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'Absolutely' possible: Vancouver, Victoria mayors back Ottawa's bid to end homelessness - CBC (www.cbc.ca)
submitted 10 hours ago by to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson made a similar pledge while mayor of Vancouver

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[–] [S] 4 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

The Liberal budget, delivered on Thursday, has set aside $11.2 billion over the next four years in a bid to end homelessness in the next 10 years.

It's an echo of the promise then Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson made in 2008 — and was ultimately unable to fulfil.

Speaking in Winnipeg on Friday, Robertson, now federal housing minister, said he didn't have the right tools at the time.

"We did not have the support," Robertson said. "As a city, we set the goal — the federal and provincial governments were not co-ordinating, were not investing in the scale that was needed to solve the challenge in Vancouver." [...]

Ottawa's plan targets homelessness prevention, expanding access to housing and funding new mental health infrastructure. Components include more support for unhoused veterans, helping low-income people cover rent and building new mental health and addiction treatment facilities. [Article continues.]

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  • [–] 5 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

    As someone whose worked on the 'front lines' of homeless encampments: The common denominator with failed initiatives is "too little too late". Not enough funding means not enough social workers, not enough spaces for clients, and not enough security.

    Properly funded programs create jobs and mitigate the harm poverty is causing our society.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 hours ago* (1 child)

    Properly funded programs create jobs and mitigate the harm poverty is causing our society.

    So no chance of them being properly funded since homelessness is a threat to everyone to stay in line and not make life more difficult for the poor wealthy and political classes.

    It exists to make sure people stay in terrible jobs with no options.

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  • [–] 6 points 8 hours ago*

    Pretty much my experience. Maybe this massive price sticker will move the needle. Le doubt.

    But like solving poverty is an entirely different thing than mitigating the harm caused by poverty. Talking from experience, NIMBY resentment towards halfway housing is validated when there isn't enough resources to properly insulate and control access.

    Vast majority of homeless people are disabled or aged out of foster care. Obviously most of them aren't criminals, at first. But we leave them in the cold until they turn to drugs; than years of addiction driven deterioration turns some of them feral. We are literally throwing the vulnerable people of our society to the wolves.

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