I am saddened to think that Robby Smink is a part of my community. A community that doesn't care about it's homeless etc, is not a community at all. There are a lot of homeless people that USED to have a home Robby. It was called a mental health institution. They used to help keep people on their medications and give them a safe place to be. But then the government listened to PEOPLE LIKE YOU.....and threw all these people out onto the streets. As a kid I used to come to the core and there weren't many people hanging about. There wasn't much begging either. Try to think instead of spewing your hate for awhile. There are people in this country who DO want to work, who DO want a better life. There are people in London who WANT a nicer apartment but can't afford it. Our rents are SKY HIGH, and despite what you may think, welfare rates are LOW LOW LOW. Someone with a family of 5 gets 730 bucks a month of their check for RENT. PLEASE POINT OUT TO ME THE 3 Bedroom apt they can get for 720 in London. If I was to be like YOU I'd say this.....the reason London has gone downhill is all those DAMNED students and the apartment owners who JACK UP the rent to get their profits from those people. If we didn't have a college and university in this city....perhaps we would have more affordable housing. The amount of money this same family of five gets for food is 500 and some odd dollars. CAN YOU feed a family of five on that? The only crime that family has been accused of is having their job stolen from them by China, and being left out in the cold. Their EI ran out while they were working hard looking for work. Here is another factoid for you. Welfare people don't stay QUALIFIED to get welfare unless they are looking for work 140 HOURS a month. If they fail to turn in their reports they can be cut off. If an income statement gets lost by the welfare office...their check is cut off. Oh I can see why people line up by the thousands to get their "free" handout. Because there is NO incentive to work on this system...oh no. A system that constantly humiliates its users and creates a stigma which is hard to wash away is something I'd always want to have.

I think that there does need to be assistant for the homeless, the poor, the disabled. BUT, there needs to be more regulation. Its too easy to take advantage of the system. Many of the people who hang out downtown are "druggies" that simply get their cheque and buy what they can to party, or to re-sell. I'm not saying all are like that, but sadly there are a lot in london.

And there needs to be opprotunity for employment. Unfortunatly london is lacking there at this time. But what would help a lot would creating cheap transportation (buses) to industrial areas where unskilled labour force can be used. Right now it is hard for the homeless/poor to get out there to get those jobs. This will allow those that want jobs to be able to get to areas where jobs are, and will allow employers to creat jobs.

Employers are not going to creat jobs downtown for those who are "unskilled", its going to be out where they have space to build factories and where land is less expensive. And we need to get people out to those areas.

J, good point. I am sure there are many, many people living paycheck to paycheck with one foot out the door. There are also those who depend on things like Child Tax Credit to make ends meet. That is good until the child turns 18, and starts reducing if that child turns 18 after the end of the school year as if all of a sudden it costs less to feed them when they are no longer in school. Odd, the rent doesn't decrease when the child turns 18, nor do they automatically get a job. Another foot out the door....no another two feet or more. I wonder if there is a stat for the increase in OW applications in July? I wonder if that is a contributing factor to so many young homeless. Families may have to make the choice of kicking one out on the streets so the younger kids can still eat. Yup, London surely deserves to be classed as a Compassionate City just like council voted for themselves last night.

riddle me this... how many currently employed people are just one paycheck away from being on the streets? and then what? there but for the grace of God go a lot of people in this city!

yes, the sally ann is the best charity because they are actually willing to touch the "untouchables" and not just give them thanksgiving dinner once a year.

omg Robby, don't make me come in here and defend Mike. Or you for that matter. You don't know his situation. Maybe he has been living in a cardboard box for 25 years, albeit a beige one. And you are in your ivory tower looking down with a sneer. Oddly in this I am more offended by Robby and his holier than thou, than Mike and his racism.

That aside, the point of this suggestion was to help clean up the image of downtown. I guess so people like Robby wouldn't feel dirty going down there and rubbing shoulder with the "unwashed masses". By cleaning up I do not mean forcing the homeless and poor out of the area to yet another area. My intention was to draw attention to the fact they are there because they exist. Homeless and the poor live in a society that could feed the world, if it wanted to. Instead our society is more interested in getting on the map, having bigger shiny buildings than the other cities. We live in a society of shiny trinkets and waste. Heck, even the organizations who pride themselves on helping the needy are paying their CEO's hundreds of thousands of dollars and those who can donate would rather give to them than give a dollar to an individual in need of bread.

For ages and ages the same question has been asked over and over again and nobody has ever come up with an answer. Why can't we all just get along?

Mike, do you know what's pathetic, it's that you think the world owes you subsidized living. You've been living without it for 24 years, so obviously your getting along without it and don't need it for survival.
Get over it and direct your energy to something positive to improve your life instead of whining about what should have been and who else should have to pay for it.
I'm sick of people like you with endless needs. Take responsibility for your own life.
Sincerely, Robby

London's unemployment is above the provincial and national level.

Salvation Army is one of the fairest of charities with the CEO (or whatever they call them) getting about $20K and a place to live. (researched last year, no idea what it is now)
Goodwill Industries CEO's make $100's of thousands a year. The biggest dog had a salary of $838K a year.
I'll be doing an article on this soon. I'll be researching Red Cross and United Way as well. Charities are big business. Nice work if you can get it.
I am not sure of the exact figure these days but places like Value Village who get donations in the name of a charity only pay that charity 20%.

