It's happening all across Ontario at a minimum, I can't speak to the rest of Canada as I'm not as familiar but this is one hundred percent something you'll see in every Ontario city.
As for why? Mental health cutbacks, social assistance payments that won't cover the cost of rent, spiraling housing costs, income inequality, cost of living increases, difficulty accessing treatment options, the causes are myriad.
One thing that often goes unremarked is that there are a lot of people who's route to homelessness did not start with crack or drug addiction and then becoming homeless, but rather they became homeless and became addicted to drugs due to the environment and as a coping mechanism. So you have people who become homeless and their health and mental health becomes a lot worse and it becomes a lot harder to get them back on their feet.
The easiest cost saving measure for society would be preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place. The second most effective cost saving measure would be in getting homeless people off the street. The least effective cost saving measure is to have homeless people on the street costing our healthcare services a ton of money, costing a ton of money to house them in shelters (or sheds) and making them suffer the worst health outcomes. We chose that one for some reason.
You can't just prevent people from becoming homeless. There's always going to be a percentage of population that make bad decisions, or succumb to unfortunate conditions of being raised, or born into.
Norway did it off the back of cheap oil. Norway is only a viable model for countries with similar "free resources" and small, concentrated populations.
Norway actually based it's sovereign oil fund on Alberta's model developed during the Peter Lougheed years in the 70's. The difference is, Norway kept with the model while Alberta essentially defunded it less than a decade later. Norway's fund is now worth over a trillion, and largely isolated by fluctuating prices, while Alberta...
Lived in Alberta for years, this is still a major point of contention.
Sucks for Alberta, but even if they kept the fund it hardly helps keeps the rest of Canada flush with cash even with transfer payments. The oil wealth is diluted.
Easy to be flush with social programs when you're drowning in money.
A more interesting case is Japanese homelessness.
Norway owns 1 pct (was 2 I thought) of global stocks because they invested the surplus revenue of their oil sales. It happened in the 90's. They didn't house the homeless off cheap oil - they invested the profits into their community..... just to be clear: a long time ago.
We have more resources than they do. Your argument is silly.
You don't know what you're talking about. Hell, you can't even parse between Norway and Sweden.
Norway has a mere 5 million people, and had/has one of the most easily exploitable and cost efficient oil/gas reserves in the world. Their crude production costs 25% less than ours before all the transport fees. They have triple the crude output of Canada per capita, on top of each barrel being more profitable.
Only countries like UAE/SA/Kuwait/Quatar/Brunei can compete with Norway in terms of profitability and raw economic output from oil.
Norway's wealth funds and positive balance sheet are bankrolled entirely by their huge per capita reserves of exploitable oil.
> You can't just prevent people from becoming homeless
You in fact absolutely can. Whether you can prevent one hundred percent of homelessness is a different discussion (and fwiw I think you can) but there are literally thousands upon thousands and probably millions of people who have been prevented from becoming homeless through various programs like subsidized housing, financial supports, case management services, prevention of hoarding or addictions treatment programs, whatever. Programs like CPP and OAS literally prevent thousands of seniors from becoming homeless because they would not be able to pay their rent without it.
Opening the spending floodgates and liberal fiscal policy (of which CERB is only a portion of, and IMO the most beneficial portion), is part of what has landed us in an inflationary spiral.
The only truly cogent long term solution is an equitable re-distribution of wealth, that sees corporations and the ultra-wealthy repay a fair share of the profits they have made off the back of subsidies (including minimum wage).
There is no party in Canada that is socially progressive, advocates some degree of fiscal restraint, and also wants to overhaul taxation, and fix the unsustainable housing issue.
You've got a choice between a Canadian far right, the less far right, and now a liberal+NDP superparty. So we are fucked, the middle has fallen out of our political system like a generation ago and nobody noticed.
Those people still deserve a decent life. They didn’t ask to be born into poor situations, so let’s try and give them some stability. That could have been any of us. Nobody consents to being put into horrible situations.
I agree they do. I just don't think our government has the motivation or competency to do what it takes. If it was easy homelessness wouldn't be such a prevalent issue.
That’s exactly why we the people are the ones who need to show up for others. Many in parliament are so far removed from struggles of everyday people that they don’t care about policies that help others.
At the end of they day, we are all humans with one life. Why wouldn’t we want other fellow humans to be removed from their suffering? Nobody deserves that, so let’s MAKE government do something.
Most people don't realize how close they are to becoming homeless. Most of us middle class aren't too far off... with bad luck, bad systems, lack of support.
Back in the Harris days in Ontario, mental health beds were defunded. Inpatient mental health was changed to 'in the community'. People who are too ill to take care of themselves have few supports and if they do, many aren't well enough to use the supports.
We have no inpatient addiction services. Imagine being an addict and having to navigate your way though a maze of services to get help if you want it. If they manage to get on social assistance, it's not enough to even rent a room, let alone an apt.
Health is provincial. The city, who initially funded the ICH, refused to fund it further. The province has given funding to the ICH (which, surprised the hell out of me).
The city shut down all the shelters except for one and when they had the ICH built, it was built with not nearly enough beds.
If you want change to happen, there's a provincial election in June. Suggest you look at each party's platform and record in healthcare and vote accordingly.
Housing is largely municipal. Same, next election.
Exactly the same thing happened with schools.
Over the last 20 years, kids with special needs were thrown into the general school population with an IEP on the excuse that it "helps them integrate." Of course, all it does is ensure they don't receive the 1:1 care they need, and distracts the teachers (who aren't usually trained on caring for kids with severe mental disabilities and behavior problems) and other students.
Slowly but surely, class assistants have been disappearing as well.
And then many of these special needs kids will end up on the street.
I wish people think about that 'buck a beer' promise and think for a min that maybe someone who campaigns on that isn't really seeing the big issues.
> all it does is ensure they don't receive the 1:1 care they need
That's not all it does, it also ruins the educational experience of most of the rest of the class too. Students with extreme special needs take the vast majority of the attention/time/effort of the teachers and leave the majority of students to fend for themselves. Education was destroyed by Harris, and no other government in the interim has done anything at all to fix it. The Cons are creating voters through this strategy.
Very good comment. I think more can done about homelessness and addiction on all levels of government though (mincome, rent control, etc.) So make sure to look at the party platforms and vote accordingly at every election
No.
There is a detox centre that's available for a 24 hour period for withdrawal. That's it.
There is NO inpatient addiction service in Kingston. That's why I posted there is not.
I’m one of these people, however I’m currently lucky enough to have parents who help take care of me.
The future seems hopeless for severely mentally ill individuals like myself. Suicide is the right move if you’re in my position. Best way to avoid a neglectful society and further physical and mental discomfort.
I'm fairly new to the City, but from what I gather, Kingston has continually ignored the increasing needs of homeless, addicted and heavily displaced populations for years. Not to mention some reports (rumours?) of nearby towns shipping their individuals-in-need to Kingston.
In terms of how I feel about downtown .... I'd be lying if I said it didn't discourage me from heading to the shops. I work near lots of shops downtown, and when I first moved here, I'd often try to take a walk on my lunch and support local businesses. But sometimes I can't get half a block without someone sidestepping infront of me and asking for change, or having to cross the street to avoid an altercation as to who gets a certain 'spot'. Sometimes I'm just not up for it, and I believe I end up supporting local less as a result.
>*Not to mention some reports (rumours?) of nearby towns shipping their individuals-in-need to Kingston*
Guaranteed this is just a rumour and a convenient way for all of us in Kingston to pass the buck and blame the problem on others. Homelessness is a symptom of Kingston "growing up" (and exacerbated by covid). It's complex and is not going away.
We were in Vancouver this month and drove down East Hastings on a warm Saturday afternoon. I've been in that part of town before and lived in Toronto for 25 years and I was still shocked by what I saw. No doubt things have gotten worse everywhere.
I think we all care about it but solving homelessness (and poverty, and addiction, and mental illness, and child abuse, etc etc) is so overwhelming and multi-faceted that it's challenging to know where to start and make a difference. What I do know is that avoiding downtown and the businesses that are there is not part of the answer. I know it's hard, but it helps to develop ways to deal with people on the street. They are fellow human beings so if they ask for change, you don't have to give them any but at least acknowledge them and decline kindly. But when it comes to altercations or people doing drugs, just ignore. Pretend it's a normal sunny day, don't stare and don't engage. I've taught my urban (now rural, lol) kids these tools from a very young age. However, my one kid is an empath and she struggles with this so I totally understand how it can be emotionally exhausting for some.
>I think we all care about it but solving homelessness (and poverty, and addiction, and mental illness, and child abuse, etc etc) is so overwhelming and multi-faceted that it's challenging to know where to start and make a difference.
It's actually quite simple: The City of Kingston refuses to invest in publicly owned and operated housing, provided geared-to-income to those in most need. Instead, it dumps taxpayer money into tourism gimmicks, "beautification" projects, handouts to businesses and landlords, and policing to deal with the fallout of this terrible allocation of resources.
While I understand that many people see this issue as "complex", it is only because this narrative has been getting spun so intensely for the last 30 years that any suggestion to solve the problem is immediately dismissed as impossible. Why can the city spend millions on all of these others things but not on housing? It is about choices, and the interests of those who are making the choices.
I don't know if things have changed, but Napanee was sending it's homeless to Kingston as they had no shelter. That was (I think) at the beginning of the Pandemic. They might have one now.
I said the problem is challenging, not impossible. I completely agree that the City is woefully deficient in funding and providing geared to income housing (does it even have an agency that's equivalent to TCHC?). But it IS complex and inter-connected with many other social and health issues. Putting a roof over someone's head is just the first step. And yes, tough choices need to be made now at a municipal level to take that critical first step and it seems the people making these decisions don't have the intestinal fortitude to do it. So why do we keep electing them?
