Longish La Presse piece by Michèle Ouimet asks whether the homeless can be helped off the street – not surprisingly, the answer is “sometimes, but it takes concerted effort and funding.”
She mentions that the successful “Chez soi” program is going to lose its funding in 2013. Here’s a clue to the government: nobody, not even people accustomed to the street, likes to feel that while they have a warm private place to sleep this year, it’s anyone’s guess if they’ll still have it next year. Itinerants are victims of instability – adding to it is only going to make things worse.
David Tighe 14:29 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
It would be a disgrace to abandon the program which can do so much good for people. The amount it costs per itinerant per year (I assume) is only 18 000$ which I find reasonable although the article calls it ‘ énorme”. What kind of society do we live in which can consider such an expenditure excessive?
ant6n 15:01 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
@David
Isn’t that much more than welfare?
I and most people I know live on less than 18K a year.
Of course that doesn’t include any treatment etc., but you’d have to explain the expense to make it not seem ‘enorme’.
Kate 15:20 on 2012/01/27 Permalink
ant6n, I think that includes some amount of social work – I imagine that this is like any kind of bureaucracy in that at every stage somebody gets a cut. I would be startled if even half that sum finds its way directly into the hands of the client being helped. But it does cost money to rent flats and keep an eye on people who have trouble keeping themselves organized.