In Vancouver, there are a lot of homeless people. I want to say that like the other great cities of the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver doesn't have poor neighborhoods anymore, but the homeless almost constitute a genuine enclave onto themselves, occupying several square blocks adjacent to Chinatown. This place is supremely dirty and by most accounts, dangerous. The indigent and addicted come here from all over Canada because the winters on the coast are so comparatively mild. And it is a beautiful city... homelessness might be a little less painful if you get to look at surrounding majesty of mountains and water everyday. I'd just camp in the park... there are small scraps of coastal forests quite near downtown... one of them has a nude beach attached. While I haven't any time living their lives, I tend to think they are comparatively easier than their compatriots in most other parts of the world. They seem to be very loosely policed, which is always helpful. Plus, the locals seem to be sympathetic, or rather more apathetic to their continued existence. I must relay an anecdote to drive this point home.
I was standing on the stairs in my host's backyard when I saw a very shady looking fellow pull his shiny new bike (almost certainly not his) into their neighbor's garage across the street. Since he looked like shit and started looking into to small red Hyundai parked inside, I called Rebecca over and asked her if she knew this guy. She told me that he and a friend had been squatting in the garage for a while now and no one had done anything about it. She called over to him “Hey, you don't live there!”, but he paid her no mind. She then pointed out to me that he and his compatriots had built a small shelter in the back corner of the garage, using a old truck's camper top and some canvas, materials they had found in the garage. The man had by then disappeared into the structure and reemerged and left a few minutes later.
I was in sheer disbelief. It took a number of explanations emanating from a number of different people's perspectives for me to be brought understand how this could happen. Where else have you seen a homeless shanty constructed in a garage in a middle class neighborhood right next to the occupant's automobile? Where else could this happen? Granted, the residents were young, dumb renters and the house was slated for destruction sometime in the future. Still, I found it just amazing. So, we were still talking about the issue ten minutes later when one of the roommates arrived home on bike. We called down to her and related what we had seen. This was the first time the neighbors had really communicated, so add to the list of contributing factors in this case a lack of communication among neighbors. We determined that the indeed car was hers and she knew full well about the homeless squatters. After we advised her to lock her bike up tight because the guy was almost certainly currently riding a stolen one, she confessed to us that her house had recently been broken into. Amazingly, so had my host's. The losses in both cases were quite modest, but they still warranted calls to the police, who when summoned and made aware that there were homeless squatters (read: highly likely suspects) living in an adjacent structure, had made no effort to dislodge them. In fact, the police had actually encountered these suspects once when summoned and had reportedly made no effort to dismantle their structure, search for stolen goods, or cite them for trespassing.
I was so amazed that such a situation could be allowed to occur that I pressed for action. I mentioned that the shiny blue bike the suspect had rolled in on looked far too nice to be his own. After my host had told her neighbor that she too had been broken into, I began to scheme on ways to keep the homeless out without constant vigilance or the support of the police. I thought about using broken glass (like pigeon sticks) or pouring ammonia on the man's bedding, but everyone concluded that both were far too cruel and the latter may have posed a fire hazard. So, following this spirit of problem solving, we went down to help inspect the shanty and see what deterrents could be applies. Immediately upon inspection, some of the stolen goods were found, along with a good number of used needles. Stereo speakers were the best item recovered as the smaller, more easily pawned electronics had already been liquidated. So, the evidence was clear. These people had been using this as a base for getting high, sleeping, and stealing from surrounding houses.
Yet, given what we now knew to be true, one roommate firmly declined to help dismantle the structure because he was frightened of the needles and thought the police would deal with it – even though they already had shown they wouldn't through past encounters. So, my hosts and I made the effort to drag the camper trailer outside ourselves, depriving inhabitants visual cover for their illicit activities. The police were again summoned, but did not arrive until eight hours later, at which point they deferred the investigation and report filing for a later date. The homeless man had already returned earlier in the day, but did not feel the situation to be sufficiently threatening for him to need to remove his stinking bedding and belongings from the scene.
I simply can't imagine this kind of thing happening in the United States, though surely it has before. At times like these, I often feel like pointing and laughing at the Canadians. You weak kneed liberal saps! Embrace American-style confrontation and violence, either by beefing up your police state or growing the balls to beat back those who assail your property! Still, I can't say that “our way” is any better. If these homeless men had been beaten, arrested, and jailed, what good would it have accomplished? Unless they were rehabilitated therein and released model citizens, it is unlikely that the expense of policing them would be offset by the small costs of theft the homeless force their neighbors to endure or pay to guard against. It isn't so simple as rehabilitation therapy either. British Columbia has recently closed many of its provincial mental health facilities, which forced a lot of these people out onto the street. The housing market is tight and expensive and low paid jobs or government welfare disbursements might not be enough to keep these folks off the street.
This is an entrenched social problem all big, nice cities have to deal with and I can't say Vancouver is truly different than any other. Still, I think if I were homeless, I would choose Vancouver as the best place to lack a home. So, I've come up with a series of ironic slogans I'd like to see sold around the city to make light of this situation. Here are a few ideas... feel free to submit your own.
Homele$$ in Vancouver, BC
The world's highest standard of living... regardless!
Homele$$ in Vancouver, BC
Come on over... the more the merrier!
Homele$$ in Vancouver, BC
Venice Beach doesn't even compare!
