"out of hand" Vancouver's Homelessness on East Hastings - Homeless Crisis on Downtown Eastside
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- čas přidán 20. 05. 2023
- Almost 2 months since a series of decampments on DTES by the City's and VPD, costed City's/taxpayers an arm and a leg, the Vancouver's homeless issue did little improve or not much change. To my point of view, there are more people laying on the streets than before and the City's crew can't keep up with all the garbage or these guys keep littering more. Is Vancouver as “hell on earth” as Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre depicted? But don't forget, BC recorded roughly 200 lives lost to toxic drugs per month. Please leave your comments how to solve this complex problem.
The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homelessness, poverty, crime, mental illness and sex work. It is also known for its strong community resilience, history of social activism, and artistic contributions.
#explorevancouvercanada
Recorded on Sunday May 21 2023 at 8 00 AM
Real life in Canada - Life in Canada - Explore Vancouver Canada - Vancouver Walking Tour - Life in Vancouver - Living in Canada - Vancouver Lifestyle - Vancouver Walk - Life on E Hastings Street.
Homeless isn’t scary, but hopeless is. Most of them are hopeless, some suffer from extreme mental illness, some are completely devoured by drugs and alcohol. You will see tons of OD and see them laying infront of a business unresponsive, calling 911 won’t work, rarely anyone will respond. You can’t even go close to them, you Never know what happens next, could be a knife, or a poisonous, infected needle. This isn’t a Vancouver thing, this is across entire Canada.
Canada is too soft on drug control and drug sellers , learn from China, learn from Singapore learn from Asia. Toxic drugs ruins lives.
Just goes to show how higher taxes and "social democracy" never helps the bottom people. It just slows the economy, nothing else.
Exactly, we cannot live with these drugs, that's not an option. But a lot of politicians want to make that one.
China is selling cheap drugs to North America, and are a big part of the problem.
US and Canada are selling this "lifestyle" to Europe, so good luck with that. They will never learn anything from Asia.
It shows capitalism doesn't work for the common people! The Canadian Government is too busy kissing USA's ass which also has a homeless problem due to capitalism!
After arriving in Canada, I lived and worked in Vancouver from 2018 to 2021 and the only way for me to commute (over an hour) to work involved transferring from Skytrain to bus on Granville by Hudson’s Bay. Each day I dreaded the 10 to 15 minute wait for the bus as homeless people would shoot up just a few steps from where I was waiting in line at the bus stop. And defecate and urinate. And scream. Next to me. In the gloomy, incessant rain. The damp air pungent with pot smoke. One guy (naked from the waist down) yelled at me and called me a b*tch because I was standing too close to a trash can (that had a few aluminum cans in it) that was “his” and pushed me out of his way. While waiting for a connecting bus. It was like a madhouse. Or purgatory. The DES problem is spreading throughout more and more of Vancouver. I thought to myself, “I’m paying HOW MUCH for rent? . . . so that I can live this kind of life?!” In the end, I quit my job and packed up as soon as lockdowns ended, and took my family and hightailed it to Calgary. No regrets. Vancouver might have been a livable city once, but IMHO it’s a place now better avoided.
DAMN!!!!!! Sincerely happy that you and your family were able to relocate.
Thank you for revealing the truth. I almost migrated to Vancouver.
Good for you my fellow calgarian. Hopefully you learned your lessons, and stop voting ndp.
@@MrRight0930 Ha! Never have, never will.
You just described San Francisco
The more I look at scenes like this the more I think possibly the beginning of a true worldwide zombie apocalypse.
It’s not worldwide, but just the west. The rest of the world is doing quite well since they actually punish drug dealers
They're not going to last long.
Nah. Just North American. I've never seen such a scene anywhere here in Northern Europe. If i see one single homeless/drug addict in my city it's an uncommon occurrence.
@@tenettttt there's a few hotspots in Europe and the UK but yeah nothing like this USA problem
@@seasonedbeefs True but nothing to this extent.
As a mother it breaks my heart to see so many broken people that were once someone's baby. This country is not helping anyone. There are so many problems across our whole nation and it is definitely not the country I grew up in at all anymore.
How long ago did this sort of thing start appearing in Canada?
@@Hereford1642 Out in Vancouver its been well over 25 yrs now. There's been quite a few meth deaths one being the son of my best friend. It was so hard to believe. But it's happening just about everywhere across Canada now in pockets of almost every province for past 12-15 yrs or so. I live in Southern Ontario and the homeless issues are a HUGE problem, which leads many to desperation and then to drugs. My heart goes out to so many being affected by these evil people running the world. If they wanted to stop this they could but they think ppl are disposable. They've spend 10yrs discussing the housing issues where I am and now said they had to spend more time and $ to discuss it further. This is NOT the country I grew up in, not by a long shot.
You need to block that all out - not healthy. These people are terminally lost. Focus your compassion and love on the people around you. There's nothing you can do.
