says.
Turning Points Collaborative will open a new modular 46-bed shelter this summer and a 52 unit supported housing apartment in the winter of 2019.
The Social Planning Council has arranged a presentation from Interior Health to City Council on July 23 to provide information and updates on current strategies and to answer any follow-up questions."


So...how many?

Partners in Action
Turning Points Collaborative
Social Planning Council
Activate Safety Taskforce
Bylaw Department
RCMP
COOL team 
Community Safety Office

Eight!  EIGHT!

oh, yes...and the Mayor and Councillors.

 

Bleeding Hearts Need a Styptic Pencil

Incredible problems in downtown Vernon.

I had no idea, despite having seen--albeit quickly before I turned away--"disadvantaged" folks in and around the downtown core as I drive through on my business errands.

As well as this Beach Radio Vernon News page, this morning's CBC Daybreak program (out of Kelowna included absolutely gruesome details concerning what business owners downtown are faced with relating to the homelessness issue.

And this Take Back Our City story from Castanet expresses business owners' frustrations perfectly!

The radio station's feature stated:  "Last night’s Activate Safety Task Force town hall in Vernon drew close to 160 people.  Chairperson Darrin Taylor says people didn’t mince words but he feels the tone was still constructive.

“I think even those of us that have been around for a long time are beginning to be shocked at the sort of behaviours that people are seeing, but it was an opportunity for us to gather a significant amount of input and data."  ...“Everything from open drug use, prostitution, threatening behaviour, drug trafficking, theft and assault.”

But the CBC radio program--to which I awoke this morning--almost had me gasping in horror!
Some of the comments from business owners included:  "...a man masturbating at the Vernon Shoe store's front window, so I locked the door..." and "when I arrive in the morning, I have to clear away human excrement in front of the door..."

I was--and remain--totally stunned by this assault on decent people's sensibilities!

So now there's a Task Force!
What a bloody waste of time and energy.

I agree with one of the presenters who was featured on CBC this morning:  "Kick them in the ass..."

There has been wayyyyyyy too much "empathy and compassion".
Wayyyyyy too much focus on getting these people a place to shoot up their illicit drugs.
Wayyyyyy too many efforts and meetings to discuss mental health issues and how bad behaviour can be stemmed.

My response is likely because of my age.
I have a decidedly low level of tolerance for bad manners, bad behaviour, and an aggressive sense of entitlement that we--those of us who work hard and pay our bills and respect our neighbours--have had enough of!

Plus now a cynical response to the myriad "agencies" and "government departments" who keep feeding the demands of the "homeless".

why...oh why...does this NOT apply to every segment of society...

Enough!

And to those bleeding hearts who want to keep complying with all the demands of the homeless, I say the following:

A big styptic pencil will fix your bleeding heart!

Because tolerance no longer works.

So end it!

Think of it this way:  Do we want this town known for these behaviours?