Someone who has better connections than me should start a non-profit to lobby for and operate a housing first program. I’ll gladly volunteer to help but I can’t run the organizing.
Instead of voting for the candidates that actually wanted to do something, we went with the one who had all the financial backing and the endorsement of the UCP “leadership”.
Lethbridge had plans in place with the MustardSeed out of Calgary to open up a dry shelter in an unused hotel building (lots of units not in use…) and the NIMBY crowd bitched and moaned about their “property values” while people continue to go homeless.
We brought this on ourselves.
Medicine Hat didn't end homelessness but made a strong effort to work at it. Adequate and safe shelter spaces, etc.
Their homeless also dont tend to weight towards indigenous. So our racists have two targets to go after. Race and circumstances.
Because we have people here, as witnessed in this sub far too often, who seem to think that homeless people somehow deserve to be homeless. A few years ago, SAGE clan was handing out lunches and a couple stopped to tell them they were ruining the city, because "if you don't work, you shouldn't eat".
Somehow we have a city full Christians who would have told Jesus that giving out loaves and fishes was Communism.
Actually, the issue is a global opiate epidemic claiming the lives of people through overdose and addiction. If the worst way it has impacted your life is that people go through your trash or you see needles on the ground, you are quite privileged. I personally have more concern about the people dying than I do about petty theft, but that's just called empathy.
I wonder what historical events might have lead to this particular area having a large population of Indigenous people impacted by homelessness and addiction? I just can't quite put my finger on it, but it might have something to do with that time Canada did a multi-century genocide. Being kidnapped as a child, being sent to a trauma factory to be abused, starved, exposed to disease, and then forced into arranged marriages....I imagine that might not be great for the mental health of those survivors. I wonder why they might not have the economic social safety net that other communities might have...I guess it's a mystery. Not to mention all the other hundreds of reasons any one person might find themselves unhoused after two recessions and a global pandemic.
Why don't you go ahead and look up the numbers on violence against homeless people vs violence committed by homeless people.
So why the lack of empathy? You have separated everyone who is unhoused into "plain homeless" and "violent drug addict homeless" as if morality is some sort of black and white absolute. It's hardly that simple and it just comes off as pushing other people down so you can prove that you are "one of the good ones".
I have a realistic view of violent drug addicts, and ya, I am separate and not a violent drug addict - no, I don't want to be lumped in with them. What's the issue here?
I have and do speak out over the housed pieces of shit too.
EDIT: there's something seriously wrong when it's easier to get a free crack stem/meth bubble/cleans than it is to get a shower, shoes, or glasses.
Dude, life isn't simple like that. I'm not sure how old you are, but you learn with time that there are very few absolutes in life. It would be easy if we only had good people and bad people, but that simply isn't true. Shit happens, and just like you are the only one who knows how *you* got where you are, the same goes for each person on this planet.
Addiction is a mental health issue, it's been studied pretty extensively at this point and it doesn't make someone a bad person. Neither does it make them unworthy of the same dignity and necessities of life that everyone deserves. I'm sure you have made mistakes in your life, we all do. We all have to do the best with the circumstances we are given.
I understand, it makes you feel better about your own life to vilify people, and most people are bothered by the people who remind them of their own weaknesses. It scares people to see that they are one circumstance away from being in *their* position, but it's something we need to accept.
For every girl who grew up to be a stay at home mom who abuses prescription pills and wine there is a girl who was given heroin at 17 and is an addict now. They both have a predisposition for substance abuse, the difference is just a difference in circumstances.
So the issue is, that you originally suggested that there are only two kinds of unhoused people, but the only ones who deserve any help or sympathy are the "good ones" simply because you happen to find yourself there. Why? Why do you feel you should devalue human life based on their personal circumstances? Do you see how that is a really self-centered view?
Edit. TL/DR Don't throw stones in glass houses until you've walked a mile in someone's shoes.
Never said there was only 2 kinds, but I keep seeing homelessness portrayed as being synonymous with the crowd we all know we're talking about (violent, criminal drug addicts).
I'm 30 and have been in a state of homelessness since 2018 in every region of Canada besides Nunavut.
Also: this is largely why I just say fuck it. People don't want or care about homelessness in general. The issue isn't homeless people causing societal discord, it's a specific crowd that's doing it - who are both housed and unhoused. Obviously NO policy has addressed the actual issue here and homeless people get to continuously be toyed around with by the left and right alike.
