Seniors living in tent encampment desperate for safe housing

GoneFishin

GoneFishin

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Halifax seniors living in tent encampment desperate for safe housing

In Halifax, 77-year-old Judy Howe is living in a tent at an encampment along with her 80-year-old partner, George. A volunteer street navigator is trying to help the pair find safe housing that can accommodate them both — but for now, Howe says, ‘I go to bed crying.'

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6501722
 

Gosh, very sad. I wonder how many doggy strollers, veterinary medical procedures, sweaters, new upholstered chairs to sleep in, and luxury refrigerated pet meals might have to be given up so that Judy and George could experience safe housing, clean clothing, and basic food?

Ah well. Who do they think they are? Pets or something else more important than them?
 
Let me get in early.

"Well, they should have saved some money."
"Well, why didn't they buy their own homes?"
"Well, why don't they move to somewhere they can afford!"
"Yet we give bazillions to migrants!"
"Probably addicted to drugs."
"Probably alcoholics."
"I live in this city, and this story isn't true."
"I see these people all the time, they're a real eyesore."
"Well, shouldn't have voted for [insert name here]"
"Well, that's what you get with liberal policies."
"More wasted tax dollars."

That just about covers it. :D
 

dilettante said:
Gosh, very sad. I wonder how many doggy strollers, veterinary medical procedures, sweaters, new upholstered chairs to sleep in, and luxury refrigerated pet meals might have to be given up so that Judy and George could experience safe housing, clean clothing, and basic food?

Ah well. Who do they think they are? Pets or something else more important than them?
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So anyone that has a pet should instead get rid of it and give that money to poor people??? How much do you give to people like this? Obviously it’s sad and they should be taken care of by government social services which our taxes help to pay for.

Perhaps government should stop wasting money and redirecting it where it’s most needed. I agree with another poster that said there’s more to this story.
 
We have many living in cars / tents / caravans in Australia …..some if the issues ……is way to many new arrivals being placed in government owned homes that are called housing trust property’s where tenants pay minimal rent according to their income.
Other reasons home prices have shot up sky high …and landlords have jacked up rents to unaffordable prices pushing many to the brink of homelessness ,an average 3 bedroom rental is about $700 a week and that’s not in any upmarket suburbs …more upmarket suburbs rents are anything from $900 to $1.500 a week for a vey modest smallish home.
Im so glad we purchased another property … right away , when we sold our home a while back if we didn’t we could have been in the same boat as many are now , I know we simply wouldn't be able to pay the rents being asked now days …. Some of my relatives have had their names on housing trust waiting list for over 10 years …but new comers get first priority, so it’s very unlikely ….Any Aust born applicant will ever get a HT home.
That includes all ages , including especially built senior flats / units / bed sit single person private living apartments
 
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VaughanJB said:
Let me get in early.

"Well, they should have saved some money."
"Well, why didn't they buy their own homes?"
"Well, why don't they move to somewhere they can afford!"
"Yet we give bazillions to migrants!"
"Probably addicted to drugs."
"Probably alcoholics."
"I live in this city, and this story isn't true."
"I see these people all the time, they're a real eyesore."
"Well, shouldn't have voted for [insert name here]"
"Well, that's what you get with liberal policies."
"More wasted tax dollars."

That just about covers it. :D
Click to expand...
I really can't tell if you're serious, taking the P155 or having a bet each way. 😳🙄
Victim blaming is getting to be a default setting these days.
I recently saw a couple of graphs comparing the concentration of wealth upwards. One was pre-revolution France, the other 21st century USA, conjecture as you wish.
 
Rakaia said:
I really can't tell if you're serious, taking the P155 or having a bet each way. 😳🙄
Victim blaming is getting to be a default setting these days.
I recently saw a couple of graphs comparing the concentration of wealth upwards. One was pre-revolution France, the other 21st century USA, conjecture as you wish.
Click to expand...


seemed to me he was getting in early listing the sort of victim blaming statements people would make - rather than saying these were things he thought himself.

He missed blaming pet owners though :rolleyes:
 
Aunt Bea said:
There has to be more to the story.

It does make me wonder if we do have the will to solve this type of problem.

Most of us have one or more empty rooms that could be used to help millions of people, young and old, get back on their feet and we all have just as many reasons for not making the offer.
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Would you really be comfortable inviting an absolute stranger to share your home ? For how long ?

I contribute to two organizations that help people, [i give a fair amount] but to have a total stranger move in here ? ..... No.

