Comments on: Calgary’s 16 Ave Homeless Shelter

By: ro

ro — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:17:22 +0000

Totally off topic... did anyone see in the ads above one for 'Edmonton Giveaway' - A trip to Edmonton? Wow, would love to win that, if I lived in Darfur.

By: dbiddy

dbiddy — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:54:37 +0000

Let's take a page out of China's book... imprison the homeless and harvest their organs.

By: Dede

Dede — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:03:04 +0000

Why rugby, why not hockey?? Thats more of a winter sport and the homeless are in greatest need in the winter. And just because they tend to wear colourful mismatched outfits does not mean they will be awesome at rugby.

By: ro

ro — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:43:36 +0000

KC, About 10 blocks south there's some affluence, around the Brick not really. That place only has one entrance though no.... I remember doing Inn From The COLD before. Man, some of these homeless don't need help. We made lunches and you 'd think they'd need em but some were left behind....So yea, there is a variety out there and we can't lump them into one.

By: Michelangelo

Michelangelo — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 05:01:07 +0000

We should train all the homeless people to play rugby, that way we have more people to play rugby and the entertainment value would be amazing.
It is an easy and amazing sport, the homeless people of this wonderful city will be awesome at said game.

By: kc

kc — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 04:27:14 +0000

If I am not mistaken, there is a similar drop-in centre already in place in the affluent community of West Hillhurst. People are bussed in and out on a daily basis without much problem. The residents in the immediate community surrounding the old Brick are not quite as affluent as those in West Hillhurst yet there has not been any significant objection from them since the Hillhurst centre was first proposed. I'm not necessarily taking any sides on the issue, but there is some precedence that supports that such a project can be successful. The only question is how similar the two initiatives are.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 19:55:46 +0000

A really awesome program they have going on in Red Deer is “meet the streets” basically kids are tossed out onto the streets of Red Deer for twenty four hours. You are given a homeless person as a guide and you get to hang with them and their friends for a day and hear their stories. I think Calgary has a similar program, but I’m not sure what it is called. Anyway it sure opened my eyes to this whole issue, and it is nowhere near as simple as people who just don’t want to work. As well rounded as we like to think our social services are there are some pretty big cracks for people to fall through the biggest part is finding personal support when your friends and family just cant or wont. A homeless shelter in your backyard may be inconvenient but if we are strong proponents for a “fire under your butt” mentality it’s a good way to motivate the general populace to take a good hard look at the neighbors they are supposed to be loving as themselves.

By: herr niemand

herr niemand — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:54:57 +0000

Man if employers are going to shelters to offer jobs, then people don't have excuses anymore. I am convinced that some of the homeless could find jobs, get on their feet and be productive the fact is they just don't want to. If people just don't want to work they shouldn't get fed and looked after.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:16:31 +0000

I want to know exactly what the community is objecting to, because there is something very wrong about wanting people to freeze to death on Calgary's streets. I doubt that's what the issue is, but that's the attitude I got from reading Dede's post.

As for busing the homeless to and from, that's a bit of a stretch, and a pretty penny for the gas. What can be done? Hoard all the homeless into one section of the city so they don't "bother" anyone else? How does that solve anything? I understand that a homeless shelter might have a negative effect on the community, but can't the community try to have a positive effect on the homeless?

By: ro

ro — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 23:18:08 +0000

To prowl downtown no less, same place they came from. It's a good solution to save a life, bus them in, hose them, bus them out. Inn from the Cold moves REALLY early so I'm assuming they'd be the same. I'm also guessing the logistics of busing hundreds of people would be steep so there's bound to be some chaos.

Having said that there are two sides of this coin. 1. It's a known fact that if you time your dinner right you can get 3 warm meals in a 9 block radius (I think it's 9 blocks.) That's 3 free suppers for the price of none.

On the flip side, affordable housing makes finding a house for new migrants impossible.