Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
That’s exactly what I meant, as we’re no longer at the Smith having to come out and announce ”more police!” and Gondek having to ride the train with security saying “see?? see?? safe!!” phase of things. Same with COVID, it’s bad and our hospitals are ####ed, but… nobody really cares, so there is a sad lack of demand toward having politicians stand up and make a scene about it.
I’m all for pumping significantly more money into the unhoused situation in Calgary, especially because I think it’s actually solvable given the resources we have (from financial resources to vacant buildings). Instead, we’re just leaving more and more people to die.
My view is not coming from a place of fear, either, so it irks me when get hyperbolic about things like riding a train with someone passed out on drugs because of how it makes them feel (while trying to say it’s so much better in places where it’s actually worse), and not the fact that this is a person who needs help and at best will get booted back onto the street and, as I said, ideally just left to die somewhere a little less busy.
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Ah, in that case my apologies. We basically have the exact same viewpoint here.
When I hear people freaking out about how it's not safe to go anywhere or let your kids walk to school I dig up the number of random murders by homeless people in Calgary.... zero.
I think the worst case for your average person is getting in a situation that causes a lot of fear or discomfort. Not to say that can't be a problem and make people unable to freely move about in public without anxiety, but you aren't going to die here.
But hundreds of the people in question are dying all the time, and even if we throw them free drugs and a safe place to use them, they are still living in misery.
We walk past tragedy every day, and as you say, should not accept this. We have the resources, and plenty of case studies of some degrees of success to emulate. To not take more action further immediate action is pretty morally reprehensible, and we owe these people and those affected by them more.
I can't imagine how much pain there is beyond the addicts and mentally ill themselves- in their families, friends, employers etc.