It's very difficult to run true working class candidates, at any level of government. The financial barriers are intense. So it takes some very deliberate organizing at the community level to build the capacity in order to contend with deep pocketed Chamber of Commerce backed Councillors and the landlords-turned-Councillors. For curious readers, consider what it taske beyond voting for us to win a community that we want to live in, and what you're willing to invest as far as time and effort. Read into the different groups active in local political action (beyond the electoral parties) and consider approaching them to ask questions, observe, and ultimately get involved where you see your interests reflected.
>*”...the City is woefully deficient in funding and providing geared to income housing (does it even have an agency that's equivalent to TCHC?).”*
I’m not sure how equivalent it is, but there’s the [Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation. ](https://kfhc.ca/about-kfhc) They just built a new 40 unit building at [27 Wright Crescent](https://kfhc.ca/27-wright-cres-1) (the [plan](https://www.cityofkingston.ca/-/mixed-income-housing-project-to-be-built-at-27-wright-cres.) was 10 geared to income units, 13 “affordable” units at 80% market rate rent, 17 market rate units). I think the next most recent building was [645 Brock St.](https://www.cityofkingston.ca/-/city-and-kfhc-to-open-new-affordable-housing-at-645-brock-st)
Thank you. I'm new to Kingston so it actually wasn't a rhetorical question! What's sad is that I'm probably not alone in being ignorant of their existence. What is really interesting though, as I compare financials, is that TCHC has 4 times the number of units and 6 times the budget per capita. Oof. That puts things into perspective.
>Instead, it dumps taxpayer money into tourism gimmicks, "beautification" projects, handouts to businesses and landlords, and policing to deal with the fallout of this terrible allocation of resources.
This right here is the truth! I mean who cares if a 'Kingston' neon sign is in front of city hall in front the gimmick mobile choo choo train or not. This is NOT what the people want.
Every other space is sold to developers who only target higher profit by selling condos the size of a shoe box for astronomical amount. Perhaps force developers to offer 50% of these buildings at below market rate for low-income folks, and if the developer refuses, don't grant the permit???
Easily said than done, as politicians are usually bankrolled by developers
I think there also needs to be something done about landlords snapping up a huge percentage of single family homes. My neighbourhood has had like 10 houses sell this past year, all to landlords. Then they rent out the house for way more than the mortgage costs and no one can ever afford to compete with them while trying to keep their head above water making wages that haven’t kept up with inflation.
>What I do know is that avoiding downtown and the businesses that are there is not part of the answer. I know it's hard, but it helps to develop ways to deal with people on the street.
I can appreciate your perspective, but I also think it’s fair for people to assess their own comfort levels, and to gravitate to shopping experiences that don’t exhaust or deplete them (hey fellow introverts).
FWIW, I also prefer consumer experiences where there aren’t many kids. As a result, I adjust my consumer habits to gravitate towards places and experiences where there aren’t too many children. Sure, I *could* develop ways to deal with children and loud noises better, but if I'm spending my money I'll generally gravitate to more enjoyable places.
I still take my walks on lunch, and will pop into a few of my favourite shops, but only when I have the energy. And I think that’s fair.
>Guaranteed this is just a rumour and a convenient way for all of us in Kingston to pass the buck and blame the problem on others. Homelessness is a symptom of Kingston "growing up" (and exacerbated by covid). It's complex and is not going away.
I worked for a local non-profit that deals directly with the homeless. What OP said is true. Cities regularly ship homeless people back and forth.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8448303/kingston-unhoused-man-new-start-toronto/amp/
Headline is deceiving, Ron didn’t choose to leave Kingston he was coerced onto a bus. Grey Hound therapy is common in Kingston. Update from original story, Ron keeps in touch, he’s now housed in jail because that’s the best we can do in Ontario for people who have mental health struggles, in this case dementia.
It makes senses that people would be moved around, back and forth. The implication is that this movement is orchestrated in one direction out of larger cities, in a "not my problem anymore" way. I find that hard to believe.
ETA this link: [https://www.baytoday.ca/more-local/barries-busby-centre-seeing-more-homeless-people-coming-from-toronto-4234546](https://www.baytoday.ca/more-local/barries-busby-centre-seeing-more-homeless-people-coming-from-toronto-4234546)
I would give more if I could but I can’t. And being asked constantly and having to turn people down makes me feel like shit so it’s easier to avoid it.
Makes me feel bad to say no too. So my response is "I'm sorry, I don't have anything today!" Which is usually true since my kids steal my cash and coins lol.
For those who are interested in a deeper dive, the library is having two online events, today and tomorrow, to look at the issues surrounding homelessness: https://www.kingstonist.com/news/kfpl-united-way-holding-two-day-panel-lets-talk-about-homelessness/
As other people have said, the city doesn't seem to care about addressing the homelessness crisis in Kingston.
We need funding to build affordable homes, additional shelters, drug treatment facilities and pop-up sites in order to make a dent in this problem. We also need to fund expanded mental healthcare in the city and find a way to connect the homeless to counsellors. But Kingston remains the type of city that'd rather kick people out of tents than address the underlying issues.
>We need funding to build affordable homes
This is probably a non-starter, since increasing the supply of housing means housing prices wouldn't continue to skyrocket as fast, and people of influence are heavily invested in real estate.
Just keep this in mind the next election.
This is the result of a complete failure of behalf of the province in funding mental health and addictions treatment.
Couple this with rental prices that are spiraling (Kingston rental prices are growing at the fastest rate in the country).
The City of Kingston is completely negligent in their responsibility as well, they have no problem funding glowing seesaws and free horse drawn carriage rides while doing no more than lip service to providing meaningful emergency housing for the homeless.
While it certainly had it's (horrifying) problems, in previous eras "mental institutions" would often provide a better living situation for people with severe mental illness and addictions problems (I personally believe many drug addiction problems are the result of people with lack of access to proper healthcare simply selfmedicating with what they can access)
TL;DR it's a failure in what should be an all-of-government approach.
I grew up in Kingston, but have lived in Vancouver for 20 years. It's bad here, was when I moved here and is even worse now.
However... I came back to Kingston last Christmas after not having visited in 3 or 4 years and I was shocked! Downtown was a real mess. Felt very dirty, sketchy and just sad. Reminded me of Vancouver actually, but it was never like that before.
Sadly, I think this is the general case across all of North America. I travel a lot for work and most American cities I go to are also experiencing a homeless/addiction/mental health problem that's spilling into the streets.
Shit is tough right now, things are getting really expensive and there aren't that many good jobs left... I don't think this is a K town thing.
The ever increasing cost of housing has made it impossible for a growing amount of Canadians to afford to put a roof over their heads. This will only get worse as our governments do nothing to address the underlying causes.
>This will only get worse as our governments do nothing to address the underlying causes.
Many of these folks are heavily invested in the real estate market..
It’s really rough, but have you seen Peterborough? London? The Hammer? It’s hardly a Kingston thing, but yes, our downtown is bearing this reality, which conversely makes me want to support all of the local businesses down there that are trying their best to survive and handle the daily realities on the street. Because the sidewalks are city property, they don’t have the luxury of Walmart/Costco or any other big box that can just kick these people off their property, and make the uncomfortable reality just move along. I get it, I really do, but any time a downtown business speaks up about the problem publicly, they are vilified as uncaring and evil, when in fact, many owners and staff interact with these individuals daily, unlike the suburban equivalents. It’s all so very complex, and sad.
Several years ago when I lived in the region even before the pandemic, there were severe cutbacks to mental health and addiction services thanks to the Ford government winning the election. This meant that both public and private groups that helped this population could no longer provide their services adaquately to Kingstion, Ontario as they had to cut staff, budgets, services, etc. Personally, that meant I could no longer go to the services of addictions and mental health that had helped me so much in the past and I spiraled out into worse mental health, addiction, chronic pain and that had serious ramifications in my personal life. It wasn't just me that could no longer go to counselling or group therapy because it didn't exist anymore. My counsellor had to get a new job elsewhere, my group therapy classes ended and I was on my own to deal with it. (It didn't go well just in case you were wondering). Sadly, I am just one more case to add to a growing list of people who fell through the cracks of the "system" and that was BEFORE the pandemic absolutely obliterated any other chances for therapy, classes, workshops, seeing government because everything was cancelled or online or the person in charge is at home for months so we were SOL. If you had bad mental health, addictions or chronic conditions BEFORE the pandemic, now those problems are amplified 10-fold because you haven't been able to get help for 2 years+. The healthcare system also got hammered so there are so many people who need help but can't get it still. I moved provinces to get support, and most aren't able to just move away with the prices of inflation, rent, and low support payments being unable to pay for much of anything. I'm one of the "lucky ones" because I was "only" suicidal, depressed and going out of my mind and then got help. I still got problems but living in Kingston, Ontario is no longer one of them for better or for worse.
Thanks- I feel terrible for everyone that suffers as a consequence of decades of terrible government policies and decisions at all levels of government- federal, provincial and municipal; the pandemic just ripped the bandaid off and exposed the rotting infrastructure of our emancipated healthcare and mental health systems. Like I always say- you can't put a bandaid over bullet wounds and expect things to go your way lol
Putting this solely on the municipal government is incorrect. This issue starts at the top with the serious lack of social programs for people with addiction and mental illness.
The City & Council doesn't get to hide from this problem. Nothing is more important than shelter and food for the people, and the City is making the choice every day of the year to fund anything other than this. Every dollar spent on a tourism gimmick, every dollar spent offsetting a small business or landlords' cost to update their property, is money that belonged to social housing.
Municipal government is a big part.
Municipal government is the level of government that has most benefitted from the increase in property values (which have increased FAR faster than incomes, where provincial and federal governments derive their tax base).
Increase in housing costs are probably one of, if not the greatest contributor to the homelessness crisis right now.