@@ssss-df5qz What's not healthy is this kind of ignorant thinking it's exactly why these people are here. Thinking they have less value than anyone else is wrong! I know ppl that have recovered but they need help. There are many things that can be done to help but we need to force the govt hand to do things with our taxes besides lining their own pockets!
You think this country doesn't help? So many money sent to Ukraine so the best thing these people can do is to get Ukrainian citizenship. Sorry for my sarcasm
I was in Vancouver about 10 years ago. You could see this was just starting to happen. The Western World is doomed.
Greetings from Taiwan.Nope, Western world ain't doimed . We people around the world needs to stand together to get rid of the cabal ruling .Our elections here were rigged ,too.
Truer words were never spoken !
Don't worry, your Zionist controlled government can give more money to Izrahell and Ukraine this way
Most of this people are from newfoundland
The money that could have helped Canadians was confiscated and given to a foreign government
That is tragic. That looks like hell. That looks like a nightmare. Filthy streets full of broken people. How can that be possible in a rich country in these times? That is the most depressing footage of that kind of misery I've ever seen.
Thank Trudeau for looking at any LGBTQWERTYUIOP+ nonsense rather than this. Guy should be hanging from a tree at this point...
First it's look like a nightmare but everything here is normal....nothing wrong.
" How can that be possible in a rich country in these times?"
Made possible by the social-justice leftists.
@@machinesnmetal That is exactly why I work from Aegean coast of Turkey with relatively ZERO crime for Canadians, their money is a small fortune here, yet the life here is a small fortune for them. :) As long as internet connection is a thing that persists, Canadians can't do the jobs we do half a planet away. As long as our currencies in the 3rd world stay shit, yet we can be on par with those Westerners in our professions. They can pay 1/5 of what they should pay in Canada to us and we be happy cuz what we need to survive and thrive as white collar middle class here in our countries is relatively that much. That much is enough for a car and a house mortgage here. Canadians should consider migrating to Balkans, Turkey and such WITH their ongoing ONLINE bussinesses if they have them. Thus they will also enjoy what we enjoy as long as things stay the way they are.
@@machinesnmetal yeah people not realizing how cheap food is in the 3rd world. Like they pay the same Canadian prices
This is not a homelessness problem..., this is a huge drug addiction problem. This people are on the street because their addictions made them incapacitated to work and to have a normal life. Their interest and concern is not to have a place to sleep at night but how they are going to get their next fix of drug.
They are included in the same category
I believe this issue is more of a societal problem than an individual problem.
They made the choice, now if that means to dissappear then , bye and don't let the door hit ya on the way out!
The issue is 1 bdr rent is 2600 CAD and minimum wage is also 2600
@@ogs_Boga1900 the issue is a bunch of lazy fn druggies not working !
Growing up in Europe, we absolutely idealised Canada. All the documentaries, programs and John Denver songs described a wonderful, clean, idyllic life where everyone was kind and spent their time piling autumn leaves and treasuring the beauty of their land. The day came when I was finally able to realise a childhood dream and travel to this big Country, landing in Vancouver and being confronted with streets of zombie-like addicts and drunks, tbroken bodies living in piles of trash, overdoses happening in real time, was a jolt to the senses. I found the same as I traveled across the country: people too drunk to walk by 9am in Whitehorse (a small town I visited for my love for the works of Jack London, now cluttered with domestic abuse and rehab centres), first nation folks queueing to shoot up in the toilets in a Thunder Bay library while the staff looked away, a guy dying on the floor of a Walmart bathroom in Nanaimo (I alerted staff and first responders were there in three minutes), homeless camps in every city. open syringe use in parks, and on and on. Folks everywhere told me things had become markedly worse since fentanyl swept up like a dark wave from the U.S, bringing a huge increase in addiction and crime. However, Canada was and remains a special country with far more beauty, quality of life and positive aspects than bad. Life is what you make it and I found plenty of people piling those leaves, loving life and their children, being kind and generous.
John Denver was an American.
@@mr.woowoo8826 No way, really!? Of course I know he was American, but guess what, he wrote songs about Canada. Peace out.
Jucinda Trudeau has done a great job, the entire country has been completely ruined.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I still haven't got the answer. Wtf drug is it that makes people like this?
I lived near Hastings and Cordova in the late 90’s. It wasn’t good then and it’s 10x worse now. This city’s government has made an absolute disgrace of it with their so-called “harm reduction” policies. What a mess,
If they did ,t have harm reduction settings, clean needles, they would be sharing needles and more hiv and other diseases would make every thing even worse. It seems like society are sitting on the edge. Either have forced clean up against their will, or give them safe drugs for free so there is no crime and overdoses. But don,t sit on the fence and let this happen as it is happening in the whole of America. I have seen addicts who were finally sent to jail for 6 months after 20 or 30 charges of stealing and 5 years of nothing happening. They got off drugs after 6 months in jail and they say, why didn,t you do this to me 5 years ago.
having a homeless crisis and opening the floodgates for migrants. We need to house our people first
@@expansionone Immigrants come and go to work to build this country. Homeless do drugs. The immigrants will pay taxes to help the druggies.
