Homeless, Municipal

Re: Comment sent to me on Water and Shade

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I would draw your attention to the portion of the letter you quoted from my article, specifically the words “or to solve property crime”. The crimes you enumerate all fall under the term property crimes, with my words clearly demonstrating that I fully support the local police in pursuing the perpetrators of these crimes. Having experienced the theft of property from my family I know just how frustrating it is that the police currently seem to have no interest or expectation of prosecuting these criminals.

I would also draw your attention to an earlier article on the web site: Crime Wave coming to your Neighbourhood (November 2005). I believe that anyone who reads this can clearly see I have no illusions about the honesty of some of the homeless or about just what power an addiction has and what it can drive the addict to do in order to satisfy his addiction. I would go on to say that as the homeless are human beings I harbour no delusions about what they will do in order to survive – just as I harbour no fantasies about the behaviours (or lack thereof) the ordinary citizen would take should their survival be at stake.

I feel the need to comment that you need to consider your own closing words “but take a look and you’ll see they live among you too.” To often those who choose to cite the argument that the homeless are thieves fail to accept that there are many more criminals who are living among them – those with homes. If you were to round up all the criminals in this city you would find that the vast majority were members of the “Homed”. As the homeless are a very small percentage of the overall population, they cannot constitute more than a small percentage of the thieves in this city. In particular I wish to address the issue of metal/recycling theft. I am well aware of the involvement of some of the homeless in minor thefts to sell the metals. The reason I say minor is only because the homeless lack the resources (transportation, cutting tools, storage) to commit the large thefts one hears about. You need to look to those who live among you.

I admit to being annoyed by this argument, not because I do not see the crooks who are part of the homeless population but because it is so often use to deny or ignore those among the homeless that need help. On the other hand I like to point out that what crime costs society makes it far cheaper and more sensible to pay for programs to address issues of addiction and homelessness, than it is to use the police, courts and incarceration to deal with these same people. I will be posting an article about the mayors of many US cities planning to stamp out homelessness because they have been doing cost/benefit studies that clearly show/demonstrate it is far cheaper to avoid involving the legal and medical systems to deal with the homeless.

The final point I want to raise is that “the senseless pursuit of the homeless” has nothing to do with arresting criminals. The police ventured into the homeless camp (Compassion Park) to arrest a specific person for a specific crime. There were those who claimed they should not have done so and called upon me to write to the papers, the website and others condemning this “invasion”. I publicly took the position that it was a perfectly reasonable action for the police to take. They had specific charges about a specific person concerning a specific crime. I have absolutely no problem with that type of action. The senselessness of which I am speaking is such things as forcing the homeless to stop “loitering” under shade on days with a blazing sun, move along under the sun getting sunburned and chancing heatstroke; when they wake someone 10 times to get them to move from where they are sleeping on the streets during the night (yes it is unsightly but what is the point when there is no place else for them to go – if you want them off the streets you need to provide the alternative); ignoring a neatly dressed homeless person to search a poorly dressed/groomed homeless person; searching the homeless for stolen goods but not searching those who have homes when statistically most of the crime is committed by those with homes; chasing the homeless and addicted for petty crimes and letting major crimes go unsolved. There are many, many more instances I could cite were the police treatment and behaviour towards the homeless, would be considered persecution if it were aimed at any other group such as East Indians or those of African decent.

Harass: 1) to irritate or torment persistently; 2) to wear out; exhaust; 3) to impede and exhaust (an enemy) by repeated attacks or raids. This is the way the police treat the homeless, except those of us who they cannot identify by merely looking at us – and that is unacceptable behaviour. If they spent as much time on property crimes as they currently do on harassing the homeless, not only would they solve the crimes committed but they would undoubtedly get a reduction in property crimes from deterrence.