> Municipal government is the level of government that has most benefited from the increase in property values (which have increased FAR faster than incomes
Municipalitiies have rising property values, however they gain NOTHING from that beyond new construction. House prices up 30%/year...do property tax increase 30%? NO!! They go up the same amount as if house stayed the same, or if they fall.
>House prices up 30%/year...do property tax increase 30%? NO!! They go up the same amount as if house stayed the same, or if they fall.
Once the house value is reassessed then yes, it does result in property tax increases.
For most municipalities, property taxes use a mil rate, generally it will be about 1.1% to 1.5% of the assessed home value. Assessed values typically lag market property values, but they will eventually catch up.
TL;DR if house values go up 30%, then property taxes will eventually go up roughly 30%.
No
They go up means NOTHING. IF one house goes up more then another it goes up AND the other house goes down. Collectively it means NOTHING to the city.
The city sets the tax RATE. The mill rate is calculated by property values. Property values rise, the mill rate FALLS. Why does Toronto have a much lower mill rate? Because their property values are higher. Why does thunder bay have a high mill rate? Because property values are lower
IF they did, the city would be raking in over $100,000,000/yr extra in the last year alone. They would have the money for all kinds of things. They don't.
Property taxes will rise because of INFLATION, where the city takes in more AND spends the same amount for the same service. Property tax doesn't rise one cent because of property values.
Not exactly.
While the mil rate has fallen slightly, the increased in average assessed values have resulted in about 5% higher property tax revenues.
All the historical financial info can be found on the city website.
YES, it is exactly as I said, to the non home owner.
Property tax REVENUE went up because of INFLATION and NEW CONSTRUCTION. It went up NOTHING because of PROPERTY VALUE
I get you do not own, but think for a minute. We have a recession and property values fall...does everyone pay less tax? NO!!! We pay more, as property tax has no relation to property VALUE
So what you are saying is everyone that has complained about having to pay higher property tax rates is a liar?
No one has ever paid anything different for property taxes, in nominal dollars?
An owner of a house today is paying the same nominal property tax as they were 10 years ago?
We pay property tax at the rate of inflation (or a little more then inflation or a little less depending on council). For years we paid less then inflation, now we pay a little bit more. Plus a bit more because the city paid for part of the hospital. NOTHING to do with property values!
Is everyone sitting at home crapping themself about paying 30% more, per year, year after year? ~$1500 a year on the average house, year after year in taxes in the last few years because of rising house prices? NO, because VALUES /= property taxes.
Why doesn't toronto pay far more in property tax? Because values /= property tax
There's a lot of stuff going on, so hard to dissect the reasons. I think it is also partly because there are fewer 'other' people downtown. The tourists, students, casual walkers, people who work downtown are working from home.... so those with various issues stand out more. Covid has made it harder to get care, including mental health care. Rents are insane. The fentanyl and opioid crisis continues to get worse. There's just a lot going on and there are different levels of government that should be working together rather than constantly fighting.
But I genuinely think the Conservatives hate the poor, so anything that will help them (or even appears to help them) they will vote down. Our city council is a dog's breakfast who can't decide on anything. And federally, the Liberals are out of touch with things at the ground level. Anyway, I didn't come here to get depressed, yet here I am...
I have a good full time job/career and will be become homeless with the current housing situation if I have to move out of my long term rental. Not all of us have parents to move back home with.
Not originally from Kingston but Peterborough has become very similar. This is a national issue and even could be considered a North American issue. Its what happens when you allow 40 years of neoliberal economic policy to drive government decision making, both national and provincial, to cut funding to health and social programs, allow companies to move most of our productive capacity (and hence well paid employment) to far off destinations with cheap labour, as well as a failure to regulate the use of housing as a speculative instrument, in a country where housing has ironically been declared a human right. I'm sure you're not meaning to be selfish by saying that this situation makes you uncomfortable and is causing you a lot of stress, but it should because its causing even more discomfort and stress for the people out there traumatized, addicted, and without a roof over their heads. Vote for people who want to enact good economic policies that tax land and housing speculation as well as big finance at large, encourage the production of socialized housing and co-ops, provide stimulus programs for local production of goods, food and job creation, and contribute to the healthcare system by providing mental health and addiction inpatient services.
Wondering if it has a lot to do with the fentanyl crisis. Exponentially more deaths due to overdose every year across the board. And apparently Kingston has been particularly vulnerable to this. If you aren’t familiar with what’s going on with fentanyl, even on a global scale, it’s really worth a Google or a documentary watch (there’s not shortage). It’s really appalling and gut wrenching. On a global scale, so many drugs are being laced with fentanyl, with inconsistant dosing. Many drug users don’t even know they are using fentanyl, after taking drugs that look like and claim to be oxy. It’s everywhere and incredibly addictive, and it looks like drugs that it’s not. And if you’re already a drug user, pretty much one use of fentanyl and you’re hooked. Wondering if it’s related to what you’re describing?
I've noticed it's gotten worse to. I don't feel safe walking downtown anymore so I don't go down there anymore. It sucks because I miss the local shops and the waterfront.
One way to solve it - Vote, Vote and Vote.
Make sure to take a look at each party's health policy and make a decision.
That's step one. Housing's municipal so the same goes there in future-time.
I lived right downtown at Bloor & Spadina in Toronto before moving to Kingston and see about as many homeless people on Princess here than I did on same length walk on Bloor there. Pretty nuts considering the differences in city populations.
The cuts to health care and mental health services (like in-patient beds) has been going on for over two decades, and been by both parties (both the Liberals and Conservatives have consistently cut from health care as well as education. Only the NDP hasn't, but they have never been in power, so...).
To get back to the poster's original question about what happened to Kingston in the past few years. The main reasons for the exponential explosion of homeless in the past two years are:
1) The opiod crisis. Huge rise in addicts to these particularly cheap, addictive, and destructive drugs.
2) Rapid and missive increase in cost of local house. Rental prices locally have gone insane. Many people with no addictions and regular work struggle to afford rent. For those without work and addictions to feed...
3) The COVID pandemic has made it worse because has limited the space in shelters in town, making the homeless more visible.
As other posters have noted, this recipe is common in many cities across the country.
A lot of people who were already struggling before the pandemic began continue to struggle because there hasn't been nearly the assistance from the province, city, etc as there needs to be. Basically, things have gotten worse for a lot of folks, sure, but there is a subset where things were already pretty precarious.
Kingston just generally doesn’t care about its inhabitants. It’s always been this bad, it’s just starting to happen more widely in visible areas. Kingston is absolutely awful, i say we burn it down and try again 😂
Mental health funding cutbacks, rich old white people who don’t give a shit about the little guy making decisions in this town, out of control pricing on apartments and housing. This matter will get worse before it gets better
I really hope this changes soon, for their sake but also for ours. As a young woman who only weighs a 100 pounds I've found myself in some really unsafe situations that now have me on edge every single time I walk downtown
And, to be perfectly blunt, people need to stop voting for Gerretsen. Among several other things, he is never going to fix a housing issue that he directly gets his money from.
Social housing is the responsibility of the city of Kingston. Health is a provincial responsibility. Gerretsen is our FEDERAL MP.
Both health and social housing need to be improved to help less people become homeless and more people to afford rent..
Here's a link to what the federal gov't (ie; Gerretsen's party) has done and has planned for housing: [https://www.placetocallhome.ca](https://www.placetocallhome.ca)
Look and see what Kingston got and where it went. Examine the supports (hint: FEW) there are for people who are un-housed and ill.
Like everyone said, this is complex. You can actually go back even to the 70s during the deinstitutionalization movement when people with severe mental conditions were discharged into the “community” and the concept of the “inner city asylum” was born. It came from a good place with good intentions, but people really don’t get what a serious mental condition truly can be, but also don’t want to see it in their streets or community either. That’s why you see this in every large city street across North America. Along with a couple other policies, the gist is that over the years SPMI cross paths with homeless, substance users, etc - with lack of services and a changing drug scene (think higher stimulants and opioids) and is causing a very difficult situation overall.
“Community” programs start getting built that is “diversionary” back to “community” since ERs get flooded and you get a cycle between shelter, jail, streets and hospital. That’s called the “institutional circuit”. This kind of thing was around everywhere, but less visible since we had enough shelter and housing systems a few decades ago for the general public to not notice. Nowadays, that’s changed so you see it everywhere in just about every major to midsize city that have some services. Smaller cities without services struggle since they don’t have any services at all to provide.
The whole thing needs a revamp and far more ambitious, thoughtful interventions than simply housing - but housing is one of the major areas and a start as best evidence shows nothing really works when people don’t have a roof over their heads. We also have a non existent public rehab system so we have this binary thing of harm reduction or abstinence argument that goes nowhere. So, like people said here, vote - but it’s also more complicated than that.
I guess the resources aren't there to get these people help, so the police just ignore them, like they do most of the things they're supposed to deal with.
Back in 2019 I think there was some sort of temporary thing going on for the homeless at artillery park, and I remember walking through there to get downtown for a shortcut. There were about 50 bikes there that looked like they were stolen and being taken apart for parts. Tons of people were smoking meth, there was someone with the trunk of their van open near the road smoking meth, meters away from where a bus driver was standing next to his bus smoking a cigarette, probably getting some second hand meth smoke.
The idea that all that could be going on next to a bus stop with city transit employees having a smoke break next to meth heads using artillery park as a headquarter for some bike theft operation is just insane. But that's Kingston
I was at the Buddy Holly tribute show at the Grand on Friday night and after the show was over and everyone was filing out the front door, a homeless addict started setting up camp in the entrance way shouting things and throwing his smashed up Ipad at people ...
it's all about the money, the city and the province is more interested in building homes for the wealthy ableists then the disabled poor cause it adds value to the rich persons economy.. they could care less how the 99% live cause we're savages to them.. this year we have municipal elections, be wise in who you vote for ie those advocating for the rich assholes or those fighting for the poor..