Give more free drugs and you'll see a worse picture
I worked there 15 years ago and it was bad when I was there but yea it's gotten way worse. It's the same problems and behaviour but just a lot more of it. It was scary working there back then.
This is not a homeless crisis: its a drug addiction crisis.
Yea I know people who are or were temporarily homeless they weren't all mentally ill. Just couldn't find an affordable apartment or lost their job and wasn't able to find another. Not sure why people are using the term homeless for drug addiction.
wrong, it's economic. People need hope for a future, that's a decent job and a place to live and food on the table etc.. Homelessness is the result of a problem same with addiction is a result of a problem. Why did someone get addicted? why did someone become homeless? Addicts become homeless, homeless become addicts but how did they get to that stage?
Ppl looking for a way out
Mental illnesses is the problem and the addictions to drugs is them self medicating, there is no help closed all facilities and sent them to the streets survival of the fittest, attitude of sink or swim!
Justin's answer is more free drugs. Talk about uncommon sense.
and encouraging euthanasia. liberal and ndp solutions
Just got back from a holiday in Canada. Spent a week in Vancouver and we walked into the downtown eastside at night and literally felt like we'd wandered into a horror movie. These poor people have been completely failed by the government. I've never seen such open drug taking on such a massive scale. Apparently 7k people live in this part of town, most of whom having mental health issues compounded by addiction. They're like ghosts, completely forgotten and with no hope of help. Vancouver should be ashamed.
Vancouver needs to clean up this mess , you can see they put no effort into a clean city
This is not a homeless crisis, its a mental health crisis that is compounded by drug addiction and homelessness.
Every country has mental health issues. It is the system issue.
Social distress leads to drug addiction, which in turn leads to homelessness.
Someone thinks this is more like a systematic problem.
@@ExploreVancouverCanada There is a capitalist angle too as well as exploitation. Systematic. If you need help you have to ask if it is not enough to live this happens.
@@internetcensure5849 so does a government who is legalizing hard drugs!
i cant believe how realistic this episode of the walking dead is
I call....living dead.
This is incredible. I could never imagine living in a city like this. The West is dying. Thank you God that I live in Eastern Europe.
Please don't mistake one deeply troubled neighbourhood for an entire city...
I've been in Vancouver 2 weeks ago. I can't understand how a modern civilization can left behind so many people. It's distressing.
Wait until you're 2 years in, you'll be as desensitised as the rest of us.
its called liberalism
How can a responsible government allow its people to die of drugs on the streets? It is outrageous, and totally unacceptable.
Go out there and help them then.
@esrever gnireenigne Fair game for the opium wars.
@esrever gnireenigne A classic canadian solution to every problem. It is all China's fault. Problem solved.
You come here and call 911 and see what's going on. Nothing we could do, including cops, city's crew, volunteers all over the place. Hank Reuters knows how.
Waiting for some politicians to answer you comment.
I was there 60 years ago when that area was a thriving bustling part of Vancouver, but that was a time when people bore responsibility for their own actions, now everybody is a victim
the whole planet changed in 6 decades, Mister Hill.
100%..just read the comments, why doesn't the government do this or that..its always the government that has to do something, never the individual.
@@blobtv7444 That's a simplistic view of a complicated problem. The issue spans beyond just 1 individual. Obviously there are systemic issues involved. Hoping that every single individual pulls themselves up by their bootstraps will never solve this crisis. It requires a community which naturally involves the government.
@@blobtv7444 You sure enjoy gaslighting don't you?
Quiet grandpa, nobody cares about your outdated view.
Saw this in person recently on a vacation to Vancouver. It really looked like a horde of zombies on the street.
I live in philadelphia in the usa. We have a neighborhood named kennsington. There are many others but this is our worst. It has been an open aired drug market since the eighties. With homelessness, menataly ill, violence and flat out lawlessness, It just steadily gets worse and worse and it looks exactly like this. So sorry to see this happening to our neighbors in canada and from what i have read in Europe as well. Not to sound hopeless and grim but buckle up. From what i've seen here in philly there is no fix, none that our government and elected officials are willing to spend money on anyways. Good luck, cause is gonna get worse.
Same over here, there is Nothing they could do.
Stop voting for parties which brainwash people. This wouldn't happen if your country was ruled by Churchill, Thatcher or that guy whom all the media hate.
European here, no city here compares to this, I barely even see homeless people !
