Alan2005

Most homeless people in Vancouver are mentally ill. Some made the choices you imply, but many really are just crazy and can't actually help themselves.

Aviator

A lot of the shelters fill up quickly and there are not enough. Safe injection sites worked but for the NIMBYs. Many of those addicted have to make the choice to come off, harder than the choice they made to go on. Young girls escaping abusive households end up working the streets to be able to eat. Many of the people on the street are so ingratiated in that life, they have no idea how to get out. Without an address and SIN they cannot get a job. I know of one guy who was as low as he could go, made his mind up to get out, he is now a highly paid motivational speaker. It can be done, but many need help, it is a problem society should not ignore. Ignoring it costs more than helping. You never know, one day it may be one of us one

I know of another guy who dropped out in the UK, he was a highly talented musician before joining the RAF. After he came back from the war, having been a Japanese POW, he could not integrate back in society or live inside 4 wall and turned to the streets and the bottle. Society did nothing to help him.

Not all street people make a willing choice to adopt this lifestyle, most don't.

Aviator

This became a problem as some of institutions were closed and there was nowhere for them to go and few people who were willing to help. Many hoping that if we ignored it the problem would go away. It won't.

Oink

On a positive note they should be able to watch the Olympics on the big screens at the LiveCity venues.

JonboyE

I agree with the social concern, but it is not really an appropriate topic on a thread about the Olympics. It is not a question of Government(s) deciding to spend money on a sporting party instead of to address social need. The social need was there, is here, and will be here regardless of whether or not the Olympics roll into town. I don't, for a moment, believe that if the Olympics had gone to South Korea or Austria the homeless in Vancouver would be any better off.

There is sufficient money to provide affordable housing and appropriate mental health and drug treatment for those that want it. There is just a lack of political will to provide it. And, by political will I mean us - the voters.

ExKiwilass

Why not?

Why is the Olympics treated as some sacred cow of an event that has nothing to do with the society around it? Like it fell from Mount Olympus complete with a chorus of angels? That old carrot sport has nothing to do with politics...what. ev. errrrr.

For me it's not just the homeless issue, though that's part of it. It's also the way the Olympics has meant some issues, like the Evergreen line, have been shelved in favour of highways to Whistler and the people east of Van (and I include Surrey in that) get screwed again. I have an issue with how my tax dollars are being spent because of the Olympics which is due to the Olympics and nothing else. Sheesh.

ExKiwilass

Toughen up, dude.


Oh, was that abusive?

Lord Vader

I think the general consensues not just in Canada but everywhere is that Olympics > Homeless

Alan2005

It's because most cities think they will make a profit on the olympics.

Whether they do or not is a debatable given that measuring it can be difficult (cities tend to leave out infrastructure investment completely from the costs rather than net out the benefit which again is hard to measure).

Lord Vader

In Vancouvers case it sounds like the Olympics provided a good excuse to spend on infrastructure. The thing with the homeless is how are you going to make homelessness go away? The problems start long before someone gets to the street.

JonboyE

Because of the Olympics we have some necessary infrastructure spending e.g. Sea to Sky Hwy, Canada Line. We also have some desirable infrastructure spending such as the Richmond Oval which will be a community facility after the games are over. This spending gave pople jobs and put money into the local economy and will prove a lasting benefit to the city and province for many years.

These would not have happened without the impetus of the Olympics.

If we hadn't had the Games would the Evergreen line have been built? I very much doubt it.

Alan2005

From a purely financial viewpoint the cost of a nut-house and maybe some half way place for the mildy insane is insignificant when compared to the cost of budget overruns so far.

e.g.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8gtUJfb3PM

Alan2005

The velocity of money argument you make is a good one. Money spent in the local economy will get spent again by the people that earned it in the local economy etc etc. One could make an argument that the keynesian effect of the olympic spending came at exactly the right time for the local economy - however what happens when the Olympics finish remains to be seen. That's potentially a lot of people that are suddenly available on the labour market at the same time and I'm not convinced the economy is ready for it.

Lord Vader

Do you think that there are "Vancouver specific" factors with regards to the economy that were masked with the olympic contracts? The good thing about the Olympics seems to be timing like you suggested, but the overall economy is turning around and spring won't be long after the Olympics. Do you see something locally that may not exist in other regions?

Alan2005

Vancouver has a fairly diverse economy but it's not a high wage economy - this doesn't fit well with having the highest real estate costs in the country. I don't see the economy turning either - I see it floating on a sea of stimulus money (if I can labour a metaphor far too much)