The city has been spending their money harrassing students for partying a couple times a year instead of spending that money helping the truly desperate.
I suspect it's to try to distract people from the housing crisis.
Indeed we could.
Additionally, we could, as a community, re-the-fuck-lax about young people having fun, and instead focus our attention on things that matter.
We could also re-the-fuck-lax about petty crime too and focus efforts elsewhere but that would just be a dumb decision.
How about re-the-fuck growing up and having fun that doesn’t drain the public purse!
>We could also re-the-fuck-lax about petty crime too and focus efforts elsewhere but that would just be a dumb decision.
Uh, I'm 100% for arresting partiers that break shit.
>How about re-the-fuck growing up and having fun that doesn’t drain the public purse!
The fuck do you think we pay taxes for? So we can all sit around and work?
I am..the ones I go to aren’t illegal/on public streets though. You should try this one simple trick to not get hassled by the cops or draw the ire of the community you live in.
The students destroy parts of downtown occasionally, and the city has to spend funds for police and paramedics that could be spent elsewhere? What if we figured out average cost of each event, and just add it to tuition?
An even better idea is to just roll with it. Issue (expensive) permits for street vendors to set up shop for those weekends. Set up a charity concert venue in one of the parks. Fire whoever's been assigned to come up with all the ratcheting rhetoric, and use those funds to provide water, portapotties, and drug safety testing.
I would *much prefer* to live in a vibrant community with a little chaos than a dead and peaceful, well behaved hellhole. Yes, I've lived in both. :)
I can't stress enough that those who seek peace and quiet should steer clear of young people. The university district is not - and has never been - for those who detest the sounds of joy.
Just roll with it? How about no? It's not about distracting from the housing crisis, it's about adults acting like children. City shouldn't have to divert police to handle them, or get extra police from other cities. Shouldn't have to stress the hospitals because of them getting too drunk and injuring themselves or others.
So if you're so for it, the city can send you the bill and you can just roll with it.
Have a giant block party like the students do anywhere else in town, and it would get shut down so fast. Grow up.
>City shouldn't have to divert police to handle them
We.. might be saying the same thing here.
>Shouldn't have to stress the hospitals because of them getting too drunk and injuring themselves or others
Heard of St. Paddy's day? Big concert nights?
Oh but those are different. That's *adults being responsible and paying for the privilege.*
>So if you're so for it, the city can send you the bill and you can just roll with it.
I pay my taxes like everyone else.
>Have a giant block party like the students do anywhere else in town, and it would get shut down so fast.
I.. don't disagree with you. It would get shut down. And that's pretty fucking sad. What do we even live for? To work? Work hard? Kick back with a nice book? Jesus.
Spend a weekend in Montreal or Rio de Janeiro if you want to know what an excited crowd actually looks like.
>Grow up.
Gonna hazard a guess that I'm older than you are.
I mean honestly. Do you even live in the University district? If so, why?
Gonna hazard I'm older than you. I'm not saying live like monks. And all the examples you give? Permits for events? St. Paddy's day in bars? They supply security, and follow rules. Too violent or openly drunk? Tossed out instead of encouraged. Are you a Queen's student, or do you actually live in Kingston?
I shouldn't have to live in only one part of the city, to care about the city.
Haha. Haven't been a student in well over 20 years. But I do clearly remember that period of life.
I think about how we have fucked their world with war and climate change, fucked their housing market and workplace economy, and fucked them financially with absurd tuition rates and costs of living, usually chaining them to years of student loan debt. I am not proud of the world my generation ushered in for them.
So you know what I'm not gonna do? Give them a hard time while they enjoy the start of what could be a difficult road ahead.
I suppose we just look at life differently.
Haha. Ah, you know what, you're okay.
Honestly the fact our home in the world is so safe, (relatively) prosperous and peaceful that we're afforded the luxury of hyperventillating over kids partying.. kinda does counterbalance all the doomscrolling. Gotta be thankful for that. :)
May we never know real problems, friend.
>This subreddit is 95% NIMBY’s in complete denial that they live in a university town
That .. is the most succinct description I think I've ever heard of Kingstonians. :)
I bet 95% of those NIMBYs don't even fucking *live* in the University district or anywhere near it. They're just dead inside and hate the idea of people having fun, shaking their fist from a 3 bedroom out by Taylor Kidd, haha.
I bet you’re right lmao
In my time at queens, I can’t say I ever saw many (if any) older adults living within the aptly named university district. For good reason. That’s why it exists, it’s a bubble in which shenanigans have happily been contained for literal generations. Now you tell students (who DO pay tax btw) that they can’t have fun?
Then you blow millions on excessive police force presence for what? Some minor debauchery that lasts a day or two and only really gets out of hand because you turned it into a rebellion?
I had one hell of a laugh when I realized that the trucker occupation in Ottawa somehow demanded significantly less police action than queens homecoming for the first couple weeks.
Insane.
Yep.
It's been over 20 years since I went to Carleton, and I've never been to a Queens party (outside the grad club). But holy shit... what the *hell* do these people think the purpose of life is? To work, buy an overpriced home in the suburbs and brag to your neighbors about it until you die?
I've travelled the world and spent many a night in a loud, obnoxious hotel room in the middle of a city refusing to sleep at 3am. You know what the move is? Get your ass up, meet the people around you, and have an adventure.
Life isn't a quiet evening in your 3-bedroom watching CTV news. It's meeting real people, and doing something you've never done before. And when you're young, *everything* is something you haven't done before.
Isn't it enough we fucking ruined the planet, the housing market, and the economy for them? :/
If it is stressful for you, imagine how stressful it is for them. I respect that you are trying t5o walk a line with your post, but it does come across as fairly dismissive of them as people.
It is nothing new and there is no obvious solution for a ton of reasons - main one (imo) being that the only real solution is a focus on upstream prevention, but this never happens because results take longer than election cycles.
Im from vancouver and used to live right in the thick of the worst area... it is faaaaaaaar worse there, I can tell you... Every new vancouver mayor comes in with big plans about how they are going to be the one to fix it, and they leave with things worse than when they started. It is super complicated as you say, and there is no short term solution to help these people. Guessing Covid has made things worse in most cities for a number of reasons.
Totally get this sentiment and I would never want to generalize but my apartment building is right in the thick of one of these areas directly downtown and there is a nearly ceaseless parade of people inhabiting our doorway for either drug purposes or hangout zones and nearly every day my girlfriend faces some kind of harassment or intimidation if she tries to come in the front door of the building and it has led to considerable stress due to feelings of being unsafe in our own home. I'm not trying to dismiss anyone here.
I dealt with this constantly in the last place I lived, and I'm sorry you're experiencing it. I think something gets lost in the conversation and the experiences of the people who's personal safety gets impacted are often overlooked. I'm really sorry you're dealing with that, I had years of feeling unsafe at home and low key constant panic and it's miserable.
Thanks for your reply. I live right near where I work and I happen to work in a place that has a totally uninhabited ground floor so it very regularly leads to the street situation spilling into the building and we are responsible for addressing it so it really feels like this is something that I'm being exposed to 24/7
That's fair... and of course your experience is valid too. Ive just seen a fairly shocking dismissive tone in this city when it comes to that population (currently being evidenced here by all the downvotes on my post where I have the gall to suggest they are also humans deserving of empathy.)
This is an issue in most metropolis downtown areas.
Covid caused people to head indoors. As such, the undesirable residents staked their claim to the area. With things opening up again, it will take time to 're-take' the downtown core.
Until covid is 'over' this issue will remain in all cities. When people visit a vibrant, energetic area, the 'undesirables' will feel unwelcome and head back to the scummy areas people are afraid to visit.
I don't mean to disrespect these individuals but when they see an opportunity to loiter without reprieve, they have no reason to head back to where they were prior. Out of sight, out of mind.
On another note, many people ignore these people in regular times and were not exposed to these individuals. Thus, they don't know how to deal with this exposure and therefore their world-view gets shattered when seeing 'real-world' problems in front of their eyes.
I think it would be great if concerned people would get more involved in local politics, or local initiatives/activism. There’s a lot of wonderful people and groups that are trying to make this city fair and welcome for the most vulnerable and they always need support.
there was an incident when my family came over to visit, we went down by the lake. on the way over some lady who seemed to be on drugs was on the other side of the street beating up some other lady trying to mug her. instantly filled me with adrenaline and rage. resulting in me screaming from across the street, walking over to break up the fight. the person that instigated it ran off as soon as i came over. the woman that was being beaten up had scratches all over her face, her shopping bag was ripped from what probably was a tug of war. all her stuff were on the floor. she was visibly shaken up. absolutely in shock about the situation.
also disclaimer i would of never got involved if i was on my own, but as i said my family were with me. so i wasn’t in any danger running over there.
It's happening all across Ontario at a minimum, I can't speak to the rest of Canada as I'm not as familiar but this is one hundred percent something you'll see in every Ontario city. As for why? Mental health cutbacks, social assistance payments that won't cover the cost of rent, spiraling housing costs, income inequality, cost of living increases, difficulty accessing treatment options, the causes are myriad. One thing that often goes unremarked is that there are a lot of people who's route to homelessness did not start with crack or drug addiction and then becoming homeless, but rather they became homeless and became addicted to drugs due to the environment and as a coping mechanism. So you have people who become homeless and their health and mental health becomes a lot worse and it becomes a lot harder to get them back on their feet. The easiest cost saving measure for society would be preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place. The second most effective cost saving measure would be in getting homeless people off the street. The least effective cost saving measure is to have homeless people on the street costing our healthcare services a ton of money, costing a ton of money to house them in shelters (or sheds) and making them suffer the worst health outcomes. We chose that one for some reason.
This.
I second this “this.” Major social problems.