@@hi1is I am jealous. While I know this video here is a different country but here in the United States it is truly disgusting that my countries leaders allowed things to get this bad. I have been lucky to visit many places in this world through my life. Peurto Rico, Canada, Amsterdam, Moscow, Armenia and some others and I have never seen anything like what I see and have seen in my country.
I grew up in Vancouver. I moved away when I was about 21. Haven’t been living in Vancouver for over 30 years and I have to say when I was younger it was never this bad this is disgusting like it’s not the world that’s crazy it’s people are crazy and it’s getting worse.
You should revisit your city, just ignore these 4-5 blocks.
Ummm. Vancouver needs mental health shelters to take them in and triage them and wean them off drugs. Leaving them on the streets is no solution... This is frightening, and very bad for the businesses in this area. To have this next to Vancouver's downtown area is obscene. Why the inaction? Put them in a shelter. Society can debate what to do next afterwards. But first, shelter them.
that violates their free will if they dont want to go into a shelter. and the shelters are private non profit businesses, meaning the govt. cant force them to take in people who are violent or high, or if they get over capacity limits. even during emergencies, they still have to turn a certain percentage away because their full.
@@garconerproduction3046 They have free will? Their mental faculties for sound judgement has been overridden by their addiction a long time ago. They need to be sheltered and given a bed. This is better than sleeping outdoors on the pavement. Letting them be exposed to the elements, that is inhumane.
This is a complex issue, and I don't know where is the right directions Laws vs Rights. Every time Government/City's/Cops did something, nothing turned out nicely at all...more disturbances, tensions, chaos. BC has declared Overdosed Emergency many years ago and lost roughly 10k lives and the numbers keep counting.
The bigger the CRISIS the bigger the $budget$ for all the players ... a $budget$ increase tool for the Vpd ... Taxpayers are getting played big time ...!
@@ExploreVancouverCanada its really not a complex situation. Almost every one of them committed a crime and didnt get held accountable. Forced detox in a jail is the answer. No more free drugs and drug hubs in middle of nowhere and not downtown where babies are 24/7 is the answer. not so complex.
This is both shocking and heart breaking.. How can the Mighty USA and Canada let its countrys and its own people suffer in this way?
I dont think prayers are enough to save this situation.
But I will pray for these poor people anyway🙏❤
Liberalism and progressivism
@@St4rTr3v1Ut10n this situation does not favour progress and while I respect peoples rights, addiction and mental health issues warp people's thinking and leads to behaviours that will ultimately kill the person and drag society with it.
I don't know what the answer is but it seems not nearly enough is being done.
The amount of wealth USA and Canada have, they could definitely do more to help those people and this situation.
@@Dubforlife.too busy housing and welcoming in millions of immigrants to care about the Canadians that have fallen through the cracks .
Russia was supplying everybody with cheap resources but now it stopped
This is the end result of living a godless lifestyle, and s.i.n. = self.induced.nonsense.
For the wages of sin is death. The Bible doesn't fk around with warnings and dire consequences of living a godless life. This is how people end up who scoff at all that "God sh!t."
Ich war in den 80ern in Vancouver... Es war eine solch schöne Stadt. Nette Leute und eine ganz tolle Atmosphäre 😢
In all seriousness......NONE of us asked to be born, we come into this world as innocent beautiful babies NOT knowing the challenges in life we will face nor the paths we will have to walk. SHAME on Vancouver's government and other cities that allow such an ALARMING rate of homelessness and drug use with little to no help. At the end of the day, we are all human!
They are helping with free drug supply... it's like helping these people digging Graves for themselves...
@@MrRight0930 ....I did not know that. Thanks for sharing the information. This is a VERY CRAZY and EVIL world that we live in.
Injection sites help preventing hospital overflow and medical budget
@@kellynorvell5714 THAT INFO IS NOT TRUE! The reason why a very select few have handed out drugs for free is because it is tested and has no fentynal. They are working towards seeing if safe, tested drugs will curb the overdose crises. These are fringe groups. They are desperate people who are tying to make change, many whom have lost loved ones to the poison that's in almost all the street drugs now.
The disinformation in these threads is appalling.
@@MrRight0930 that's not true. this is disinformation. see comment below.
There is not a pain free solution to addiction. This is a lesson that not only the afflicted need to know but "nice" "kind" "compassionate" people who have paved a road to hell with good intentions.
The people of Vancouver VOTED for this by voting for Leftists. El Salvador cleaned itself up by voting in a tough on crime President who stopped making excuses. This will get worse as long as soft-headed men and liberal women keep voting as they have been voting.
Euthanasia is pain free apparently, and I hear legal in Canada now??
Thank your local MP and Gov't for this issue, keep voting them in!
I went there from Australia in 2022 November it was terrible....scared to go outside on my own at night after i was followed by a group of scary looking dudes. Everything was also extremely expensive
I left way earlier than i wanted to
Ahh-but oh so colourful hey?