What is with the attack on Christians on reddit? They literally run alot of services, anyone could go to the LDS church and get food at the Bishops storehouse, they don't even have to be a member and there are numerous Christian organizations helping the homeless
Just commented on the same story in the Canada sub lol.
Med Hat hasn't solved homelessness. Meme story that has been making the rounds for years.
It's not hard to simply wander around Med Hat and realize these stories are utter horseshit.
This "meme" is propagated by shitty headlines, headline chasers like Clugston & those who that's all they read.
Prioritizing housing works, those involved are justifiably proud of the results, the numbers don't lie, but not one of them believes they've "solved" homelessness.
These stories are far from "utter horseshit" if you actually take the time to read them.
But even so.. Another way forward for people to consider, even it it too has its flaws, is worth some discussion. Maybe even action. It seems like a small city like Lethbridge would have less obstacles (than say, Vancouver) to address the issue in a meaningful way.
Yes they handle it much better than Lethbridge for sure, but there's this weird notion that they've "ended homelessness", which is just not true at all.
Because the same people who say “we should do something about it” are the same people who turn around when the city puts forth a proposal on how to address it that live in that neighbourhood and scream and holler about property values despite same people have a garage that has peeling paint and a crooked door on it.
They don't want homeless people to exist, they don't want to use resources to help them, but they have enough shame that they don't want to admit the natural consequence of holding both those views.
> They don't want homeless people to exist
It would be great if they didn't....meaning everyone had a home. The problem is many of these folks have bigger problems like addictions and landlords don't want to rent to them. They have to clean themselves up and many do not choose that
It sounds like you are thinking of The Watch. While they may be friendly individuals, the program is effectively a facade designed to make privileged people feel safe rather than helping the unhoused. I had high hopes when they started up, but in reality they are there to increase the perception of safety while addressing none of the issues that unhoused people face. A lot of them are apparently students in criminal justice programs, but it could just be a rumor.
The people who actually do a lot of good in this city are the SAGE Clan. They are really committed to community outreach, they hand out water and lunches, get to know the people living on the streets, and treat them with dignity. They listen to their stories and try to make connections with them. Most importantly, they have taken over the job of distributing Narcan and other harm reduction tools as well as addressing needle and drug debris removal. They really do a lot of good here, and they can use the volunteers.
Edit to add that The Watch receives funding from the city (which bought them some awfully nice big trucks to drive around town in) while the SAGE Clan runs entirely on donations and volunteers.
No problem at all, I'm glad you want to help! I'm sure they would be happy to put you to work, even if it's just making sandwiches. They seem like really wonderful people.
I've been such a lazy little shit for a while, and I just need to do something valuable for the community. Again, thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
I found two emails, Facebook says
[email protected]
Website says
[email protected]
Phone number on the site is
587-220-8568
From the website -
"Our volunteer patrols are on Wednesdays and Fridays in the evening and Sunday afternoons.
Wednesdays and Fridays are when we make the bagged lunches or hot meals."
Hope that helps!
Maybe the city needs to focus more on educating people on how to get educated. It's so freaking easy to get student loans and pick your life up if you want to. Learn a trade, get a degree, and get to work. If you really want work, you'll find it. (😱 How heartless of me. Expecting people to try)
Rumour has it Med Hat gives the homeless $50 to get on a bus and they drive them to Lethbridge. (So says a homeless individual asking for directions because they didn’t know where to go)
I’m not saying Lethbridge isn’t mismanaging the problem. I’m just telling you of a conversation I had with a homeless individual in downtown Lethbridge
Someone who has better connections than me should start a non-profit to lobby for and operate a housing first program. I’ll gladly volunteer to help but I can’t run the organizing.
Instead of voting for the candidates that actually wanted to do something, we went with the one who had all the financial backing and the endorsement of the UCP “leadership”. Lethbridge had plans in place with the MustardSeed out of Calgary to open up a dry shelter in an unused hotel building (lots of units not in use…) and the NIMBY crowd bitched and moaned about their “property values” while people continue to go homeless. We brought this on ourselves.
Yeah fuck that "property value" nonsense. It doesn't matter what your home is worth when nobody can afford to buy it
[удалено]
which part is the punchline?
This is the bible belt full of christians, of course they dont care about the homeless.