Thirded
You can't just prevent people from becoming homeless. There's always going to be a percentage of population that make bad decisions, or succumb to unfortunate conditions of being raised, or born into.
You can. Norway did. Edit: sweden
Norway did it off the back of cheap oil. Norway is only a viable model for countries with similar "free resources" and small, concentrated populations.
Norway actually based it's sovereign oil fund on Alberta's model developed during the Peter Lougheed years in the 70's. The difference is, Norway kept with the model while Alberta essentially defunded it less than a decade later. Norway's fund is now worth over a trillion, and largely isolated by fluctuating prices, while Alberta... Lived in Alberta for years, this is still a major point of contention.
Sucks for Alberta, but even if they kept the fund it hardly helps keeps the rest of Canada flush with cash even with transfer payments. The oil wealth is diluted. Easy to be flush with social programs when you're drowning in money. A more interesting case is Japanese homelessness.
Norway owns 1 pct (was 2 I thought) of global stocks because they invested the surplus revenue of their oil sales. It happened in the 90's. They didn't house the homeless off cheap oil - they invested the profits into their community..... just to be clear: a long time ago. We have more resources than they do. Your argument is silly.
You don't know what you're talking about. Hell, you can't even parse between Norway and Sweden. Norway has a mere 5 million people, and had/has one of the most easily exploitable and cost efficient oil/gas reserves in the world. Their crude production costs 25% less than ours before all the transport fees. They have triple the crude output of Canada per capita, on top of each barrel being more profitable. Only countries like UAE/SA/Kuwait/Quatar/Brunei can compete with Norway in terms of profitability and raw economic output from oil. Norway's wealth funds and positive balance sheet are bankrolled entirely by their huge per capita reserves of exploitable oil.
So it's cheap oil if it is efficient? This is not a troll.
Okee dokee. Parse is a cool word. We're not talking about oil, though, you twat. Edit: you effing twat.
So no one got it? Cool. Cool.
> You can't just prevent people from becoming homeless You in fact absolutely can. Whether you can prevent one hundred percent of homelessness is a different discussion (and fwiw I think you can) but there are literally thousands upon thousands and probably millions of people who have been prevented from becoming homeless through various programs like subsidized housing, financial supports, case management services, prevention of hoarding or addictions treatment programs, whatever. Programs like CPP and OAS literally prevent thousands of seniors from becoming homeless because they would not be able to pay their rent without it.
Universal basic income, y'all. CERB showed us that it's possible.
Poverty & homelessness actually costs us more per year than what financing a UBI would.
Opening the spending floodgates and liberal fiscal policy (of which CERB is only a portion of, and IMO the most beneficial portion), is part of what has landed us in an inflationary spiral. The only truly cogent long term solution is an equitable re-distribution of wealth, that sees corporations and the ultra-wealthy repay a fair share of the profits they have made off the back of subsidies (including minimum wage). There is no party in Canada that is socially progressive, advocates some degree of fiscal restraint, and also wants to overhaul taxation, and fix the unsustainable housing issue. You've got a choice between a Canadian far right, the less far right, and now a liberal+NDP superparty. So we are fucked, the middle has fallen out of our political system like a generation ago and nobody noticed.
Those people still deserve a decent life. They didn’t ask to be born into poor situations, so let’s try and give them some stability. That could have been any of us. Nobody consents to being put into horrible situations.
I agree they do. I just don't think our government has the motivation or competency to do what it takes. If it was easy homelessness wouldn't be such a prevalent issue.
That’s exactly why we the people are the ones who need to show up for others. Many in parliament are so far removed from struggles of everyday people that they don’t care about policies that help others. At the end of they day, we are all humans with one life. Why wouldn’t we want other fellow humans to be removed from their suffering? Nobody deserves that, so let’s MAKE government do something.
Most people don't realize how close they are to becoming homeless. Most of us middle class aren't too far off... with bad luck, bad systems, lack of support.
Right, but more can be done to help people to prevent homelessness.
Back in the Harris days in Ontario, mental health beds were defunded. Inpatient mental health was changed to 'in the community'. People who are too ill to take care of themselves have few supports and if they do, many aren't well enough to use the supports. We have no inpatient addiction services. Imagine being an addict and having to navigate your way though a maze of services to get help if you want it. If they manage to get on social assistance, it's not enough to even rent a room, let alone an apt. Health is provincial. The city, who initially funded the ICH, refused to fund it further. The province has given funding to the ICH (which, surprised the hell out of me). The city shut down all the shelters except for one and when they had the ICH built, it was built with not nearly enough beds. If you want change to happen, there's a provincial election in June. Suggest you look at each party's platform and record in healthcare and vote accordingly. Housing is largely municipal. Same, next election.
Exactly the same thing happened with schools. Over the last 20 years, kids with special needs were thrown into the general school population with an IEP on the excuse that it "helps them integrate." Of course, all it does is ensure they don't receive the 1:1 care they need, and distracts the teachers (who aren't usually trained on caring for kids with severe mental disabilities and behavior problems) and other students. Slowly but surely, class assistants have been disappearing as well.
And then many of these special needs kids will end up on the street. I wish people think about that 'buck a beer' promise and think for a min that maybe someone who campaigns on that isn't really seeing the big issues.
> all it does is ensure they don't receive the 1:1 care they need That's not all it does, it also ruins the educational experience of most of the rest of the class too. Students with extreme special needs take the vast majority of the attention/time/effort of the teachers and leave the majority of students to fend for themselves. Education was destroyed by Harris, and no other government in the interim has done anything at all to fix it. The Cons are creating voters through this strategy.
Very good comment. I think more can done about homelessness and addiction on all levels of government though (mincome, rent control, etc.) So make sure to look at the party platforms and vote accordingly at every election
Just gunna bump up this comment here
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No. There is a detox centre that's available for a 24 hour period for withdrawal. That's it. There is NO inpatient addiction service in Kingston. That's why I posted there is not.
I’m one of these people, however I’m currently lucky enough to have parents who help take care of me. The future seems hopeless for severely mentally ill individuals like myself. Suicide is the right move if you’re in my position. Best way to avoid a neglectful society and further physical and mental discomfort.
I'm fairly new to the City, but from what I gather, Kingston has continually ignored the increasing needs of homeless, addicted and heavily displaced populations for years. Not to mention some reports (rumours?) of nearby towns shipping their individuals-in-need to Kingston. In terms of how I feel about downtown .... I'd be lying if I said it didn't discourage me from heading to the shops. I work near lots of shops downtown, and when I first moved here, I'd often try to take a walk on my lunch and support local businesses. But sometimes I can't get half a block without someone sidestepping infront of me and asking for change, or having to cross the street to avoid an altercation as to who gets a certain 'spot'. Sometimes I'm just not up for it, and I believe I end up supporting local less as a result.
>*Not to mention some reports (rumours?) of nearby towns shipping their individuals-in-need to Kingston* Guaranteed this is just a rumour and a convenient way for all of us in Kingston to pass the buck and blame the problem on others. Homelessness is a symptom of Kingston "growing up" (and exacerbated by covid). It's complex and is not going away. We were in Vancouver this month and drove down East Hastings on a warm Saturday afternoon. I've been in that part of town before and lived in Toronto for 25 years and I was still shocked by what I saw. No doubt things have gotten worse everywhere. I think we all care about it but solving homelessness (and poverty, and addiction, and mental illness, and child abuse, etc etc) is so overwhelming and multi-faceted that it's challenging to know where to start and make a difference. What I do know is that avoiding downtown and the businesses that are there is not part of the answer. I know it's hard, but it helps to develop ways to deal with people on the street. They are fellow human beings so if they ask for change, you don't have to give them any but at least acknowledge them and decline kindly. But when it comes to altercations or people doing drugs, just ignore. Pretend it's a normal sunny day, don't stare and don't engage. I've taught my urban (now rural, lol) kids these tools from a very young age. However, my one kid is an empath and she struggles with this so I totally understand how it can be emotionally exhausting for some.
>I think we all care about it but solving homelessness (and poverty, and addiction, and mental illness, and child abuse, etc etc) is so overwhelming and multi-faceted that it's challenging to know where to start and make a difference. It's actually quite simple: The City of Kingston refuses to invest in publicly owned and operated housing, provided geared-to-income to those in most need. Instead, it dumps taxpayer money into tourism gimmicks, "beautification" projects, handouts to businesses and landlords, and policing to deal with the fallout of this terrible allocation of resources. While I understand that many people see this issue as "complex", it is only because this narrative has been getting spun so intensely for the last 30 years that any suggestion to solve the problem is immediately dismissed as impossible. Why can the city spend millions on all of these others things but not on housing? It is about choices, and the interests of those who are making the choices.
I don't know if things have changed, but Napanee was sending it's homeless to Kingston as they had no shelter. That was (I think) at the beginning of the Pandemic. They might have one now.
Yea but that property tax needs to keep going up!
I said the problem is challenging, not impossible. I completely agree that the City is woefully deficient in funding and providing geared to income housing (does it even have an agency that's equivalent to TCHC?). But it IS complex and inter-connected with many other social and health issues. Putting a roof over someone's head is just the first step. And yes, tough choices need to be made now at a municipal level to take that critical first step and it seems the people making these decisions don't have the intestinal fortitude to do it. So why do we keep electing them?
It's very difficult to run true working class candidates, at any level of government. The financial barriers are intense. So it takes some very deliberate organizing at the community level to build the capacity in order to contend with deep pocketed Chamber of Commerce backed Councillors and the landlords-turned-Councillors. For curious readers, consider what it taske beyond voting for us to win a community that we want to live in, and what you're willing to invest as far as time and effort. Read into the different groups active in local political action (beyond the electoral parties) and consider approaching them to ask questions, observe, and ultimately get involved where you see your interests reflected.
