Homelessless May Finally Disappear...for the wrong reasons.

Taken from CityNews, August 10, 2011

Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti believes the best way to deal with the homeless is transitional housing.  He just doesn't think the city should pay for it.  In the meantime, he wants all homeless people to be removed from Toronto's streets and placed in hospitals until the federal or provincial governments fork over the cash to house them. 

"It is a huge problem and this administration knows it's a huge problem - a problem we can't afford," Mammoliti told CityNews on Tuesday.

"We do need to take them off the streets and we need to do it forcefully."

"I would rather use police resources and actually take them off the streets and put them in the hospitals, and continue to put them in the hospitals until the province recognizes it's best to give the municipalities the money that they need to be able to deal with this long term - which is resources and housing."

"Jail is not the place to put them because it costs us $3000/day per person."


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Now, before I proceed to lashing out at this article, I would like to make it clear that I am not a radical left-wing socialist.  But this is another outrageous idea that will continue to wreak havoc in this great city that we love! First, the city suggests to set up a special district for prostitution, now it decides to clean the streets of homeless and treat them like trash. literally. Councillor Mammoliti says that homelessness is a huge problem and is a problem that we can't afford. On the contrary, it is such attitude that creates a negative stigma in society, in which it spurs society to ostracize the homeless. Homelessness is not a problem. If most of these people have a choice, do you think they would like to live out on the streets, not knowing if they might see another day? Indeed, homelessness is NOT the problem. In fact, rounding up the homeless like a herd of cattles and locking them up in hospitals will not be beneficial, and by the way, it is a step backwards for the city. In the 1980s, when the government released the people from mental hospitals after realizing they do not get better being locked up in psychiatric wards and can be integrated back into society. However, at the time, they had no sufficient plan and resources to help them, and therefore many of them ended up on the streets to fend for themselves.

According to a recent City of Toronto's report, at least 2/3 of the homeless suffer from some sort of psychological disorder. Now by locking them up in hospitals, or even jails would definitely not have a positive outcome. Instead of targeting homelessness as a problem, these people needs to be treated with love and compassion, and the problems CAUSING homelessness needs to be tackled. The city cannot expect them to find a job, get a house and voila, the issue's gone. Each and every individual on the streets has a different story. Whether it's drugs and alcohol, domestic abuse, job loss, or other reasons, what the city needs to invest in are the social programs that offer assistance to them. In addition, many homeless people are victims are situations and conditions, like rising house market prices, high unemployment rates, sluggish economy, family violence and have fallen into them not because they want to. These issues may be harder to improve on in the short term, but the city can invest in job training programs and counselling that will help these people have a chance to get back on the right track. 

Some of these people are hooked on alcohol and drugs to provide them with relief from reality or are dealing with addictions and the government should look at how we can treat and offer the support ready that they need if they choose to take it.  By providing them with the proper resources and guidance many of them need to re-integrate as productive citizens of this city. It will be costly, but it will be a step in the right direction.  But throwing these people into the hospital and expecting this "problem" to fix itself is not gonna happen. 

Any thoughts?




Also, for more on my view on homelessness, please take a look at my three part series from February 2011.