Unable to answer a simple question about homelessness

What with my beef with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics from the right side of the spectrum, it always gets unintentionally hilarious reading about the opposition from the left-wing crazies.

This article about the Vancouver homeless problem comes to mind. Bear in mind I have exactly the same contempt for government programs that deliberately help homeless people as I do for government programs that harm homeless people. In this case, however, the whining isn't about government doing something -- its about government doing nothing. Nothing is precisely what I want the government to do about "homelessness".

Anyways, after whining about low income people thrown out onto the streets, there's an awesome comment at the bottom which asks a question I'd never thought of:

Vancouver is becoming an expensive city to live in - this is true. When property becomes valuable it's difficult for anyone to rent rooms for $350 a month. Perhaps homeless people should look to other parts of the lower mainland that can afford to rent rooms for these incredibly low rates. If they are not employed, the relocation shouldn't be the end of the world. An attempt to force hoteliers to rent their rooms below the market value seemingly has communistic overtones. Do you think downtown London has rooms for $350 a night?

Holy crap did the shit hit the fan on that one!

Check out the immediate response:

"If they are not employed, the relocation shouldn't be the end of the world."

Are you serious?
Homelessness isn't simply living on the streets. There are countless other factors that come so strongly into play. I suggest you take a nice stroll through Hastings, and you'll surely see that these people are suffering with much more then sleeping discomfort.

Many are lethally addicted to drugs, and before you can think that all addicts are bad people, consider what circumstances they may have been in that led to this life for them.

Due to closure of mental health institutes, helpless people were tossed to the streets to fend for themselves, being mentally ill, that's no easy task.

I can only imagine the oppressive and challenging fight they must endure everyday.Not to mention some living with physical disablities or the elderly.

All these people laden with horrors of death,thievery,rape,mnemonia,...this tragic list can go on forever.

That being said, how can one expect the handicapped,the insane,or simply the elderly to pick up there meager belongings from the sidewalk and skip off to another city?
Even if by some miracle this is possible, the issue of homelessness remains unsolved..instead it's to become a travelling concern. The solution is not to put them on wheels, but to shelter with roofs, to feed with meals, to heal with medicine, and most of all...help with compassion.

Of course, not everyone can be saved, not everyone wants to be saved and maybe some don't deserve it. But people are people no matter where they reside, and everyone deserves the chance.

I must say, the attitudes and approach that i see towards social issues like these are appalling. Being a teenager, it is frightening to me the detachment exeplified by some adults and the lack of responsibility on our governments part is pathetic.

It's time to stop walking around the homeless, and start walking with them.

That last phrase is hilarious. I'm going to have to say that next time some bum on Jasper Ave harasses me for spare change: "sorry, I'd rather walk around you than walk with you." Pure comedy gold! That being said, how can one expect the handicapped,the insane,or simply the elderly to pick up there meager belongings from the sidewalk and skip off to another city? Even if by some miracle this is possible, the issue of homelessness remains unsolved..instead it's to become a travelling concern. Besides the fact that South Park already addressed this with their typical hilarity, bear in mind that Ryan (the original poster) noted that if homeless people didn't live in one of the world's most expensive cities, they may not have to be homeless. That "meagre amount" of money the government gives them can be better spent elsewhere.

This is really a comment on homelessness in general. Why do cities have such a homeless problem? Because homeless people can beg for change far easier in densely populated areas, and because the city's ability to let you live almost anonymously means that there's no oversight into where these donated funds wind up. Again it was brilliantly mentioned in South Park: once you give a single homeless person anything, all you've done is create a vicious cycle that will soon involve you facing an overwhelming number of people wanting a free ride.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering why in the last comment "lethal" drug addictions and mental health issues are some sort of barrier to moving to a new place.