Dear Editor,
I’ve been involved with the Downtown Eastside (DTES) for more than 20 years in a voluntary capacity. Way back then, there were only hundreds of street folks living the transient life. Now, perhaps 4,000?
The cost to taxpayers of keeping a street person alive has been estimated to be upwards of $50,000. There are huge costs in hospitalization, policing, etc. — twice as much than providing adequate housing.
It’s almost more expensive to keep a homeless person alive than keeping a prisoner in our penal system.
I am not sure what we, as Richmondites, do for our homeless besides offering emergency shelters when the weather dips below a certain temperature.
Vancouver city council and Mayor Gregor Robertson, have tried and have mandated to eliminate homelessness.
But, as we all know, this is impossible. Reasons range from not-in-my-back-yard mentality, prohibitive expenses, migration from other places and even people not wanting to be housed as it takes away their freedoms.
With stable homes, many of the street folks can get real help and not be burdens to society.
As you know, we cannot force a free citizen to undergo treatment or rehabilitation, or even to be housed. Vancouver has a mild climate; this alone attracts people from other places. The DTES has many organizations set up to advocate for and house, albeit mostly temporarily, our street population. It’s where many will go. No one goes hungry there; there are more meals than are needed.
Also, the DTES is a real community, with its own hierarchy, customs, and heart. There are those who know the system and are first in line for everything that is available to them. There is a sense of camaraderie, a sense of justice of what is right and wrong. One does not cut in line. One helps those in need when possible.
The free meals are heavy in carbohydrates, as these are the easiest and cheapest means of feeding them. With new composting laws, many companies are offloading their perishables to the shelters to the point donations of certain perishables such as bread and rotting veggies can no longer be accepted.
The shelters have to fight for funding; there are low barrier and high barrier shelters, women’s only, pets permitted, etc. But these are temporary. And single-room hotels and shelters have problems, which we have heard of in the news.
Then there are the coats and blanket drives. Yes, these help keep the homeless warm, if they are not wet. Once wet, even the most expensive blankets or coats, are not useful. Then again, anything that is new or in good condition may and probably will be sold for drugs. This is just the way it is. The plentiful donations the DTES receives around Christmas, especially from well-intended “rich” companies/people, will be sold to provide drugs.
There’s no easy solution!
One solution is we have to teach our children that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. All of us deserve love and be loved.
However, much of the love for street folks comes at Christmas time. I sometimes get cynical about this as we have schools/companies collecting food donations, awaiting photo ops in December.
Where’s the love in March?
Problems in need of this love are ubiquitous. There are those at the bottom of the ladder who don’t get anything, who won’t go to seek help in shelters. There are women who have been abused, who work in the sex trade, who have multiple pregnancies and, unfortunately, many are Aboriginal. There are men with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and drug addictions.
And now there is the fentanyl crisis...
So, much help is needed, every month of the year. And when we help our homeless by giving, we let them know that we are all people and that we are all one.
Donna Kwan
Richmond
