[Stevey_G]

So where should they be moved to? Ottawa, Ukraine or maybe somewhere closer like St Albert?

The city appears to finally be prioritizing decentralization of social services which in my opinion is a good thing for a city like Edmonton. As Yeggers said, society appears to be moving back towards mandatory institutionalization for vulnerable populations who require it - a good thing for them, a good thing for the community, a bad thing for drug dealers and those who prey on the unhomed, traumatized and mentally ill.

Another tier will be those in need of housing. Back in 2015 I honestly don't know how I held onto my condo as I got laid off for nearly a year immediately after buying my place. I was using credit cards to make payments, picking bottles, and would have taken the first job that came my way. I was probably 6 months away from being homeless and though I re-educated and am doing quite well now, I know full well how it feels to be on the brink like so many people are. They in my opinion, have an inalienable right for society to house them so they don't end up on the streets because of circumstances beyond their control. MANY of the homeless are in this situation.

TLDR? The answer is proper and efficient allocation of public monies, slashing red-tape, and effectively placing luxury/exit taxes on the mega wealthy. We should start running things the way government did post-WW2 but with the lessons learned since then about mental health care and other things.

 

[HappyJazzz]

Depends. Affordable housing if they’re sober, asylums (not sure I should call them that) if they suffer from addiction or severe schizophrenia. And honestly, keeping those asylums out in rural areas (like where Alberta Hospital is) or light industrial areas (obviously not something like Refinery Row or beside a rail yard or chemical plant) isn’t a terrible idea.

While they are far outside the city's jurisdiction, I've wondered if some of the small dying farm towns might be a good place for that kind of rehabilitation or supportive housing. The names escape me but I recall reading about a few years back where homes could be bought for less than 10k.

 

[HappyJazzz]

Yeah like it's a cheap SFH/townhome at the literal edge of the city, what did they expect? lol and it's only going to get worse as time goes on. Gridlock from the south end of the city is going to at least drive some people crazy and maybe even consider to move in the future.

To where, Calgary?

Maybe if enough people in the company complain about the commute they'll move their offices to Leduc! I hear it's a real happening place these days..

 

[HappyJazzz]

The city appears to finally be prioritizing decentralization of social services which in my opinion is a good thing for a city like Edmonton. As Yeggers said, society appears to be moving back towards mandatory institutionalization for vulnerable populations who require it - a good thing for them, a good thing for the community, a bad thing for drug dealers and those who prey on the unhomed, traumatized and mentally ill.

Another tier will be those in need of housing. Back in 2015 I honestly don't know how I held onto my condo as I got laid off for nearly a year immediately after buying my place. I was using credit cards to make payments, picking bottles, and would have taken the first job that came my way. I was probably 6 months away from being homeless and though I re-educated and am doing quite well now, I know full well how it feels to be on the brink like so many people are. They in my opinion, have an inalienable right for society to house them so they don't end up on the streets because of circumstances beyond their control. MANY of the homeless are in this situation.

TLDR? The answer is proper and efficient allocation of public monies, slashing red-tape, and effectively placing luxury/exit taxes on the mega wealthy. We should start running things the way government did post-WW2 but with the lessons learned since then about mental health care and other things.

Agree with much of this. City centers are an extremely unhealthy place for people who are on the edge to be..

 

[David A]

Part of the reason why Downtown isn’t seeing the valuation growth that other parts of the city are is the local crime rate and perception of risk to prospective owners. Everyone I talk to in BC has an image in their head of downtown Edmonton that isn’t unearned.

Giving the homeless population a better place to be taken care of and housed further away from the core will help reduce local crime rates and visibly impact areas where those issues are currently observed.

TLDR? Push bums out and gentrify. It’s what Surrey did and now people are flocking to their core.

Has anyone in BC ever visited Granville Street in Vancouver? It is a real hell hole compared to anything here or most other places in Canada.

They have become nose blind to the problems in their own city and can't smell the horrible stench of their own failures with housing unaffordability. But hey its always a good distraction to pick on someone else.

 

[David A]

The city appears to finally be prioritizing decentralization of social services which in my opinion is a good thing for a city like Edmonton. As Yeggers said, society appears to be moving back towards mandatory institutionalization for vulnerable populations who require it - a good thing for them, a good thing for the community, a bad thing for drug dealers and those who prey on the unhomed, traumatized and mentally ill.