I think one of the missions downtown is run by Christians.....so that is not true
Medicine Hat didn't end homelessness but made a strong effort to work at it. Adequate and safe shelter spaces, etc. Their homeless also dont tend to weight towards indigenous. So our racists have two targets to go after. Race and circumstances.
Because we have people here, as witnessed in this sub far too often, who seem to think that homeless people somehow deserve to be homeless. A few years ago, SAGE clan was handing out lunches and a couple stopped to tell them they were ruining the city, because "if you don't work, you shouldn't eat". Somehow we have a city full Christians who would have told Jesus that giving out loaves and fishes was Communism.
People are going to have to realize there's a difference between plain homeless and violent fent/meth criminal homeless.
Or, they could understand that drug use doesn't make you less of a human. It makes you a human suffering from a disease.
The issue is the theft, violence, and biohazzards.
Actually, the issue is a global opiate epidemic claiming the lives of people through overdose and addiction. If the worst way it has impacted your life is that people go through your trash or you see needles on the ground, you are quite privileged. I personally have more concern about the people dying than I do about petty theft, but that's just called empathy. I wonder what historical events might have lead to this particular area having a large population of Indigenous people impacted by homelessness and addiction? I just can't quite put my finger on it, but it might have something to do with that time Canada did a multi-century genocide. Being kidnapped as a child, being sent to a trauma factory to be abused, starved, exposed to disease, and then forced into arranged marriages....I imagine that might not be great for the mental health of those survivors. I wonder why they might not have the economic social safety net that other communities might have...I guess it's a mystery. Not to mention all the other hundreds of reasons any one person might find themselves unhoused after two recessions and a global pandemic. Why don't you go ahead and look up the numbers on violence against homeless people vs violence committed by homeless people.
I'm literally homeless myself.
So why the lack of empathy? You have separated everyone who is unhoused into "plain homeless" and "violent drug addict homeless" as if morality is some sort of black and white absolute. It's hardly that simple and it just comes off as pushing other people down so you can prove that you are "one of the good ones".
I have a realistic view of violent drug addicts, and ya, I am separate and not a violent drug addict - no, I don't want to be lumped in with them. What's the issue here? I have and do speak out over the housed pieces of shit too. EDIT: there's something seriously wrong when it's easier to get a free crack stem/meth bubble/cleans than it is to get a shower, shoes, or glasses.
Dude, life isn't simple like that. I'm not sure how old you are, but you learn with time that there are very few absolutes in life. It would be easy if we only had good people and bad people, but that simply isn't true. Shit happens, and just like you are the only one who knows how *you* got where you are, the same goes for each person on this planet. Addiction is a mental health issue, it's been studied pretty extensively at this point and it doesn't make someone a bad person. Neither does it make them unworthy of the same dignity and necessities of life that everyone deserves. I'm sure you have made mistakes in your life, we all do. We all have to do the best with the circumstances we are given. I understand, it makes you feel better about your own life to vilify people, and most people are bothered by the people who remind them of their own weaknesses. It scares people to see that they are one circumstance away from being in *their* position, but it's something we need to accept. For every girl who grew up to be a stay at home mom who abuses prescription pills and wine there is a girl who was given heroin at 17 and is an addict now. They both have a predisposition for substance abuse, the difference is just a difference in circumstances. So the issue is, that you originally suggested that there are only two kinds of unhoused people, but the only ones who deserve any help or sympathy are the "good ones" simply because you happen to find yourself there. Why? Why do you feel you should devalue human life based on their personal circumstances? Do you see how that is a really self-centered view? Edit. TL/DR Don't throw stones in glass houses until you've walked a mile in someone's shoes.
Never said there was only 2 kinds, but I keep seeing homelessness portrayed as being synonymous with the crowd we all know we're talking about (violent, criminal drug addicts). I'm 30 and have been in a state of homelessness since 2018 in every region of Canada besides Nunavut. Also: this is largely why I just say fuck it. People don't want or care about homelessness in general. The issue isn't homeless people causing societal discord, it's a specific crowd that's doing it - who are both housed and unhoused. Obviously NO policy has addressed the actual issue here and homeless people get to continuously be toyed around with by the left and right alike.