I'm luckily able to get my Australian citizenship and planning to move there from Vancouver. Every city has problems but for me Vancouver has gone too far and now rent is insane and wages so low. Just not worth it. I have lots of extended family in Australia and have visited and have decided my life will be better there. My family lives in a few different cities so I'm just at the point of deciding which one.
Its so overrated its laughable .
It is heartbreaking. BC needs to study other countries, like Finland, that successfully addressed their problem of homelessness. Thank you for your courage to show both sides of Vancouver, the beauty and the challenges to overcome.
The drugs are the problem. We need stricter laws. Nobody forced these people to take the drugs.
@@annab2717 I agree with you that drugs are a contributing problem but the choices these people have and the ability to make better choices are not as clear cut.
If you stop giving them handouts/// problem solved.
@@hankreuters9191 you seem upset that the homeless people are receiving help for free. I can understand it, especially if you have to work hard to make a living. It doesn't seem fair. But think of it this way, if you had a broken arm and were expected to lift heavy items as part of your job, you obviously would only injure yourself more. I'd be there in the lineup, along with others protesting your employer's unfair demands. Before you can lift those boxes, you would need help to recover. Removing 'handouts' is like denying first-aid, because that's all that it is. $500/month is not enough for housing, food, and medical expenses. They are expected to look for a job to qualify for assistance. Most give up and end up on the streets. It's not everybody's life story, but it is of many. Hank, why don't you do a documentary, getting their stories? I'd watch it, and share it with many others.
@@tessapiotrowskikristensen8058 They money they get doesn't go to housing food or medical expenses. Just drugs. The system is a giant enabler and people like you their mouth-piece.
Vancouver has turned into another Kensington in Philly , so sad and look at them it was an open air drug market just like Vancouver..Sad that the Vancouver I grew up in has turned to this and the only ones to blame are the government, and closing down RiverView years ago.. No help for the mental illness
Vancouver's Kensington neighbourhood is pretty nice. But we are close to Kensington ave.
It is spreading to UK and EU... In 17th century China was forced to open up Opium market to the Brits and the west then Chinese were called " Sick man of East Asia"..Karma indeed !
...first is to stop drug use, and alcohol use. Then it is to check the mental illness you are talking about.
Its fine bro. You havent even tried it.
@@dianem7677 first ur need to know that alco is a drug too
Some of those people really need urgent help..the Canadian government has a moral duty to help them..instead of sending tens of millions of $$$ to other countries.
"If you build it, they will come". These people are concentrated in one area precisely because of government support for their lifestyle choice. They are given free food and lodging, with no strings attached. In the end, it's a dream for dealers, and a recruiting tool to suck more people down the drain. Tough love used to be a tool for family to stimulate change, but if government picks up the slack when family make a tough decision, it is worse than useless.
Government need to keep the sick off the street. No argument.
The government is partly responsible for this.
We want all Vancouver neighbourhoods look similar but Not like this.
I'm here from the Government, I'm here to help.
...most of them are not sick, they need to stop using drugs. It can be done. Very hard to do it but it can be done.
I live in a smaller city in Southern Ontario with about 200,000 people & its starting to be like this here too!
it's getting out of hand with a lot of people doing messed up drugs & ending up on the streets because of addictions.
wish there was a simple quick fix for the problem!
people deserve better than to end up living like this.
I hear you. London, Ontario has more and more open syringe use in the parks, which are then discarded on the ground where kids and dogs might step on them. I was walking the river path one time and spotted a guy sat on a bandstand, tourniquet on his arm, injecting himself. He gave me a dirty looked and said 'What!?' as if I were the unreasonable one.
Sounds like Hamilton
@@AllisonYYZ everywhere is looking like this as of late !
@@skylinerunner1695 It's sad to hear that. In my country, Russia, during its collapse in the 90s, it was also similar. Now you will not see this. I hope your situation improves!
Stop voting for parties which brainwash people. This wouldn't happen if your country was ruled by Churchill, Thatcher or that guy whom all the media hate.
I'm a life long New York City resident. I work in a Social Services job that requires that I travel to some very unsafe areas. I have never seen anything to equal what this video shows. Perhaps decriminalizing possession of small amounts of hard core street drugs wasn't the best decision.
There are plenty of places like this in the US. Like Kensington Avenue in Philly.
try pennsylvania and los angeles etc. and other us cities 100 times worse
This is what ''compassionate but clueless decision makers" create. There is a reason why it's getting worse every year... Where is the compassion for people around who are getting robbed, assaulted and live in fear? where?
Carry a weapon and learn self defence. Only option left
It's not Compassion to let them Suffer, this is the"Modern Western Lifestyle"
Wisdom would help them to a better Life, which can be more painful at first...