Not trying to join the blame game but ..... I have heard on more than one occasion where sometimes even family do not want some of these folks living with them.
 
rgp said:
Would you really be comfortable inviting an absolute stranger to share your home ? For how long ?

I contribute to two organizations that help people, [i give a fair amount] but to have a total stranger move in here ? ..... No.

Not trying to join the blame game but ..... I have heard on more than one occasion where sometimes even family do not want some of these folks living with them.
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No, I’m no different than the rest of us.

I agree with you that in many cases people have worn out their welcome with family and friends.

The homeless population is always changing and IMO it will never be eliminated.

I don’t blame the homeless and I don’t believe that we should shame the people that have managed to take care of themselves for not always doing more.

We should each do what we are comfortable with and be thankful that we have managed to avoid becoming part of this sad and frustrating situation.
 
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Aunt Bea said:
No, I’m no different than the rest of us.

I agree with you that in many cases people have worn out their welcome with family and friends.

The homeless population is always changing and IMO it will never be eliminated.

I don’t blame the homeless and I don’t believe that we should shame the people that have managed to take care of themselves for not always doing more.

We should each do what we are comfortable with and be thankful that we have managed to avoid becoming part of this sad and frustrating situation.
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Agree !

A friend's wife [yes she was my friend as well] worked for a time in a local gov-office that dealt with those 'struggling' . She said that in almost every case the folks struggling were the victims of their own doing ?

I remember one, a vet, that got out of the military, and just wanted to experience doing different things [jobs] and he would admit that he just ran out of time. Next thing he knew he was 60+ and had nothing. Last I heard [knew] he was living at the American Legion hall, in what was the maintenance / janitors room. He was the maintenance man / janitor. But at least he had a clean/warm place to sleep. And he was the security .
 
In days of yore, the Church played the role of helping the poor. The citizens would give money to the church, then it was their business to be of service to the poor, the homeless, the forgotten ones. Now there are many non-profits that are organized to do this. We work our jobs, and then give part of our money to help these unfortunate folk. But, now we can not get enough money or organizations to serve this problem. There is definitely enough money in the private sector to do so, but the will to share our wealth is not there. What a failure this system is. :(
 
Paco Dennis said:
In days of yore, the Church played the role of helping the poor. The citizens would give money to the church, then it was their business to be of service to the poor, the homeless, the forgotten ones. Now there are many non-profits that are organized to do this. We work our jobs, and then give part of our money to help these unfortunate folk. But, now we can not get enough money or organizations to serve this problem. There is definitely enough money in the private sector to do so, but the will to share our wealth is not there. What a failure this system is. :(
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IMO, part of the 'lack of will to share' stems from so many , and time after time, those in need being proven to be gaming our system / gaming our kindness.

Again opinion but, I truly believe people are just fed-up with it all. Particularly those , that are not wealthy themselves, and yet trying to help their own family

And now for this I'll perhaps really get scolded but ...... I see the homeless multiple times p/week on the news. And I gotta say, if they can erect a tent, ride a bicycle , walk down to the next gov-help office etc,& so-on. Surely they can do some kind of work. On top of that, if they are not willing to give up their drugs & or alcohol to conform with the rules of shelters .... why should I feel guilty for not doing more ? On top of that ... from what I hear, crime is rampant inside those shelters, the younger/stronger ones mugging / stealing from the weaker ones.

Sorry folks but ...... so many do bring it upon themselves .
 
Aunt Bea said:
There has to be more to the story.

It does make me wonder if we do have the will to solve this type of problem.

Most of us have one or more empty rooms that could be used to help millions of people, young and old, get back on their feet and we all have just as many reasons for not making the offer.
Click to expand...
A lot of time I think its "location". So many of the needy are in the major city center type areas. So many of those that would offer and have offered and helped in the past live in country or small town environments.

About 10 years ago, we offered our garage apt. free to a single mom who had two children - one 4 and one 16. They drove across the country from Calif. to Texas, hauling a trailer on the back of an older Toyota Corolla and stayed with us for some months, until she bought land and rehab'd a house. We are good friends to this day.
 
rgp said:
IMO, part of the 'lack of will to share' stems from so many , and time after time, those in need being proven to be gaming our system / gaming our kindness.

