East Village: Success or a long ways away yet?

[Mountain Man]

The education system can and should play a role for sure, they are probably a better judge of a child than a parent who is likely extremely biased lol. This problem has no single solution, needs to be approached from many many angles.

 

[Red Star]

Is it easier or harder to consistently make therapy appointments if you have a safe, consistent place to sleep and to keep your belongings?
Is it easier or harder to attend substance abuse counselling or programs if you have a safe, consistent place to sleep and to keep your belongings?
Is it easier or harder to regularly take your psychiatric medications if you have a safe, consistent place to sleep and to keep your belongings?
Is it easier or harder to avoid traumatic events if you have a safe, consistent place to sleep and to keep your belongings?

Sure sounds like it does something for mental health to me. Would your mental health be as good if you were living on the street? Mine sure wouldn't.

Those are all good points.

And Yes...it's easier to take care of yourself when you have a safe, consistent place to sleep and to keep your belongings. But a house is just a house. It's waste of resources to house a homeless person without giving them adequate access to mental health resources.

1. It's expense to building housing.
2. It's expensive to maintain housing when tax paying citizens are living in said housing. You need to consistently maintain elevators, perform annual tests on life safety equipment, maintain HVAC and plumbing fixtures. Constantly check the exterior envelope.
3. It's really expense to maintain housing when the people living there are shitting all over the place and pulling copper piping out of the walls.

I personally think the best solution is to build a mental health facility out in a rural area, where we can house and treat these people away from the negative influences of the city. I know we're all idealists and we all think we're enlightened people...but the sad reality is there are some people in this society that can't live independently and probably never will.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

build a mental health facility out in a rural area, where we can house and treat these people away from the negative influences of the city.

This has been proven many times over to not work. Once that person goes back into the city their tendency to relapse is quite high. Solve the problem where it is.

I think when people say give someone a home, they're not talking about giving someone naloxone and then giving them the keys to an apartment (I know that's not what you're saying, I'm exaggerating for affect).

I could be considered a flip flopper for what I'm about to say because of what I wrote in the first line but maybe a method of forced treatment is what is best for the person and society but to backup what I said about solving the problem where it is, at some point in the process there needs to be a halfway-house for lack of a better term. I don't want to make homeless drug users criminals but I think our tolerance for open drug use has gone a bit far, there needs to be some consequence for openly doing drugs on Stephen Ave.

 

[Mountain Man]

I think the Home Space on 15ave between 1st & 2nd SW is exactly the type of half way house you are talking about. Sadly it's also a main spot where homeless and addicts hang out, so someone struggling with substance abuse isn't going to kick their problem there.