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Homelessness, Addiction and Mental Health

erudyk_29 said:
I was talking with someone from Alaska who said that essentially Anchorage's homeless policy is to buy them a plane ticket and send them to Seattle, essentially offloading a huge amount of homelessness onto another city each year. Is it people making their way to Edmonton themselves or do communities like Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Fort Mac etc just send their homeless to Edmonton?
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This is largely an urban legend that floats around every community. I've yet to see any verified practices of that happening on mass. You sometimes can get funding from the province for an out of province bus ticket if you can show that you have support waiting for you somewhere else, but its often hard to get and comes with a promise you won't come back.

It's important to remember, Homeless people are still people. They aren't some amorphous blob that some government or non-profit person is making decisions about where to allocate. They have agency, relationships, dreams, and often a high level of resourcefulness. They make choices that they understand as best for themselves which for alot of complicated reasons may or may not work out. So people will scrounge together the resources to travel to a large centre. In my experience, its usually a friend or family member that says they can help or a promised job that leads to people moving into a larger city. Most people who are homeless were not always in that position and may only be there for a period of time. They have often moved here, worked for awhile and then things fell apart. Or they were homeless elsewhere, moved her to make things work and didn't succeed. That's a long answer to just say It's people making their own way to Edmonton, just like it is for most any other community.
 
SarcasticMarmot said:
This is largely an urban legend that floats around every community. I've yet to see any verified practices of that happening on mass. You sometimes can get funding from the province for an out of province bus ticket if you can show that you have support waiting for you somewhere else, but its often hard to get and comes with a promise you won't come back.

It's important to remember, Homeless people are still people. They aren't some amorphous blob that some government or non-profit person is making decisions about where to allocate. They have agency, relationships, dreams, and often a high level of resourcefulness. They make choices that they understand as best for themselves which for alot of complicated reasons may or may not work out. So people will scrounge together the resources to travel to a large centre. In my experience, its usually a friend or family member that says they can help or a promised job that leads to people moving into a larger city. Most people who are homeless were not always in that position and may only be there for a period of time. They have often moved here, worked for awhile and then things fell apart. Or they were homeless elsewhere, moved her to make things work and didn't succeed. That's a long answer to just say It's people making their own way to Edmonton, just like it is for most any other community.
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I'm aware that homeless people are people, and I apologize if my comment sounded insensitive. I have nothing but empathy for anyone unfortunate enough to end up in that situation. Just asking a question since I'd heard that this happened and was unsure.
 
erudyk_29 said:
I'm aware that homeless people are people, and I apologize if my comment sounded insensitive. I have nothing but empathy for anyone unfortunate enough to end up in that situation. Just asking a question since I'd heard that this happened and was unsure.
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Oh no! I wasn't trying to say you were implying that they aren't people. My apologize for framing it that way. You in no way implied that.

I was trying to make a point about thinking of homeless people as individuals making individual choices that lead to trends. I've found alot of analysis/debate about homelessness very subtly treats the community as a challenge to be managed instead of as individuals trying their best to survive and I've developed language that is in opposition to that, even when its not there. Sorry again!
 
SarcasticMarmot said:
Oh no! I wasn't trying to say you were implying that they aren't people. My apologize for framing it that way. You in no way implied that.

I was trying to make a point about thinking of homeless people as individuals making individual choices that lead to trends. I've found alot of analysis/debate about homelessness very subtly treats the community as a challenge to be managed instead of as individuals trying their best to survive and I've developed language that is in opposition to that, even when its not there. Sorry again!
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no worries
 
erudyk_29 said:
I'm aware that homeless people are people, and I apologize if my comment sounded insensitive. I have nothing but empathy for anyone unfortunate enough to end up in that situation. Just asking a question since I'd heard that this happened and was unsure.
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The notion of people being sent to other cities en masse is indeed more of an urban legend. Most individuals facing homelessness make their own decisions based on what they believe is best for them. They might have family or friends in another city or hope for better opportunities there.
If you ever want to learn more about the challenges faced by homeless individuals or ways to help, there are many local organizations and charities that you can reach out to. They often provide valuable insights and opportunities to make a positive impact.
If you ever come across situations where someone's mental health might be a concern, understanding signs and symptoms can be helpful. You can check out this link (https://fherehab.com/pd/signs-of-bpd/) for more information.
 
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Talking with a friend with one of the inner city agencies. He indicated that the opioid epidemic only got worse as the homeless population increased. Quite a few people were only using drugs to cope.

But as I travel around the city and in the valley I see increasing number of camps. Infact one set up at the south end of the Health Sciences LRT stop.

Some friends and I have stopped at a couple of camps in the valley while out riding to see if everyone is alright.

But it pisses me off that Calgary has more than double the shelter space we do.
 
followthedeepsea said:
You're absolutely right; homeless individuals are individuals with their unique stories and experiences. People often end up homeless due to a combination of circumstances beyond their control.
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Also the attachment of homelessness to addiction is a narrative not a fact.

The rates of drug use in the housed to unhoused populations is not wildly different.

Thusly the OD crisis, although is visible on the streets, is overwhelming happening in (pick any) suburb.
 
Once you accept being an accepted destination for homeless infrastructure, it generally leads to more in the future. I can definitely empathize with residents of the neighborhood, and even the financial aspect of their houses likely to immediately lose value.

Housing projects may be necessary, but if not spread out across the city, certain neighborhoods become the new dumping ground.
 
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