Ending Chronic Homelessness

[Acitta]

As for the problem of chronic homelessness -- in many cases, you can't help some of these people. The best we can do is build 'affordable' housing (generally apartments or townhouses) but many of those folks wouldn't make it in such accommodations. Many have addiction and mental health issues that just wouldn't work in settings where there are other people around.

They have kicked people out of 'A Better Tent City' which had minimal rules. If you can't make it there, you won't make it anywhere and you will be homeless for life.

While there have always been a certain number of people who are chronically homeless and cannot handle living in normal society, the scale of homelessness these days is unprecedented across the country. There is a severe lack of affordable housing for people with low income. The amount of money for housing supplied by ODSP and Ontario Works is laughable. Once upon a time, someone could afford to get by on welfare. There used to be enough cheap rooms to rent. Even many of those with substance abuse problems could afford to have a roof over their head. This is a problem that has arisen because of decades of neglect by provincial governments. We cannot simply pretend that we can kick people out of encampments and they will simply disappear. Many countries in the global south have vast tracks of shantytowns built by people who have no other choice. This is our future if our governments don't take this seriously. Doug Ford allowing developers to build monster homes on the greenbelt is not going to solve the problem.