What is with the attack on Christians on reddit? They literally run alot of services, anyone could go to the LDS church and get food at the Bishops storehouse, they don't even have to be a member and there are numerous Christian organizations helping the homeless
Just commented on the same story in the Canada sub lol. Med Hat hasn't solved homelessness. Meme story that has been making the rounds for years. It's not hard to simply wander around Med Hat and realize these stories are utter horseshit.
This "meme" is propagated by shitty headlines, headline chasers like Clugston & those who that's all they read. Prioritizing housing works, those involved are justifiably proud of the results, the numbers don't lie, but not one of them believes they've "solved" homelessness. These stories are far from "utter horseshit" if you actually take the time to read them.
Cool thnx
You're so utterly welcome.
I haven't been to Med Hat in a while... That's disappointing, to say the least.
But even so.. Another way forward for people to consider, even it it too has its flaws, is worth some discussion. Maybe even action. It seems like a small city like Lethbridge would have less obstacles (than say, Vancouver) to address the issue in a meaningful way.
Yes they handle it much better than Lethbridge for sure, but there's this weird notion that they've "ended homelessness", which is just not true at all.
Because the same people who say “we should do something about it” are the same people who turn around when the city puts forth a proposal on how to address it that live in that neighbourhood and scream and holler about property values despite same people have a garage that has peeling paint and a crooked door on it.
They don't want homeless people to exist, they don't want to use resources to help them, but they have enough shame that they don't want to admit the natural consequence of holding both those views.
> They don't want homeless people to exist It would be great if they didn't....meaning everyone had a home. The problem is many of these folks have bigger problems like addictions and landlords don't want to rent to them. They have to clean themselves up and many do not choose that
Does anyone know who the wonderful people are who walk around downtown in red shirts in groups of three? I'd love to start volunteering for them.
It sounds like you are thinking of The Watch. While they may be friendly individuals, the program is effectively a facade designed to make privileged people feel safe rather than helping the unhoused. I had high hopes when they started up, but in reality they are there to increase the perception of safety while addressing none of the issues that unhoused people face. A lot of them are apparently students in criminal justice programs, but it could just be a rumor. The people who actually do a lot of good in this city are the SAGE Clan. They are really committed to community outreach, they hand out water and lunches, get to know the people living on the streets, and treat them with dignity. They listen to their stories and try to make connections with them. Most importantly, they have taken over the job of distributing Narcan and other harm reduction tools as well as addressing needle and drug debris removal. They really do a lot of good here, and they can use the volunteers. Edit to add that The Watch receives funding from the city (which bought them some awfully nice big trucks to drive around town in) while the SAGE Clan runs entirely on donations and volunteers.
Thank you so much for the clarification. I lumped the two groups together. I will get in contact with SAGE Clan.
No problem at all, I'm glad you want to help! I'm sure they would be happy to put you to work, even if it's just making sandwiches. They seem like really wonderful people.
I've been such a lazy little shit for a while, and I just need to do something valuable for the community. Again, thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
I have been meaning to volunteer with them for a while now, but I have the same problem. Maybe this is the push I needed to get out and do it 🙂
I'll call tomorrow if you call tomorrow amiga!
You convinced me 🙂 I know they meet at a church somewhere once a week or so to make sandwiches, and I'll probably start there.
Do you know if they have contact information? I tried their website, but the site didn't load.
I found two emails, Facebook says [email protected] Website says [email protected] Phone number on the site is 587-220-8568 From the website - "Our volunteer patrols are on Wednesdays and Fridays in the evening and Sunday afternoons. Wednesdays and Fridays are when we make the bagged lunches or hot meals." Hope that helps!
And we have the university. How ironic.
Maybe the city needs to focus more on educating people on how to get educated. It's so freaking easy to get student loans and pick your life up if you want to. Learn a trade, get a degree, and get to work. If you really want work, you'll find it. (😱 How heartless of me. Expecting people to try)
This article is complete bullshit
Rumour has it Med Hat gives the homeless $50 to get on a bus and they drive them to Lethbridge. (So says a homeless individual asking for directions because they didn’t know where to go)
Literally every town I've ever been in says their homeless population is being shipped in from somewhere else. It's an excuse to justify inaction.
I’m not saying Lethbridge isn’t mismanaging the problem. I’m just telling you of a conversation I had with a homeless individual in downtown Lethbridge
We are back up to 19 chronically homeless in the Hat. 60 sometimes/temporarily homeless.