Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee
Haha ooooooo I’d be a little careful as a Calgarian looking down my nose at Vancouver for the homeless problem. No question Vancouver is bad, tent city, etc. however Calgary is trending in the wrong direction as well.
I just visited Calgary and was downtown last week and the increase of homeless people today vs. 1 year ago vs. 6 months ago to hell even just 2 months ago is a very clear and alarming trend. Very anecdotal / subjective but wow, Calgary now has a homeless issue. They are everywhere.
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Calgary’s homeless issue might be worse than it has been recently but I think you’re exaggerating. Working downtown, I can’t say I can perceive any noticeable difference between this month and the same time 3 years ago. If anything, it’s gotten better near my office, so maybe people are just more set up somewhere else.
I’ve heard the train is quite bad, which is an issue. But that really depends on the source, too. Pre-COVID it was not unusual to be in a car with obviously homeless people passed out, fighting, or generally causing a disturbance.
I feel like, in part, people have really forgotten some of what being in public and around others in an urban environment is like. To say Calgary “now” has a homeless issue is either to have been totally ignorant of the issue that was already there, or hyperbolic in evaluating where it is today. Especially downtown, when you’re situated between places like the Drop In, Chumir, Mustard Seed, Cups, these people exist in numbers and have for a long time.
The concerning part is the stories of random attacks.