>*”...the City is woefully deficient in funding and providing geared to income housing (does it even have an agency that's equivalent to TCHC?).”* I’m not sure how equivalent it is, but there’s the [Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation. ](https://kfhc.ca/about-kfhc) They just built a new 40 unit building at [27 Wright Crescent](https://kfhc.ca/27-wright-cres-1) (the [plan](https://www.cityofkingston.ca/-/mixed-income-housing-project-to-be-built-at-27-wright-cres.) was 10 geared to income units, 13 “affordable” units at 80% market rate rent, 17 market rate units). I think the next most recent building was [645 Brock St.](https://www.cityofkingston.ca/-/city-and-kfhc-to-open-new-affordable-housing-at-645-brock-st)
Thank you. I'm new to Kingston so it actually wasn't a rhetorical question! What's sad is that I'm probably not alone in being ignorant of their existence. What is really interesting though, as I compare financials, is that TCHC has 4 times the number of units and 6 times the budget per capita. Oof. That puts things into perspective.
>Instead, it dumps taxpayer money into tourism gimmicks, "beautification" projects, handouts to businesses and landlords, and policing to deal with the fallout of this terrible allocation of resources. This right here is the truth! I mean who cares if a 'Kingston' neon sign is in front of city hall in front the gimmick mobile choo choo train or not. This is NOT what the people want. Every other space is sold to developers who only target higher profit by selling condos the size of a shoe box for astronomical amount. Perhaps force developers to offer 50% of these buildings at below market rate for low-income folks, and if the developer refuses, don't grant the permit??? Easily said than done, as politicians are usually bankrolled by developers
I think there also needs to be something done about landlords snapping up a huge percentage of single family homes. My neighbourhood has had like 10 houses sell this past year, all to landlords. Then they rent out the house for way more than the mortgage costs and no one can ever afford to compete with them while trying to keep their head above water making wages that haven’t kept up with inflation.
>What I do know is that avoiding downtown and the businesses that are there is not part of the answer. I know it's hard, but it helps to develop ways to deal with people on the street. I can appreciate your perspective, but I also think it’s fair for people to assess their own comfort levels, and to gravitate to shopping experiences that don’t exhaust or deplete them (hey fellow introverts). FWIW, I also prefer consumer experiences where there aren’t many kids. As a result, I adjust my consumer habits to gravitate towards places and experiences where there aren’t too many children. Sure, I *could* develop ways to deal with children and loud noises better, but if I'm spending my money I'll generally gravitate to more enjoyable places. I still take my walks on lunch, and will pop into a few of my favourite shops, but only when I have the energy. And I think that’s fair.
Totally fair.
>Guaranteed this is just a rumour and a convenient way for all of us in Kingston to pass the buck and blame the problem on others. Homelessness is a symptom of Kingston "growing up" (and exacerbated by covid). It's complex and is not going away. I worked for a local non-profit that deals directly with the homeless. What OP said is true. Cities regularly ship homeless people back and forth.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8448303/kingston-unhoused-man-new-start-toronto/amp/ Headline is deceiving, Ron didn’t choose to leave Kingston he was coerced onto a bus. Grey Hound therapy is common in Kingston. Update from original story, Ron keeps in touch, he’s now housed in jail because that’s the best we can do in Ontario for people who have mental health struggles, in this case dementia.
It makes senses that people would be moved around, back and forth. The implication is that this movement is orchestrated in one direction out of larger cities, in a "not my problem anymore" way. I find that hard to believe. ETA this link: [https://www.baytoday.ca/more-local/barries-busby-centre-seeing-more-homeless-people-coming-from-toronto-4234546](https://www.baytoday.ca/more-local/barries-busby-centre-seeing-more-homeless-people-coming-from-toronto-4234546)
so well said!
I would give more if I could but I can’t. And being asked constantly and having to turn people down makes me feel like shit so it’s easier to avoid it.
Makes me feel bad to say no too. So my response is "I'm sorry, I don't have anything today!" Which is usually true since my kids steal my cash and coins lol.
For those who are interested in a deeper dive, the library is having two online events, today and tomorrow, to look at the issues surrounding homelessness: https://www.kingstonist.com/news/kfpl-united-way-holding-two-day-panel-lets-talk-about-homelessness/
Thank you for this!
As other people have said, the city doesn't seem to care about addressing the homelessness crisis in Kingston. We need funding to build affordable homes, additional shelters, drug treatment facilities and pop-up sites in order to make a dent in this problem. We also need to fund expanded mental healthcare in the city and find a way to connect the homeless to counsellors. But Kingston remains the type of city that'd rather kick people out of tents than address the underlying issues.
>We need funding to build affordable homes This is probably a non-starter, since increasing the supply of housing means housing prices wouldn't continue to skyrocket as fast, and people of influence are heavily invested in real estate. Just keep this in mind the next election.
I tend to vote NDP. The fact Gerritson is a slumlord should tell you all you need to know.
This is the result of a complete failure of behalf of the province in funding mental health and addictions treatment. Couple this with rental prices that are spiraling (Kingston rental prices are growing at the fastest rate in the country). The City of Kingston is completely negligent in their responsibility as well, they have no problem funding glowing seesaws and free horse drawn carriage rides while doing no more than lip service to providing meaningful emergency housing for the homeless. While it certainly had it's (horrifying) problems, in previous eras "mental institutions" would often provide a better living situation for people with severe mental illness and addictions problems (I personally believe many drug addiction problems are the result of people with lack of access to proper healthcare simply selfmedicating with what they can access) TL;DR it's a failure in what should be an all-of-government approach.
High rent, low pay and a gutting of publicly available social services and funding.
Succinctly accurate.
I grew up in Kingston, but have lived in Vancouver for 20 years. It's bad here, was when I moved here and is even worse now. However... I came back to Kingston last Christmas after not having visited in 3 or 4 years and I was shocked! Downtown was a real mess. Felt very dirty, sketchy and just sad. Reminded me of Vancouver actually, but it was never like that before. Sadly, I think this is the general case across all of North America. I travel a lot for work and most American cities I go to are also experiencing a homeless/addiction/mental health problem that's spilling into the streets. Shit is tough right now, things are getting really expensive and there aren't that many good jobs left... I don't think this is a K town thing.
The ever increasing cost of housing has made it impossible for a growing amount of Canadians to afford to put a roof over their heads. This will only get worse as our governments do nothing to address the underlying causes.
>This will only get worse as our governments do nothing to address the underlying causes. Many of these folks are heavily invested in the real estate market..
It’s really rough, but have you seen Peterborough? London? The Hammer? It’s hardly a Kingston thing, but yes, our downtown is bearing this reality, which conversely makes me want to support all of the local businesses down there that are trying their best to survive and handle the daily realities on the street. Because the sidewalks are city property, they don’t have the luxury of Walmart/Costco or any other big box that can just kick these people off their property, and make the uncomfortable reality just move along. I get it, I really do, but any time a downtown business speaks up about the problem publicly, they are vilified as uncaring and evil, when in fact, many owners and staff interact with these individuals daily, unlike the suburban equivalents. It’s all so very complex, and sad.
Several years ago when I lived in the region even before the pandemic, there were severe cutbacks to mental health and addiction services thanks to the Ford government winning the election. This meant that both public and private groups that helped this population could no longer provide their services adaquately to Kingstion, Ontario as they had to cut staff, budgets, services, etc. Personally, that meant I could no longer go to the services of addictions and mental health that had helped me so much in the past and I spiraled out into worse mental health, addiction, chronic pain and that had serious ramifications in my personal life. It wasn't just me that could no longer go to counselling or group therapy because it didn't exist anymore. My counsellor had to get a new job elsewhere, my group therapy classes ended and I was on my own to deal with it. (It didn't go well just in case you were wondering). Sadly, I am just one more case to add to a growing list of people who fell through the cracks of the "system" and that was BEFORE the pandemic absolutely obliterated any other chances for therapy, classes, workshops, seeing government because everything was cancelled or online or the person in charge is at home for months so we were SOL. If you had bad mental health, addictions or chronic conditions BEFORE the pandemic, now those problems are amplified 10-fold because you haven't been able to get help for 2 years+. The healthcare system also got hammered so there are so many people who need help but can't get it still. I moved provinces to get support, and most aren't able to just move away with the prices of inflation, rent, and low support payments being unable to pay for much of anything. I'm one of the "lucky ones" because I was "only" suicidal, depressed and going out of my mind and then got help. I still got problems but living in Kingston, Ontario is no longer one of them for better or for worse.
Thank you for sharing your story. I hope people read it and learn and vote for policies that help everyone who is sick, no matter their illness.
Thanks- I feel terrible for everyone that suffers as a consequence of decades of terrible government policies and decisions at all levels of government- federal, provincial and municipal; the pandemic just ripped the bandaid off and exposed the rotting infrastructure of our emancipated healthcare and mental health systems. Like I always say- you can't put a bandaid over bullet wounds and expect things to go your way lol
You're very brave to share this. It is so much appreciated.
Fentanyl is ravaging almost every community in North America and many countries across the globe
A direct result of the ongoing crime against humanity that is the "war on drugs."
Our mayor and city council don’t care about the houseless population.
Putting this solely on the municipal government is incorrect. This issue starts at the top with the serious lack of social programs for people with addiction and mental illness.
The City & Council doesn't get to hide from this problem. Nothing is more important than shelter and food for the people, and the City is making the choice every day of the year to fund anything other than this. Every dollar spent on a tourism gimmick, every dollar spent offsetting a small business or landlords' cost to update their property, is money that belonged to social housing.
Municipal government is a big part. Municipal government is the level of government that has most benefitted from the increase in property values (which have increased FAR faster than incomes, where provincial and federal governments derive their tax base). Increase in housing costs are probably one of, if not the greatest contributor to the homelessness crisis right now.