@@StandOnGuard4Thee Its literally illegal to carry a weapon for self defense in canada. This isn't the US. If you make any statement about having or using a weapon intended for 'self defense' to the cops you will be arrested on the spot
All this legal drugs, no arresting bla bla bla is from a bunch of middle age women crying on the prime ministers doorstep saying my son died of fentanyl alone is his apartment, because he was too ashamed to get help because of the stigma of drug use, So our leader put all these new laws in place making it easier for addict's to get help but the prime ministers and his cronies have no idea just how strong this fentanyl is and did not take that into consideration when the bill was passed so now opposite is happening, those young men died in their homes not from stigma, but from the plain simple reason that the drugs are just too strong making them refuse treatment because they are so afraid of the pains in their bodies they will get while in withdrawal mode so they avoid it at all costs and eventually they loose their jobs and homes and live like this, poisoning their minds to the point that even near death from overdosing does not even faze them until that one day when that last needle does them in..
compassion causes this. Leftists have compassion that is ALWAYS misdirected. Instead we could create a healthy economy but our leftist government creates mental illnesses. Notice on sth left there's a mental illness epidemic. The leftist philosophies all cancel each other out and all you have left is nihilism. The lack of morals also kills them. Now leftists have created the government assisted dying. that's their solution now. It's always an anti life solution.
I feel bad for the small businesses that can no longer function as a result of the side walk campers. Customers are not going to wade through that mess to enter your store. You can't do any kind of business in such an environment except sell drugs.
A lot of people are paying a price for this.
It's an open air prison.
@@user-xm3qu3mp4p Almost poetic and horribly real.
The junkies shut down Army & Navy a few years ago by continually stealing from it. Now on Hastings the “convenience” stores cater to the junkies by selling them their dope pipes.
Then why the hell did they vote in councils and local governments that allowed this ?
How on earth does this happen in what is supposedly a rich country? Where is the government?
Geez… this is shocking. 🤯I heard the drug problem is getting serious in the US but now Canada, too?
And here we have the "compassionate" casualties of Vancouver's experimental government... extremely tragic.
"Experiment" is correct
This problem existed long before decriminalizing drugs.
Looks the same as it did in the 1980's. It never gets better, and it never will.
The most effective option is to re-establish Mental Hospitals like Riverview as many of the people in these areas have mental illness and simply cannot function on their own. When the BC government slashed mental health funding years back, most of these individuals found themselves in prison, provincial or federal, in the absence of mental hospitals. Jail is not the appropriate place for many of them, but currently that's where they end up because there is nowhere else for them. I retired from CSC last year.
BC closed Riverview to save millions but spending more to clean/keep tidy E Hastings.
What is CSC?
Spot on. As a compassionate society, we need to care for those citizens among us who are unable to do so. I am a stake holder in this. I would suggest we all are. My son suffers from mental health and addiction problems. Upon his discharge from Victoria General Hospital a few weeks ago, he was given a bound booklet: "STREET SURVIVAL Guide. 2022. greater victoria coalition to end homelessness. hope has found a home." He also left with a tent given to him by a social worker. My son has been in the mental health system for decades. Our family kept him housed until nearly 4 years ago, when we were no longer able to do so. He has deteriorated, lost hope, and endures untold suffering at the hands of of poor BC government policies.
@@maureenmellott5738 Thank you for sharing your story, which I suspect is not unusual. I agree that people who are incapable of caring for themselves need to be cared for. I want to know more about how this responsibility shifts from the family to the government. Can you talk about that?
@@MK-cc5ve it's too much to ask families to take care people with mental issue. They are not trained to take care these people, they are not equipped to deal with such disease, nor are they funded most of the time.
Unbelievable this city has been trashed like so many others, is this the future of society
As a European this looks like a damn zombie apocalypse! I can't believe this is Vancouver now.. visited that place 18 years ago and it was beautiful then. You really do get what you vote for.
It is not the entire Vancouver, it is Just Downtown Eastside one street which is Hasting Street. The rest of Vancouver is very nice and livable.
There are so many Canadians who are addicted to drugs here, and it is hard for the Provincial government to end this problem. The cost of living in this city is very high and with high immigration.
They are fixing this issue in every possible way, they can do it. Tents and drugs addiction are not as high anymore, as they used to be in 2015 and 2017.
It's only a few blocks geez. Don't European cities have skid rows??
I live in Ontario Canada. Up until a few years ago I always wanted to go see Vancouver. I thought of it as the "fancy" one out of the provinces. The beautiful province that everyone wants to go visit. Not anymore!! It looks like Kensington down there now. To let Vancouver die like that is such a tragedy. The homeless drug addicts are taking over every city, every sidewalk, every public park. Doesn't matter where you go...there they are shooting up. You can't even take your kids out anymore to spend the day outside enjoying the public spaces. There aren't any....its like the Zombie apocalypse.
EAST side of Vancouver has been like this since the late 90's nothing new here.
@@markamd1 I didn't know that.I only started hearing about the East side the last few years. It's awful. Don't want to tour around down there.😳
Not as bad as you described. just ignore DTES, the rest is nice.
