The talk of a couple posts down moved me to make this search. I was hoping for an easy copy and paste list. Instead I got all most 2m hits.

Millionaires who murder
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I wasn't sure where to put this. So many topics touch on it. Street people, and to the point drug street people. Apparently there is a program called Insite that is very successful with helping drug addicts. Apparently part of what they do is help keep them off the streets. I could pull quotes from the article, but the piece should be read as a whole. It is more about how The Harper Government doesn't really want us to know the benefits of such a program.

I think it would not be that much trouble for council to make way for Insite or clone on a municipal level.

You need to read it. But I warn you, it is a long read. http://bit.ly/jubndC

The income has a lot to say about the attitude. Sure not in all cases, but I am sure the studies would conclude most. Not an exact number, but it's all I got.
I know about poor, but chose a different path. Still poor, but not drinkin, druggin or stealin. I took my poverty and over time became pretty much a recluse. I know how people feel about us out there. Apply for 1000 jobs and be turned down, 1,000 times while everyone calls you a a lazy bum. Eat once a day. Have nervous fits once a month hoping you can make the rent. Walk because you'd rather a loaf of bread than take the bus. The worst period was when my meal of the day was what my young son didn't eat. I know poor.

Most of the poor would just stay inside, away from the derisive sneers if they had an inside to go to. Many wouldn't be screaming and fighting if they weren't hungry. Did you know, that some drugs can take away the hunger (is that why they are gaunt and skinny?) but it also takes away the human and leaves a ghastly shell.

So while you, Mr. Mayor, are sipping your after dinner wine and wondering what you can spend $100 million on, take a walk downtown, EOA, NE London, Ham Road area, 241 Simcoe. Walk anywhere where your first instinct is to say "screw 'em" and you'll see many human places to spend your $100 million here and $100 million there.

If my bleak outlook of The Harper Government comes to pass, the will all be in jail anyways.

They say the economic is broken. They say the electoral system is broken. Even the planet is becoming broken. We as humans are broken too. It all needs to be fixed. From the top down and the bottom up everything needs to be fixed.

Sorry if I spoiled your dinners.

Yes yes yes!!!

I don't as much of a problem with low income people as the behaviour of many of them. The amount of screaming, swearing, and fighting among these people is disturbing. I have traveled to many cities in North and Central America, and London's downtown is one of the worst for this, worse than Toronto as far as I'm concerned.

more.... enforcing the loitering laws would mean fining people who have no money. Or jailing them costing you money. That begs the question, is it better to jail them or help them. That is a rhetorical question. If you pick option 1, see my post below.

I agree with MissBellaVista.

The OP doesn't know those people out there, how they got there and what help they might need. All they see is an eyesore too eradicate. Yes, we need to get them off the corners, the BIG question is how? Poverty is a common cause of crime and drug addiction. The "get a job" rant doesn't hold water. Next time you spit in the direction of a homeless person or even think anything like "scum", know you are a big part of the problem and not even a blip on the map of solution.

I completely agree with Ldnstudent, jd and Jack Tripper if only city hall and the police dept. would get their act together and seriously try to clean the core up!

I also agree with Abe. I think it is ignorant to talk the way the original poster did about these people, because most people who suffer from addictions and crime wind up on that path thanks to poverty. Perhaps if our government gave a crap about the people, something would be done to actually assist them and help them to GROW instead of just shuffling them around. If you want these "hood rats" out of downtown, try doing something about it like HELPING THEM.

Abe is right, we just can not move them off somewhere else. We need to get long term solution to solve the problems.

"Getting rid of" people is not a long-term solution to addressing poverty in our community. We need to have thoughtful discussions about healthier spaces for people experiencing poverty to congregate. A healthy downtown includes people across the socioeconomic spectrum.

I believe their should be something done about the drug dealing & panhandling for cigarettes. I mean how much would it cost to have just ONE police officer standing near R&D all day.

But telling people to avoid the main intersection of the city, especially since it's the largest transit, transfer point in the city is just ridiculous. Also people need to stop complaining because it's filled with low income people, and stop being so ignorant.

You've got my vote! All the smokers are huge problem downtown so don't go there during morning or afternoon coffee breaks or during the lunch hour. What choice do we have to find some decent stores, a smoke free environment and now drug pushers and pan handlers? I know........go to a mall! Not what the downtown businesses want to hear, but if you want us to come downtown......clean it all up!!

Amen.

Getting rid of all the scum and crackheads that have been stinking up downtown for at least the last 20 years is a step in the right direction.