Mountain Man
Senior Member
As long as we have a provincial government that thinks locking people up and more police are the only answers, we aren't going to get anywhere.
|
|
|
Calgary's Homeless
- Thread starter MrPeach
- Start date
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
My understanding is that there is significant overlap between situation #1 and situation #2. At least among the people experiencing long-term homelessness, you're basically talking about the same population. They require treatment, but they can't be treated living on the street. That is, they can't "get better" before they get housing.
Situation #3 is a much larger, much more heterogeneous population, most of whom are perfectly capable of independent living if given enough time and resources to sort things out. This might be someone fleeing an abusive spouse, someone who fell behind on rent on got evicted, someone whose house has been damaged, etc.
adamyyc
Active Member
One thing is clear, more resources and more housing is necessary. I know there are a number of other resources aside from the Drop-In Centre (Inn from the Cold, the Mustard Seed, etc.) depending on your situation, but the Drop-In Centre is the biggest resource and serves the largest number of people. I have wondered if having a second Drop-In Centre elsewhere in the City would prove beneficial, or if it would just stretch resources too thin. My thought is it would reduce the volume of people in East Village, and could improve safety (or at least reduce the intimidation factor). We shouldn’t be afraid of people who are homeless, but it’s human nature. I’ll admit I’ve been intimidated walking through crowds of homeless people who are congregated, because there is generally a higher prevalence of substance abuse and mental illness. The interesting thing is that this intimidation has really all been in my head. My wife and I were walking in downtown Vancouver last summer with our toddler and got turned around and ended up on East Hastings. People announced that there was a baby on the street so everyone would act accordingly. It was a good experience for me, but even so, would I have walked that way again with my toddler or even by myself? I wonder if a second Drop-In Centre location could help prevent that area of East Village from ending up like East Hastings. I don’t mean to be insensitive, but large groups of homeless people in one area does result in people avoiding that area. Having a second drop-in location can balance this. Priority of course should be in creating permanent housing solutions.
JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
There is also the Salvation Army which is just south of the Drop-in Centre. There have been a number of shelters downtown for several years. I am guessing that the homeless population has outgrown the capacity OR, there is that many more who have been refused entry for whatever reasons.
From what I've heard there is enough room to house all homeless. Some homeless people (a small minority) don't use the facilities, but for the most part people are covered. I think part of the issues is the shelters themselves, I can see how some would rather be alone than in a building full of people, especially when the weather is nicer.
From a recent article.
According to the most recent numbers from the Calgary Homeless Foundation from 2018, the city has about 3,000 people experiencing homelessness. Fewer than 100 of those are completely unsheltered — or living rough —on any given night. For some, like Hauriel, it's a choice.
Cliff Wiebe, executive director of the Salvation Army in Calgary, said that's not surprising.
"Some people prefer just to live life their own way," said Wiebe. "Shelters have quite a few people in them, if they'd rather be alone."
From a recent article.
According to the most recent numbers from the Calgary Homeless Foundation from 2018, the city has about 3,000 people experiencing homelessness. Fewer than 100 of those are completely unsheltered — or living rough —on any given night. For some, like Hauriel, it's a choice.
Cliff Wiebe, executive director of the Salvation Army in Calgary, said that's not surprising.
"Some people prefer just to live life their own way," said Wiebe. "Shelters have quite a few people in them, if they'd rather be alone."
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
We need to be clear that shelters are different from housing. The Drop-In Centre, Alpha House, etc. provide emergency shelters. This is not intended to be permanent (though for some it has become permanent). Many people would rather sleep on their own in a tent than in a room with dozens of other people, many of them experiencing mental illness and addiction. (Wouldn't you?)
Housing refers to a private residence where the client has some kind of fixed rental agreement. There are many models for providing housing to people who cannot acquire themselves in the private market. My understanding is that the dominant model in Calgary is for the public sector (ultimately funded by the Province) to make agreements with private landlords to house people in exchange for subsidies. There are many factors limiting the number of units available through this system. As rents go up generally, private landlords expect more money which eats up housing budgets faster. Thus, hot real estate markets suppress the supply of public housing. There's also resistance among landlords and other tenants to allowing people with mental illness and addictions into their buildings. There are also probably problems related to where people get housed. It makes economic sense for private landlords to put clients in neighbourhoods that have the lowest rents and highest vacancy rates. But these areas also tend to be on the outskirts of town and poorly served by transit and other services. If you rely on services in the city centre, it may decide that it's easier to sleep somewhere in the Beltline rather than making the long commute back to your residence (especially if you already have experience sleeping on the street).
Anyway, the point is that when people talk about a housing shortage, they're not talking about a shortage of shelter beds. They're talking about a long wait list for people to get their own subsidized residence.