The point is that this behaviour towards the homeless community is a waste of police resources that could better be used elsewhere. Again, I would argue that this issue is best – most effectively, efficiently and in terms of the best return (results) for the money invested (cost) – addressed as a social issue and treated in a proactive manner. The Chief Financial Officer, businessman and auditor in me feel appalled by the waste and failure to accomplish anything, often making things worse, I witness in the current systems. Cost/benefit analysis would suggest that we can either change our actions to achieve results or we can go on wasting resources and accept all the costs (crime, homelessness, youth on the streets, etc) we currently accumulate while accomplishing nothing. Choose.

Should you desire to stop wasting your tax dollars do you have any ideas and/or a willingness to be part of the solution?

Copy of the e-mail:

“This senseless pursuit of the homeless is undoubtedly cooler and far easier than getting off their Asses and out of their air-conditioned vehicle in seeking out gang activity or to solve property crimes. Earn the wages by the sweat of their brow? You must be kidding…” Take the opportunity to look around at the homeless of Abbotsford and determine how many of them are criminals. Whether or not they are new to the world of crime or are veterans in stealing and robbing, makes NO difference whether or not they have a home. Look at your brothers and sisters in the tent city and know that some were criminals before they were homeless. Know that each and every night that some of them are out committing crimes against people and property on a regular basis. And know that the police are pursuing, tracking and arresting criminals regardless of there socio-economic status. When the police respond to an armed robbery, a car theft, a break and enter or a shoplifting call; they do not prioritize their response based on whether the perpetrator has an address of not. Know that when crime occurs, the police will do their job to apprehend the offenders. People involved in committing crime come from all walks of life. Whether the impaired driver is a businessman drunk after a few too many or some cracked-out thief who lives on the street makes little difference to the police officer who is putting his or her personal safety in harms way so that they may protect society. Look at the homeless men and women who display a considerable effort every night they go out to steal scrap metal from homes and businesses around Abbotsford. No, I’m not talking the binners or dumpster divers who collect cans or bottles. I’m talking about the hardcore thieves who steal metal to sell so they can buy drugs or whatever. I dare say that if those poors souls could dedicate that much energy to theft and scamming, they could seriously put forth a good effort at a wage-earning legitimate job. That however, would entail being responsible, punctual, sober and honest. Don’t get me wrong…I know that not all homeless are criminals. But a good number of them turn to theft, robbery, break and enters and numerous other crimes. I realize that some homeless have physical disabilities, mental health issues, medical problems and addictions. There are many that suffer in the same way all over the world. If the police respond to an assault call, do you think they will walk away from arresting and charging the assailant if the victim is homeless? No way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say all homeless are criminals, but take a look and you’ll see that they live among you too.

Municipal

Re: Lynne Ganske’s, city employee, letter

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So Ms Ganske feels the citizens of Abbotsford should be delighted that they do not have to pay bribes to get things done? Interesting attitude. However, I do believe that one could make a very strong, cognizant argument that the extravagant wage rates paid city workers in fact represent a bribe. Although many forced to deal with the city bureaucracy may well prefer a system of direct payment of bribes in the belief that this would increase the probability of getting things done.

Ms Ganske speaks of “not uncommon to skip their coffee break or even their lunch hour”. Based on any of the reports of interacting with city workers I have every heard this sounds like an Urban Myth. Which like the tale of the purchase of a new, mint condition corvette in which someone had died for only $300, has a bad odour about it. Perhaps the problem lies in a misperception. The idea behind “keep this burgeoning city functioning smoothly” is that it should function smoothly for the consumers of city services – the taxpayers – not the people who are SUPPOSE to deliver those services.

Ms Ganske states “If we were in tough times”. I guess if you are being paid excessively rich wages and are demanding these wages continue their spiral into the stratosphere the enormous tax rate increases imposed this year and threat of onerous tax rate increases in future do not represent a burden or “tough times”.

The truly repugnant and extremely disturbing statements are “Taxpayers dollars are spent on every imaginable luxury” and “we freely spend on superfluous items”. Does Ms Ganske find these practices outrageous? No, she just calls for “taking care of our municipal workers” on behalf of herself and her fellow employees. There is no suggestion of reforming these unacceptable behaviours; rather Ms Ganske appears only to be concerned with getting a piece of the pork barrel at the expense of the poor, over taxed citizens of the city.