In all of my research I have never encountered any race issues when it comes to community services. Hiring practices, yes, though they cannot say so. But that is all in the name of equality, so I guess it is okay.

Mike, your views read more if you took the racist tone out of it. I for one will skip your posts.

Sorry Mike, you are misinformed. The homeless are not being ignored, they are ignoring their own potential. Did you ever hear of the United way, Salvation Army and countless others that spend millions every year catering to these people. That's not even mentioning how many hundreds of millions are spent by the taxpayers every year providing subsidized housing. And still it's never enough for people like you.

Robby

25,000 people applied for 1,000 jobs at the last McDonald's Job Fair. That's a telling number. Today there were 125? truckers laid off in Lambeth (London).

Oh, there are people who can afford $1000 a month, not me personally. I was just downtown today and the massive gap between rich and poor in London is very evident there.

Ontario's sky-high minimum wage has taken away a lot of jobs. It is harder now than ever to find a minimum wage job, because the few jobs out there are taken by students trying to pay for sky-high tuition.

ok - homesless... i listened to the CBC the other day and heard an 80 something year old woman talk about being "homeless" because her husband is dead and her kids are too busy right. get a job? yeah right. yo! smink. get a grip on reality.

Robby, Robby, Robby...indeed needs are endless. That is called greed. I will say this just one more time and I will type real slow so maybe you can get it.

There are not enough jobs for all the unemployed, even if they were eager to get out and take a job say, cleaning sewers with a straw. There will always be seniors living under the poverty line. There will always be disabled and disadvantaged. Always, Robby, always. It is our duty as humans to look after these people. In part, THAT is what defines you as a Canadian.

But let's go with your concept that the homelsess and poor are just lazy no-lifers who want to feed off the teat of society. Let us assume there are jobs for all and that there will always be excess jobs, even for the seniors, disabled and disadvantaged. If that is the case then there is a major flaw in how our society goes job hunting. So many people have jobs they hate that others would love. So maybe it all just comes down to how people are matched up with their jobs. Perhaps the governments should be finding better ways to get the right people in the right jobs.

In Canada we have the benefits of political freedom,free education, free health care, subsidized housing and all sorts of United way agencies to help those in "real need" like some of the people you mentioned.
You are daily and constantly schooling yourself to accept the level of prosperity that you have OR you are exerting extra effort to get more.
it's getting tiring listening to people blame the "rich" or :"society" for the problems they bring upon themselves by the very actions that they take day in and day out to ensure either their success or their failure.
I think that taxpayers are getting tired of being robed to pay for it all because "needs" are endless and it's becoming a bottomless pit.

So Robby, there is work for everyone? Are YOU hiring? Are you hiring the disabled, the seniors, those in the 50-60 grey area? People with chronic pain? Mental health issues? Please, post your business name and I am sure you will get 1000 applicants for every position.

There have always been the poor and disadvantaged and there always will be. No matter how hard you try to ignore them.

I am sure the majority of homeless did not choose to be there. I am sure the majority of the unemployed want to work.

Why do you want to be enablers for the poor.They should learn to help themselves instead of being coddled into victimhood. There is more opportunity for success in Canada than almost any place on earth. All one has to do is apply their god given talents to something called WORK, instead of basking in their disease which I call EXCUSE-ITIS. Robby

The average wait for social housing in London is 8-9 years, with 4300 families currently on the wait list. In the Community Plan on Housing there is a target for 1000 new units, which is achievable but not enough.

I was trying to recall the "Seniors Buildings" and wondered which would be the most convenient. I forgot about the one on Kent, but figured (if it is still there) the one on Baseline and Wharncliffe is likely the best for local services. Though spread out a bit, that area offers a lot. And yes, I have heard that 241 Simcoe was a trouble spot.

To answer your question about how long it takes to get into social housing, I guess it all depends on your situation. I was told by Sudbury Housing I can have a place around this time next year, which is perfect because I'm going to be attending school there at that time(Fanshawe doesn't offer what I want in London), and I applied last year, so about two years. I think London is about the same for a 'non-emergency' case.

They have adult buildings that are open to pretty much anyone, (you don't want 241 Simcoe, trust me) as well as senior buildings. Three that come to mind are that large one on Kent Street, McNay Street and Hale Street as well.

For a family unit, it takes quite a while. Basically by the time one does open up, your kids will probably be done high school and be looking at going away for school or moving out on their own.

Thanks for the data, Jack.

The next step in that scenario is to have enough jobs for everyone to be trained into, and offer something for those in the grey zone age where jobs are not abundant. If you are say over 50, unskilled and you don't have connections, it can be virtually impossible to find a job.

In other cities they have private landlords say to the local social housing office "I'll give you 30 units out of 120". The landlord wins because he'll always have money coming from that regardless, and people that need a place to live win because they'll get out of the shelters, scummy rooming houses or illegal basement apartments.

Once they go through training as mandated by Ontario Works they'll land a real job, and eventually pay real rent if they make over a certain amount.

The going rate with London Housing is 30% of your before deductions income, up to a max of 500 for a bachelor, or 600 for a 1 bedroom.