@@ExploreVancouverCanada 👍👍
@@ExploreVancouverCanadaWhole downtown is terrible, Granville, Seymor, Chinatown, even Yale Town has been looking sketchy lately
Thank you for anyone taking actions to improve our lives. Keep up the good work.
Of course, we all want better lives.
We all fight for Truth - Justice - Freedom = We need the return of President Trump - ASAP -
the Commander in Chief of Alliance Military Forces who has been working with Russia - Putin , China -
Xi Jinping and 27+ others to take down the Deep State in 130+ countries , with their Navy Ships off the
coasts of 83+ countries - including All Common Wealth Countries = Trust the Plan
@@greggferstay5673 Wrong country bro, this is Canada not the USA.
Canada needs someone like Trump ASAP.
Like something out of the living dead.😲 I seen it on my visit to Vancouver last September. Fantastic city, but the drug problem is crazy.👍😊🇮🇪🇨🇦
I was just here and saw it, had to look it up online for confirmation of what I experienced. I’m from Seattle and haven’t seen this level. It is surreal.
We need to stop sending money to other countries and get this horrible situation handled ! How can these poor people sleep in tents when they can be attacked and what little they have stolen ? My mother threw me out at 15-and that was 1975, it was scary for a 15 year old girl, I lived on the streets for 2 years till I got a job lying about my age to get it. There was not a huge homeless population back then but now it's NUTS !!
I agree with the 'stop sending money to other countries' part.
Thanks for sharing your story. Such a rough life that you have gone thru.
Drug addiction > jobless > homeless > drug addiction .....
How to keep toxic drugs off the streets, period?
@@ExploreVancouverCanada legislative prohibition on drugs
Joblessness -> homelessness -> drug addiction
Well done video! Mental health illness is at a record high in BC. And government and medical resources in dealing with the mental health crisis is at a record low.
I'm Indian I understand now why our parents give priority to buy personal house over staying on rent... Doesn't matter how your house look like what's inside atleast you will have roof over your head in your worst times
Wow! I'm overwhelmed to see so many homeless people during your short walk around the city. It is so sad to see so much suffering.
ways less traffic during my walk beginning at 8:00 AM.
It's pretty hard to feel sorry for someone who has the fuking choice ,but choose to get high and live in a tent, what ever happened to working for things !
....so sad to see so much destruction of humans that was done by their free choice.....
Don't do drugs then.
@@mikehd3904 - you need skills and a job that can pay the rent and food costs, every country is experiencing high cost of living and increasing hopelessness. Sometimes it's not a choice but a result of a situation.
Its like watching a post apocalyptic movie but no, its Vancouver and real. Sad how their government lets this happen.
Hollywood plans to make a movie soon. Just kidding.
@@ExploreVancouverCanada LA has the same problem, the leaders of the city are enabling this
...people are taking drugs and they can stop.
Imagine a place like this to live in ????
And at the prices they charge in Vancouver !!!!!!!!
What a dump
It is just so sad what we, as humans, have let our world become.
Well, there is no need to speak for the whole world, you will not find such videos from my country-Russia.
@@alexanderwolf8766 Of course, Russia. Such a utopian society. Russia is ranked #1 globally as far as alcoholism. Because you can hide your substance abuse problems doesn't mean they don't exist. Average life expectancy in Russia for a man, 64. Canada, 80. And there are plenty of ghettos in Russia.
You can thank the Jesuits and the Vatican for that.
Um there’s personal responsibility AND government responsibility.
@@alexanderwolf8766 well said. This sort of nonsense wouldn't be tolerated in the streets. This is why most Russian addicts you see ware hidden away in some hovel or under a bridge somewhere. Where they belong.
You can see all the progress that decades of liberalism have brought forth right here in this video. The compassion and positive outcomes are overwhelming, right?
Chinese are not liberals
Все-таки социализм-это лучшее,что было придумано человечеством.В СССР такого не было,да и современной России такого тоже нет.
And the politicians closed the asylums to give this type of person dignity. HOWS that working out?
Some say they turned to drugs because of some trauma or issues with family etc etc, If that argument is true there would be a lot more of them out there, There are people who have experienced major hardships in their lives but most don't end up like this, A while ago with my dad passing away and getting little to no support from my friends, So after experiencing a couple breakdowns and becoming depressed it would have been very easy to end up like this, even VIHA was not willing to help because i don't meet their criteria of being like them I'm still not100% but i still have hope for a brighter future, anything is better than living like that....
This is as close we get to a zombie apocalypse
Jeez - old Vancouver looks like a disaster zone since I last visited. Hastings was a bit seamy even then, but I walked the streets even after dark without feeling threatened. Now, I wouldn't want to pass through that hell-hole in full sunlight...
I live in the UK. I have personally never seen anything so bad as this in a Western City , so called richer country, except for The States.