Another tier will be those in need of housing. Back in 2015 I honestly don't know how I held onto my condo as I got laid off for nearly a year immediately after buying my place. I was using credit cards to make payments, picking bottles, and would have taken the first job that came my way. I was probably 6 months away from being homeless and though I re-educated and am doing quite well now, I know full well how it feels to be on the brink like so many people are. They in my opinion, have an inalienable right for society to house them so they don't end up on the streets because of circumstances beyond their control. MANY of the homeless are in this situation.

TLDR? The answer is proper and efficient allocation of public monies, slashing red-tape, and effectively placing luxury/exit taxes on the mega wealthy. We should start running things the way government did post-WW2 but with the lessons learned since then about mental health care and other things.

This is a good perspective to remind us all. Many people do have some unfortunate times in our lives financially or otherwise. Hopefully we get through them, but some do not.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Has anyone in BC ever visited Granville Street in Vancouver? It is a real hell hole compared to anything here or most other places in Canada.

They have become nose blind to the problems in their own city and can't smell the horrible stench of their own failures with housing unaffordability. But hey its always a good distraction to pick on someone else.

Bizarre approach to say "They're deflecting by picking on someone else!" by deflecting and picking on someone else. Granville Street is a challenging area for the municipal and provincial governments to manage, but saying it's worse elsewhere doesn't make our local issues any less important.

 

[David A]

Bizarre approach to say "They're deflecting by picking on someone else!" by deflecting and picking on someone else. Granville Street is a challenging area for the municipal and provincial governments to manage, but saying it's worse elsewhere doesn't make our local issues any less important.

I would totally agree we should focus on our problems and other places should focus on theirs. Someone from Vancouver criticizing Edmonton to feel better is not going to fix their problems and their at times superior attitude, as if they don't have real problems really, really annoys me.

 

[HappyJazzz]

Has anyone in BC ever visited Granville Street in Vancouver? It is a real hell hole compared to anything here or most other places in Canada.

They have become nose blind to the problems in their own city and can't smell the horrible stench of their own failures with housing unaffordability. But hey its always a good distraction to pick on someone else.

I think you're referring to Hastings, not Granville? And yeah its pretty bad in spots there, but its far more contained than the problems are in Edmonton's city center.

Unfortunately its a tougher problem for Edmonton to tackle because of geography. Vancouver's city center will always be more desirable because of proximity to the water, while Edmonton can do a full 360 sprawl from center with little noticeable difference, for either business or residents.

They also built what is arguably Canada's best transit network, which helps immensely, while Edmonton does very little to improve access to center.

I'm very interested in seeing what happens to the Hastings area when the skytrain line gets built though there.. If the whole city is gentrified, I suppose the problem population will get pushed out to the exurbs?

 

[Oliver_William]

I think you're referring to Hastings, not Granville? And yeah its pretty bad in spots there, but its far more contained than the problems are in Edmonton's city center.

Unfortunately its a tougher problem for Edmonton to tackle because of geography. Vancouver's city center will always be more desirable because of proximity to the water, while Edmonton can do a full 360 sprawl from center with little noticeable difference, for either business or residents.

They also built what is arguably Canada's best transit network, which helps immensely, while Edmonton does very little to improve access to center.

I'm very interested in seeing what happens to the Hastings area when the skytrain line gets built though there.. If the whole city is gentrified, I suppose the problem population will get pushed out to the exurbs?

Granville is also very bad now.

"Shut it down": Vancouver thrift store lashes out over $300K crime costs | Urbanized

The owner of a Vancouver thrift store on Granville Street is calling for a nearby housing project to be shut down over crime concerns.

dailyhive.com

 

[HappyJazzz]

Granville is also very bad now.

"Shut it down": Vancouver thrift store lashes out over $300K crime costs | Urbanized

The owner of a Vancouver thrift store on Granville Street is calling for a nearby housing project to be shut down over crime concerns.

dailyhive.com

Damn, that's unfortunate. I had a lot of fun times on Granville back in my 20s..
I guess the judicial/poverty industry is having the same impacts on BC too