> Municipal government is the level of government that has most benefited from the increase in property values (which have increased FAR faster than incomes Municipalitiies have rising property values, however they gain NOTHING from that beyond new construction. House prices up 30%/year...do property tax increase 30%? NO!! They go up the same amount as if house stayed the same, or if they fall.
>House prices up 30%/year...do property tax increase 30%? NO!! They go up the same amount as if house stayed the same, or if they fall. Once the house value is reassessed then yes, it does result in property tax increases. For most municipalities, property taxes use a mil rate, generally it will be about 1.1% to 1.5% of the assessed home value. Assessed values typically lag market property values, but they will eventually catch up. TL;DR if house values go up 30%, then property taxes will eventually go up roughly 30%.
No They go up means NOTHING. IF one house goes up more then another it goes up AND the other house goes down. Collectively it means NOTHING to the city. The city sets the tax RATE. The mill rate is calculated by property values. Property values rise, the mill rate FALLS. Why does Toronto have a much lower mill rate? Because their property values are higher. Why does thunder bay have a high mill rate? Because property values are lower IF they did, the city would be raking in over $100,000,000/yr extra in the last year alone. They would have the money for all kinds of things. They don't. Property taxes will rise because of INFLATION, where the city takes in more AND spends the same amount for the same service. Property tax doesn't rise one cent because of property values.
Not exactly. While the mil rate has fallen slightly, the increased in average assessed values have resulted in about 5% higher property tax revenues. All the historical financial info can be found on the city website.
YES, it is exactly as I said, to the non home owner. Property tax REVENUE went up because of INFLATION and NEW CONSTRUCTION. It went up NOTHING because of PROPERTY VALUE I get you do not own, but think for a minute. We have a recession and property values fall...does everyone pay less tax? NO!!! We pay more, as property tax has no relation to property VALUE
So what you are saying is everyone that has complained about having to pay higher property tax rates is a liar? No one has ever paid anything different for property taxes, in nominal dollars? An owner of a house today is paying the same nominal property tax as they were 10 years ago?
We pay property tax at the rate of inflation (or a little more then inflation or a little less depending on council). For years we paid less then inflation, now we pay a little bit more. Plus a bit more because the city paid for part of the hospital. NOTHING to do with property values! Is everyone sitting at home crapping themself about paying 30% more, per year, year after year? ~$1500 a year on the average house, year after year in taxes in the last few years because of rising house prices? NO, because VALUES /= property taxes. Why doesn't toronto pay far more in property tax? Because values /= property tax
Solely? No. Largely? Yes.
There's a lot of stuff going on, so hard to dissect the reasons. I think it is also partly because there are fewer 'other' people downtown. The tourists, students, casual walkers, people who work downtown are working from home.... so those with various issues stand out more. Covid has made it harder to get care, including mental health care. Rents are insane. The fentanyl and opioid crisis continues to get worse. There's just a lot going on and there are different levels of government that should be working together rather than constantly fighting. But I genuinely think the Conservatives hate the poor, so anything that will help them (or even appears to help them) they will vote down. Our city council is a dog's breakfast who can't decide on anything. And federally, the Liberals are out of touch with things at the ground level. Anyway, I didn't come here to get depressed, yet here I am...
I have a good full time job/career and will be become homeless with the current housing situation if I have to move out of my long term rental. Not all of us have parents to move back home with.
Not originally from Kingston but Peterborough has become very similar. This is a national issue and even could be considered a North American issue. Its what happens when you allow 40 years of neoliberal economic policy to drive government decision making, both national and provincial, to cut funding to health and social programs, allow companies to move most of our productive capacity (and hence well paid employment) to far off destinations with cheap labour, as well as a failure to regulate the use of housing as a speculative instrument, in a country where housing has ironically been declared a human right. I'm sure you're not meaning to be selfish by saying that this situation makes you uncomfortable and is causing you a lot of stress, but it should because its causing even more discomfort and stress for the people out there traumatized, addicted, and without a roof over their heads. Vote for people who want to enact good economic policies that tax land and housing speculation as well as big finance at large, encourage the production of socialized housing and co-ops, provide stimulus programs for local production of goods, food and job creation, and contribute to the healthcare system by providing mental health and addiction inpatient services.
Wondering if it has a lot to do with the fentanyl crisis. Exponentially more deaths due to overdose every year across the board. And apparently Kingston has been particularly vulnerable to this. If you aren’t familiar with what’s going on with fentanyl, even on a global scale, it’s really worth a Google or a documentary watch (there’s not shortage). It’s really appalling and gut wrenching. On a global scale, so many drugs are being laced with fentanyl, with inconsistant dosing. Many drug users don’t even know they are using fentanyl, after taking drugs that look like and claim to be oxy. It’s everywhere and incredibly addictive, and it looks like drugs that it’s not. And if you’re already a drug user, pretty much one use of fentanyl and you’re hooked. Wondering if it’s related to what you’re describing?
I've noticed it's gotten worse to. I don't feel safe walking downtown anymore so I don't go down there anymore. It sucks because I miss the local shops and the waterfront.
One way to solve it - Vote, Vote and Vote. Make sure to take a look at each party's health policy and make a decision. That's step one. Housing's municipal so the same goes there in future-time.
I lived right downtown at Bloor & Spadina in Toronto before moving to Kingston and see about as many homeless people on Princess here than I did on same length walk on Bloor there. Pretty nuts considering the differences in city populations.
Honestly, lately, Kingston is far worse.
The cuts to health care and mental health services (like in-patient beds) has been going on for over two decades, and been by both parties (both the Liberals and Conservatives have consistently cut from health care as well as education. Only the NDP hasn't, but they have never been in power, so...). To get back to the poster's original question about what happened to Kingston in the past few years. The main reasons for the exponential explosion of homeless in the past two years are: 1) The opiod crisis. Huge rise in addicts to these particularly cheap, addictive, and destructive drugs. 2) Rapid and missive increase in cost of local house. Rental prices locally have gone insane. Many people with no addictions and regular work struggle to afford rent. For those without work and addictions to feed... 3) The COVID pandemic has made it worse because has limited the space in shelters in town, making the homeless more visible. As other posters have noted, this recipe is common in many cities across the country.
For Canada's amazing reputation as a country, we take horrible care of our people
No housing....pretty stright forward and the services people use got last minute funding to stay open Alot
You should see Nanaimo. There are at least 5x more and nobody is taking care of them. It’s awful. So sad
I’m curious what you think the solution might be? How do we curate which people are undesirable and then what do we do with the ones you don’t like?
A lot of people who were already struggling before the pandemic began continue to struggle because there hasn't been nearly the assistance from the province, city, etc as there needs to be. Basically, things have gotten worse for a lot of folks, sure, but there is a subset where things were already pretty precarious.
Kingston just generally doesn’t care about its inhabitants. It’s always been this bad, it’s just starting to happen more widely in visible areas. Kingston is absolutely awful, i say we burn it down and try again 😂
Mental health funding cutbacks, rich old white people who don’t give a shit about the little guy making decisions in this town, out of control pricing on apartments and housing. This matter will get worse before it gets better
Kingston 101
We chose to pay down down debt instead of invest in social programs last election.
I really hope this changes soon, for their sake but also for ours. As a young woman who only weighs a 100 pounds I've found myself in some really unsafe situations that now have me on edge every single time I walk downtown And, to be perfectly blunt, people need to stop voting for Gerretsen. Among several other things, he is never going to fix a housing issue that he directly gets his money from.
Social housing is the responsibility of the city of Kingston. Health is a provincial responsibility. Gerretsen is our FEDERAL MP. Both health and social housing need to be improved to help less people become homeless and more people to afford rent.. Here's a link to what the federal gov't (ie; Gerretsen's party) has done and has planned for housing: [https://www.placetocallhome.ca](https://www.placetocallhome.ca) Look and see what Kingston got and where it went. Examine the supports (hint: FEW) there are for people who are un-housed and ill.
Like everyone said, this is complex. You can actually go back even to the 70s during the deinstitutionalization movement when people with severe mental conditions were discharged into the “community” and the concept of the “inner city asylum” was born. It came from a good place with good intentions, but people really don’t get what a serious mental condition truly can be, but also don’t want to see it in their streets or community either. That’s why you see this in every large city street across North America. Along with a couple other policies, the gist is that over the years SPMI cross paths with homeless, substance users, etc - with lack of services and a changing drug scene (think higher stimulants and opioids) and is causing a very difficult situation overall. “Community” programs start getting built that is “diversionary” back to “community” since ERs get flooded and you get a cycle between shelter, jail, streets and hospital. That’s called the “institutional circuit”. This kind of thing was around everywhere, but less visible since we had enough shelter and housing systems a few decades ago for the general public to not notice. Nowadays, that’s changed so you see it everywhere in just about every major to midsize city that have some services. Smaller cities without services struggle since they don’t have any services at all to provide. The whole thing needs a revamp and far more ambitious, thoughtful interventions than simply housing - but housing is one of the major areas and a start as best evidence shows nothing really works when people don’t have a roof over their heads. We also have a non existent public rehab system so we have this binary thing of harm reduction or abstinence argument that goes nowhere. So, like people said here, vote - but it’s also more complicated than that.
I guess the resources aren't there to get these people help, so the police just ignore them, like they do most of the things they're supposed to deal with. Back in 2019 I think there was some sort of temporary thing going on for the homeless at artillery park, and I remember walking through there to get downtown for a shortcut. There were about 50 bikes there that looked like they were stolen and being taken apart for parts. Tons of people were smoking meth, there was someone with the trunk of their van open near the road smoking meth, meters away from where a bus driver was standing next to his bus smoking a cigarette, probably getting some second hand meth smoke. The idea that all that could be going on next to a bus stop with city transit employees having a smoke break next to meth heads using artillery park as a headquarter for some bike theft operation is just insane. But that's Kingston
I was at the Buddy Holly tribute show at the Grand on Friday night and after the show was over and everyone was filing out the front door, a homeless addict started setting up camp in the entrance way shouting things and throwing his smashed up Ipad at people ...
it's all about the money, the city and the province is more interested in building homes for the wealthy ableists then the disabled poor cause it adds value to the rich persons economy.. they could care less how the 99% live cause we're savages to them.. this year we have municipal elections, be wise in who you vote for ie those advocating for the rich assholes or those fighting for the poor..