Again opinion but, I truly believe people are just fed-up with it all. Particularly those , that are not wealthy themselves, and yet trying to help their own family

And now for this I'll perhaps really get scolded but ...... I see the homeless multiple times p/week on the news. And I gotta say, if they can erect a tent, ride a bicycle , walk down to the next gov-help office etc,& so-on. Surely they can do some kind of work. On top of that, if they are not willing to give up their drugs & or alcohol to conform with the rules of shelters .... why should I feel guilty for not doing more ? On top of that ... from what I hear, crime is rampant inside those shelters, the younger/stronger ones mugging / stealing from the weaker ones.

Sorry folks but ...... so many do bring it upon themselves
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Probably finding fault is much easier that doing anything about it, no matter "what" it is. As our globe shrinks in size the problem seems to be growing though. No one seems to have a way to fix this. The age old problems may never have complete fixes. We do need to learn to live with that also. If we can just keep the violence out of it, we could learn to live with these problems easier.
Click to expand...
 
Rakaia said:
I really can't tell if you're serious, taking the P155 or having a bet each way. 😳🙄
Victim blaming is getting to be a default setting these days.
I recently saw a couple of graphs comparing the concentration of wealth upwards. One was pre-revolution France, the other 21st century USA, conjecture as you wish.
Click to expand...
January said:
seemed to me he was getting in early listing the sort of victim blaming statements people would make - rather than saying these were things he thought himself.

He missed blaming pet owners though :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

January got it. :)

Having a discussion about this topic in September 2024 is a pretty worthless exercise. It's a battle of how much people hate those on a lower life arc than ourselves, and soon Asylum Seekers will find their way into the conversation, such is lack of compassion prevalent in most places these days. Let's be honest, the richest most advanced country planet earth has ever seen, really ought to be able to get a program together to deal with these kinds of issues. IMO.

rgp said:
And now for this I'll perhaps really get scolded but ...... I see the homeless multiple times p/week on the news. And I gotta say, if they can erect a tent, ride a bicycle , walk down to the next gov-help office etc,& so-on. Surely they can do some kind of work. On top of that, if they are not willing to give up their drugs & or alcohol to conform with the rules of shelters .... why should I feel guilty for not doing more ? On top of that ... from what I hear, crime is rampant inside those shelters, the younger/stronger ones mugging / stealing from the weaker ones.

Sorry folks but ...... so many do bring it upon themselves .
Click to expand...

I won't try to change your mind, you are entitled to that view. I see things differently. Who is going to hire someone who lives in a tent, has no access to a bathroom, or method to get decent clothes? What kind of job would want them? Would the pay they get allow them to rent an apartment or something?

On addiction, it's not a matter of just getting off drugs. You don't just stop. You need all kinds of services around you to help you be successful, but it's no easy task. Take, for example, Methadone clinics (to help get off opioids) in Florida. They're for profit. They charge a daily fee for the Methadone. They also decide how much you're going to get, so there's no incentive to ween you off it. Shelters? I don't know if you've visited any, but let me tell you, they're not exactly havens.

But finally I'll say this. The "so many bring it upon themselves" is something I've seen before. But for me, these people need help because, plain and simply, they need it. No doubt they've taken many life decisions I've avoided myself. They were stupid to try drugs even once, or to continue drinking. Yes, that was their fault. But they still need help.

What is the alternative? Just have them die on the streets because they were losers, because they made bad decisions? Have you seen what some of these street drugs do to people? Tranq for example? People are losing limbs. People are walking around with exposed bones in their arms and legs, festering and dying. And guess what, they still do tranq. Addiction is terrible.

True charity, in my opinion, is irrespective of cause. I won't sit here in my comfortable home and shrug off the avoidable death of others because they made terrible decisions. I don't judge them. We should support these people simply because we can. IMO YMMV
 
Aunt Bea said:
No, I’m no different than the rest of us.

I agree with you that in many cases people have worn out their welcome with family and friends.

The homeless population is always changing and IMO it will never be eliminated.

I don’t blame the homeless and I don’t believe that we should shame the people that have managed to take care of themselves for not always doing more.

We should each do what we are comfortable with and be thankful that we have managed to avoid becoming part of this sad and frustrating situation.
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You really have a way with words Aunt Bea.
Thank you for your post. No we shouldn’t be shaming those who have done well in looking after themselves. We buy and donate a bagful of groceries to the needy every two weeks. Thats what we are comfortable doing.
 
I make a habit of going into the local salvos each winter and buy 2 brand NEW quilts off the SALVOS …shelves ….then I donate them …...right there and then , so the salvos are not only getting money for their stock in store ..they are passing much needed winter items into the needy

Many of our op shops are also food banks ..so the needy don’t get any cash handouts, ….they get what they need in the way of food
 
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