Pre-Olympic bid to house addicts under fire

I realize that there are probably lots of programs out there for drug addicts and the homeless, and yet many of these people choose not to take advantage of these services.

Fine. Fair enough. What are ya gonna do, right?

Even so, this latest short-sighted "let's sweep our unsightly problems beneath the carpet" solution really pisses me off.

It kinda reminds me of how Beijing touched up their Olympics footage to reduce the appearance of air pollution.

It's just another example of what a lame ass fake society we are. We all try so desperately to cover up our problems, instead of accepting the scrutiny we deserve.

Let's face it - no country, city, nor individual is perfect. Why can't we just be honest about our obstacles so we can effectively learn from one another and work together to find realistic solutions. Hiding the issue doesn't make it go away. Drawing attention to it is the only way that progress can be made.

Now, personally, East Hastings scares the shit out of me with all those sketchy zombies everywhere. I don't blame these store owners for being irate. I would be totally pissed off at the government too if they relocated all these junkies to free hotel-style rooms above my business, where they can scare all my customers away, shoot up on the sidewalk, and toss used syringes from the windows above down onto restaurant patios below.

F*ck that!

If the gov't is going to temporarily house addicts upstairs, then they should definitely subsidize the businesses downstairs with reduced rent to compensate their lost revenue. (They currently pay $40/per square foot in rent, and it sounds like several businesses are now facing eviction.)

I also think that if addicts want to live in these apartments, there should be some sort of mandatory rehabilitation program set in place. What is the government's selection process? Are they just handing out room keys to every junkie passed out on the sidewalk? Loading them up in wheelbarrows and dumping them off? 

Friggin' awful...

And that's all I've got to say about that.


Pre-Olympic bid to house addicts under fire