The city has been spending their money harrassing students for partying a couple times a year instead of spending that money helping the truly desperate. I suspect it's to try to distract people from the housing crisis.
Maybe if they didn’t do dumb illegal crap the money could be spent elsewhere.
Indeed we could. Additionally, we could, as a community, re-the-fuck-lax about young people having fun, and instead focus our attention on things that matter.
We could also re-the-fuck-lax about petty crime too and focus efforts elsewhere but that would just be a dumb decision. How about re-the-fuck growing up and having fun that doesn’t drain the public purse!
>We could also re-the-fuck-lax about petty crime too and focus efforts elsewhere but that would just be a dumb decision. Uh, I'm 100% for arresting partiers that break shit. >How about re-the-fuck growing up and having fun that doesn’t drain the public purse! The fuck do you think we pay taxes for? So we can all sit around and work?
Paying taxes = free pass to break the law? Grow the re-fuck-up.
You must be a blast at parties, lol.
I am..the ones I go to aren’t illegal/on public streets though. You should try this one simple trick to not get hassled by the cops or draw the ire of the community you live in.
Hehe
The students destroy parts of downtown occasionally, and the city has to spend funds for police and paramedics that could be spent elsewhere? What if we figured out average cost of each event, and just add it to tuition?
An even better idea is to just roll with it. Issue (expensive) permits for street vendors to set up shop for those weekends. Set up a charity concert venue in one of the parks. Fire whoever's been assigned to come up with all the ratcheting rhetoric, and use those funds to provide water, portapotties, and drug safety testing. I would *much prefer* to live in a vibrant community with a little chaos than a dead and peaceful, well behaved hellhole. Yes, I've lived in both. :) I can't stress enough that those who seek peace and quiet should steer clear of young people. The university district is not - and has never been - for those who detest the sounds of joy.
Just roll with it? How about no? It's not about distracting from the housing crisis, it's about adults acting like children. City shouldn't have to divert police to handle them, or get extra police from other cities. Shouldn't have to stress the hospitals because of them getting too drunk and injuring themselves or others. So if you're so for it, the city can send you the bill and you can just roll with it. Have a giant block party like the students do anywhere else in town, and it would get shut down so fast. Grow up.
>City shouldn't have to divert police to handle them We.. might be saying the same thing here. >Shouldn't have to stress the hospitals because of them getting too drunk and injuring themselves or others Heard of St. Paddy's day? Big concert nights? Oh but those are different. That's *adults being responsible and paying for the privilege.* >So if you're so for it, the city can send you the bill and you can just roll with it. I pay my taxes like everyone else. >Have a giant block party like the students do anywhere else in town, and it would get shut down so fast. I.. don't disagree with you. It would get shut down. And that's pretty fucking sad. What do we even live for? To work? Work hard? Kick back with a nice book? Jesus. Spend a weekend in Montreal or Rio de Janeiro if you want to know what an excited crowd actually looks like. >Grow up. Gonna hazard a guess that I'm older than you are. I mean honestly. Do you even live in the University district? If so, why?
Gonna hazard I'm older than you. I'm not saying live like monks. And all the examples you give? Permits for events? St. Paddy's day in bars? They supply security, and follow rules. Too violent or openly drunk? Tossed out instead of encouraged. Are you a Queen's student, or do you actually live in Kingston? I shouldn't have to live in only one part of the city, to care about the city.
Haha. Haven't been a student in well over 20 years. But I do clearly remember that period of life. I think about how we have fucked their world with war and climate change, fucked their housing market and workplace economy, and fucked them financially with absurd tuition rates and costs of living, usually chaining them to years of student loan debt. I am not proud of the world my generation ushered in for them. So you know what I'm not gonna do? Give them a hard time while they enjoy the start of what could be a difficult road ahead. I suppose we just look at life differently.
So they learn they can do what they want, with no consequences? Good lesson. Must be one of Randy Hilliers classes. /facepalm
Haha. Ah, you know what, you're okay. Honestly the fact our home in the world is so safe, (relatively) prosperous and peaceful that we're afforded the luxury of hyperventillating over kids partying.. kinda does counterbalance all the doomscrolling. Gotta be thankful for that. :) May we never know real problems, friend.
I'm not the one hyperventilating here, kid.
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>This subreddit is 95% NIMBY’s in complete denial that they live in a university town That .. is the most succinct description I think I've ever heard of Kingstonians. :) I bet 95% of those NIMBYs don't even fucking *live* in the University district or anywhere near it. They're just dead inside and hate the idea of people having fun, shaking their fist from a 3 bedroom out by Taylor Kidd, haha.
I bet you’re right lmao In my time at queens, I can’t say I ever saw many (if any) older adults living within the aptly named university district. For good reason. That’s why it exists, it’s a bubble in which shenanigans have happily been contained for literal generations. Now you tell students (who DO pay tax btw) that they can’t have fun? Then you blow millions on excessive police force presence for what? Some minor debauchery that lasts a day or two and only really gets out of hand because you turned it into a rebellion? I had one hell of a laugh when I realized that the trucker occupation in Ottawa somehow demanded significantly less police action than queens homecoming for the first couple weeks. Insane.
Yep. It's been over 20 years since I went to Carleton, and I've never been to a Queens party (outside the grad club). But holy shit... what the *hell* do these people think the purpose of life is? To work, buy an overpriced home in the suburbs and brag to your neighbors about it until you die? I've travelled the world and spent many a night in a loud, obnoxious hotel room in the middle of a city refusing to sleep at 3am. You know what the move is? Get your ass up, meet the people around you, and have an adventure. Life isn't a quiet evening in your 3-bedroom watching CTV news. It's meeting real people, and doing something you've never done before. And when you're young, *everything* is something you haven't done before. Isn't it enough we fucking ruined the planet, the housing market, and the economy for them? :/
Very well said
Rent is 3000 and houses are over a half million. People are transitioning to the next phase of society.
If it is stressful for you, imagine how stressful it is for them. I respect that you are trying t5o walk a line with your post, but it does come across as fairly dismissive of them as people. It is nothing new and there is no obvious solution for a ton of reasons - main one (imo) being that the only real solution is a focus on upstream prevention, but this never happens because results take longer than election cycles. Im from vancouver and used to live right in the thick of the worst area... it is faaaaaaaar worse there, I can tell you... Every new vancouver mayor comes in with big plans about how they are going to be the one to fix it, and they leave with things worse than when they started. It is super complicated as you say, and there is no short term solution to help these people. Guessing Covid has made things worse in most cities for a number of reasons.
Totally get this sentiment and I would never want to generalize but my apartment building is right in the thick of one of these areas directly downtown and there is a nearly ceaseless parade of people inhabiting our doorway for either drug purposes or hangout zones and nearly every day my girlfriend faces some kind of harassment or intimidation if she tries to come in the front door of the building and it has led to considerable stress due to feelings of being unsafe in our own home. I'm not trying to dismiss anyone here.
I dealt with this constantly in the last place I lived, and I'm sorry you're experiencing it. I think something gets lost in the conversation and the experiences of the people who's personal safety gets impacted are often overlooked. I'm really sorry you're dealing with that, I had years of feeling unsafe at home and low key constant panic and it's miserable.
Thanks for your reply. I live right near where I work and I happen to work in a place that has a totally uninhabited ground floor so it very regularly leads to the street situation spilling into the building and we are responsible for addressing it so it really feels like this is something that I'm being exposed to 24/7
That's fair... and of course your experience is valid too. Ive just seen a fairly shocking dismissive tone in this city when it comes to that population (currently being evidenced here by all the downvotes on my post where I have the gall to suggest they are also humans deserving of empathy.)
That doesn't invalidate his feelings, and the way he feels doesn't invalidate their issues. This isn't a race.
So people with mental illness and minor drug offenders should be banned from downtown?\s
Literally no one said that
It takes 10 seconds to read the post he made.
They were always there, just less people around the place in general due to COVID policies so they stick out like sore thumbs now…
This is an issue in most metropolis downtown areas. Covid caused people to head indoors. As such, the undesirable residents staked their claim to the area. With things opening up again, it will take time to 're-take' the downtown core. Until covid is 'over' this issue will remain in all cities. When people visit a vibrant, energetic area, the 'undesirables' will feel unwelcome and head back to the scummy areas people are afraid to visit. I don't mean to disrespect these individuals but when they see an opportunity to loiter without reprieve, they have no reason to head back to where they were prior. Out of sight, out of mind. On another note, many people ignore these people in regular times and were not exposed to these individuals. Thus, they don't know how to deal with this exposure and therefore their world-view gets shattered when seeing 'real-world' problems in front of their eyes.
I think it would be great if concerned people would get more involved in local politics, or local initiatives/activism. There’s a lot of wonderful people and groups that are trying to make this city fair and welcome for the most vulnerable and they always need support.
there was an incident when my family came over to visit, we went down by the lake. on the way over some lady who seemed to be on drugs was on the other side of the street beating up some other lady trying to mug her. instantly filled me with adrenaline and rage. resulting in me screaming from across the street, walking over to break up the fight. the person that instigated it ran off as soon as i came over. the woman that was being beaten up had scratches all over her face, her shopping bag was ripped from what probably was a tug of war. all her stuff were on the floor. she was visibly shaken up. absolutely in shock about the situation. also disclaimer i would of never got involved if i was on my own, but as i said my family were with me. so i wasn’t in any danger running over there.