I do certainly agree that Ms Ganske is correct to suggest that “It is time to stop taking a good thing for granted”. Ms Ganske obviously has lost any appreciation for the job security and wasteful city employee wage levels.

It would be satisfying to suggest replacing the current staff so that they could experience time in the real world and perhaps learn something about hard work and delivering value for money in EARNING ones wages. Regretfully this is an impractical idea. Nonetheless her statements make it clear that what is desperately needed at City Hall is not more squandering of taxpayer money but a massive Attitude Adjustment for the entire bureaucratic structure. Clearly the employee change this city has a dire need for is new management to set a clear example and embark on a new path; to demand and spread, from the top to the bottom of our city civil servants, a new attitude of service, a strong work ethic, imaginative planning and development, consideration of the needs of all citizens and solid, frugal financial management of taxpayer dollars.

Homeless

American cities plan to end homelessness within 10 years

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At a June 21 reception hosted by Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, Philip Mangano, chair of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, described a new administrative movement in more than 200 cities in the United States, to begin initiatives that will end chronic absolute homelessness within 10 years. He explained that the idea is predicated on the work of Malcom Gladwell’s book, “The Tipping Point”. It tells us, he said, that “modest resources invested in intelligent action can achieve success when we focus on the result of the investment.” Mangano said that this is equally true in business and social development. Baselines are required to define the problem; benchmarks incrementally define success; best practices (“that is, what actually works”) are applied with a modest but consistently available budget. Over time the objective is achievable. Why are these cities so sure that they can afford to end homelessness in 10 years? Because, he says, they’ve run cost-benefit analyses, and see that they can’t afford not to. In Boston,119 people “on the street” were studied over a five-year period. In that time they were admitted into hospitals a total of 18,000 times, at a cost of $1,000 each just for admission processing (not counting ambulance, police, treatment or medication). In Reno, two policemen tracked the costs of managing some of their most familiar homeless “clients” as they pinballed from services to shelters, jails, hospitals and so forth. They discovered that one person can cost $50,000-100,000 over only a few months. One man, who had been on the streets for ten years or more, had clearly cost the government over a million dollars, with no difference made to his lifestyle. In San Diego, Mangano said, 15 homeless people were followed for 18 months. In that time they cost $3 million in government services: an average of $200,000 per person. “The city fathers, having assumed that homelessness didn’t cost them much at all, were shocked. They realized that they could have rented these people oceanside condos with servants for less than that.” [For details of these cases and the US national initiative see http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060213fa_fact and http://www.usich.gov ] Ad hoc, unco-ordinated crisis intervention is most expensive and least effective, Mangano said. Permanent supportive housing, as a package tailored individually to each client, is less expensive and more effective. The new effort involves a process of identification, outreach, and housing with concurrent wraparound services. There is no transition from a shelter through transitional or second-stage housing; clients are invited to come off the streets, directly into their own apartments. Housed clients are provided with an outreach worker and therapeutic team to help them stabilize and settle, and to make their way over the long term. Mangano said that 20 American federal agencies have now come together as partners on this issue. “Incremental investment that produces results and a return on investment are making a difference. We now have 222 cities involved.” He mentioned the success of the Rough Sleepers Initiative in the UK, in which the number of people sheltering on the street has dropped 75% in five years. (The RSI is recognized as a “best practice” by the UN. See http://www.unesco.org/most/westeu18.htm.) He also cited a 28% reduction in absolute homelessness in San Francisco since that city began its program. Mangano said that the use of sound business planning is a crucial element in the success of these programs. He encouraged the audience “not just to ladle soup or make emergency shelter beds – although you need to keep this going ­ but to plan with an end in mind. Without a business plan things only get worse.” “When modest resources are consistently focussed on intelligent action toward the most visible expression of the big social problem, change becomes possible. Change to a problem that was once deemed intractable reaches a tipping point. This creates a portal to address all the less visible housing issues and others related to them.”