Housing refers to a private residence where the client has some kind of fixed rental agreement. There are many models for providing housing to people who cannot acquire themselves in the private market. My understanding is that the dominant model in Calgary is for the public sector (ultimately funded by the Province) to make agreements with private landlords to house people in exchange for subsidies. There are many factors limiting the number of units available through this system. As rents go up generally, private landlords expect more money which eats up housing budgets faster. Thus, hot real estate markets suppress the supply of public housing. There's also resistance among landlords and other tenants to allowing people with mental illness and addictions into their buildings. There are also probably problems related to where people get housed. It makes economic sense for private landlords to put clients in neighbourhoods that have the lowest rents and highest vacancy rates. But these areas also tend to be on the outskirts of town and poorly served by transit and other services. If you rely on services in the city centre, it may decide that it's easier to sleep somewhere in the Beltline rather than making the long commute back to your residence (especially if you already have experience sleeping on the street).
Anyway, the point is that when people talk about a housing shortage, they're not talking about a shortage of shelter beds. They're talking about a long wait list for people to get their own subsidized residence.
JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
The 'tent city' at the Drop In Centre has just been dismantled by police. Several charges have been laid. Apparently it was the scene of drug dealing, assaults and other illicit activity.
Last edited:
potatopizzafan
Active Member
shocking
MSN
www.msn.com
YourBoy007
Active Member
Has anyone taken a look at Japan's homeless rate? It's the smallest per capita in the world. It's basically shrunken down to the population of Calgary's homeless, but for the entire country (126 million people)! It's been on a steep decline for more than a decade. I'll let you draw your own analysis, but Japan is obviously doing several things right when it comes to combating homelessness. Japan may have proven we overestimated the number of lost causes out there on the streets.
borgenproject.org
en.wikipedia.org
tomorrow.city
The Current State of Homelessness in Japan - The Borgen Project
Japan’s national survey found there were 5,534 homeless people in 2017. What makes homelessness in Japan unique is its low visibility.
borgenproject.org
Homelessness in Japan - Wikipedia
Homelessness in Japan: the country with the smallest percentage of homeless people
Japan is the only country in the world with a homeless population rate of 0%. That's what the 2020 data indicate, which show an amazing drop that began in the preceding years.
tomorrow.city
Last edited:
ByeByeBaby
Active Member
An interesting study out today based on Calgary data. If I understand it correctly, the study suggests that the Housing First approach reduces law enforcement interactions with formerly homeless people with a history of criminal involvement; it does this mostly by reducing the number of relatively unimportant public nuisance type crimes (e.g. loitering); this helps people avoid cycling in and out of prison - and reduces the societal cost of this. I think this makes sense, but it's always good to use data to prove common sense, because 'common sense' isn't always correct.
Twitter thread of study
Link to paper / abstract
Twitter thread of study
Link to paper / abstract
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
I work in the East Village and St Patricks Island Park and I’ve definitely noticed an uptick in homeless people hanging around since the camp/village in front of the DI was dispersed. A hell of a lot more trash around the area too, but that could be because of the spring melt as well.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Building off the housing first approach and the Japan discussion, really neat analysis looks at Japanese zoning codes and their role in affordability. There's a ton of articles to look at about this, but a few good summaries are below.
One of the key differences in Japan has a very simple, nation-wide, as-of-right zoning code that seeks to be as inclusive to uses as possible.
In simpler terms that means you can build most normal stuff almost anywhere, with no risk of public opposition or public appeal. Similarly you rarely have to apply to change a use, because you can generally allowed stuff all time. Keeps costs low and allows supply to change much closer to demand. The result is pretty dramatic - more building, more housing, cheaper units all this despite having a shrinking, stable, low population population in many cities.
Of course it's not the whole story in issues surrounding homelessness, but it's part of the story in Japan on what's going on and why affordability is less of an issue.
Japanese zoning
http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.htmlWhat is the secret to Tokyo’s affordable housing?
https://medium.com/land-buildings-i...ret-to-tokyos-affordable-housing-266283531012
Last edited:
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
There's actually a book that compares homelessness in Tokyo to homelessness in Los Angeles: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801479700/better-must-comeHas anyone taken a look at Japan's homeless rate? It's the smallest per capita in the world. It's basically shrunken down to the population of Calgary's homeless, but for the entire country (126 million people)! It's been on a steep decline for more than a decade. I'll let you draw your own analysis, but Japan is obviously doing several things right when it comes to combating homelessness. Japan may have proven we overestimated the number of lost causes out there on the streets.
The Current State of Homelessness in Japan - The Borgen Project
Japan’s national survey found there were 5,534 homeless people in 2017. What makes homelessness in Japan unique is its low visibility.
Homelessness in Japan - Wikipedia
Homelessness in Japan: the country with the smallest percentage of homeless people
Japan is the only country in the world with a homeless population rate of 0%. That's what the 2020 data indicate, which show an amazing drop that began in the preceding years.
I think housing policy is one of the big differences. The book talks about Japan having more public investment in housing and a larger supply of low-rent, simple dwellings (e.g. places that have shared bathrooms). We probably all know about the housing regulations in California. There's also some mention about how housing applicants are less likely to be discriminated against in Tokyo versus Los Angeles, where homelessness is much more prevalent among people of colour.
Questioneverything
New Member
The stuff greed creates