We have greedy, obscene leaders who are destroying this world and people. People seem half dead, its more than just peoples choices.it looks like leaders have 'allowed' Vancouver to degenerate. It will be deliberate, I really believe this. . Such huge decline has a power behind it. 😢
Я живу в России, То что правительство США жадные бандиты это очевидно, народ Америки посадили на иглу ради своих корыстных целей.
Holidayed with friends who live in Vancouver many times and had to travel by bus to Granville and was saddened to see so many people riding the buses without paying with the most horrendous sores open on their legs. Vancouver’s decline over the years is shameful
pffft. Been riding the Skytrain since the late 90's and a lot of riders don't really pay. Here in L.A. the drivers just let it go because it's a waste of effort to yell at people who don't pay the fare.
That's right. BC transit offer them free rides. Just feel sorry for some drivers, sometimes they got sprays on their faces.
You don't have to come to Vancouver to see people suffering like this. The US is worse. It's a global problem.
It is well on the way to total collapse. When corporations and governments can break the law, who gives a damn about right and wrong.
They have to be tough on the drug sellers
Be sure don't take toxic drugs
The Government?
Yes big pharma and the government are the biggest drug dealers. High % of addicted because dr's get incentives from pharma and government
The government provides the drugs for free.
Like big pharma right ? 😊
It's worst than anywhere in the world and it's the worst visiting card and business card.
Absolutely no one are interested to go visit and do business in British-Columbia.
You know what the BC govt has failed. My earliest memories of DT Vancouver has always been this. Parents immigrated in 92 and I remember seeing this around 4yrs old. Every year I’ve seen it get worse, they’ve had 30+ years and this is literally at its worst. It’s time for a complete different solution that doesn’t involve enabling or jail. I know so many people that have ended up on DTES. It’s just sad. And I was so used to it as a child I actually never have fear walking there even past midnight. Most these people were not even dangerous actually just addicted to drugs and in pain. Lots of them have crazy life stories. Mental health needs to be treated in a different manner. The city has been ruined due to severe drug addiction.
Not just Vancouver it's the entire country
in metropolitan cities
@@ExploreVancouverCanada We're starting to have the same problem in downtown courtenay. The area around the downtown library is a magnet for homeless with serious mental health issues.
what type of device is being used to capture the crystal clear footage you are sharing
GoPro hero9
@@ExploreVancouverCanada Thanks I own a GALAXY S 23 ULTRA it's able to video footage similar to that of yours as well as zooming in from far distances it also has what you do on your videos that is that adjusting the slomo thanks again for replying back to me
These are not just homeless, they are like zombies, high on the sky to me
This is what happen when you treat homeless as kids that have no responsibility for how they got their and for what they're doing and to add on top of that is the fact that a large percent just needs to be locked up in an institute for their own good and for everyone around them and you have this.
Exactly - well said.
All these bleeding heart liberals in here make me sick. Going on about "boo hoo, this is someone's kid" while simultaneously having no intention of doing anything to remedy their situation with STRICT LAWS about vagrancy and public drug use.
Start with 1 year detox/rehab then 1 year of work structure then a final year probation. IF they fall into the same cycle after that one and only chance - give them ten years.
Fed up of pussy footing around for people that drag decent, hard working people down. Who wants to see this mess in the morning before a hard day's work, or in the evening when you take your family out.
People saying "it's not fair the government leaving them behind". No. What's not fair is the government neglecting tax payers to keep these people doped up 24/7. Fed up of it.
So much human degradation..Some look like they are dead …what an appalling
tragedy..😭
I’m from a place we call the lucky country , Australia
My wife are here in Canada now on a holiday and naively decided to walk to hotel with our luggage and had the misfortune to walk down Hastings St
I can honestly say it was the scariest and most eye opening experience of our lives!
Shame on the government for not getting tougher on drug dealers and users!
I can only hope this crap doesn’t make it to our shores
Sorry dude, you made a wrong turn...heading West you 'll see a beautiful Stanley Park and North or South will lead you to fabulous downtown or waterfront. Next time simply ignore this strip.
I spent 1 year I Vancouver after emigrating from Europe (1986- 87). It was a charming, lively, and clean city. I felt sorry to leave it for Ottawa. I can't recognize it. What on earth has happened...
I wonder if a politician ever walked through these streets and can say that harm reduction is working. So sad in so many levels
Answer is no, they live a rich lifestyle and stay clear from those areas. They’re out of touch and in their own little worlds. Just like Justin Trudeau, all he wants is selfies and photo ops. The man has done zero real work in this world, he fake rolls up his sleeves like he’s worked before. The man and these people are just heartless people who don’t know the real world
House and Treat the sick, all problems solved.
@Sherolinnah Eang Do you know if 'The Housing First ACT' program in Vancouver is working well?
Thanks Tessa for popping up an interesting topic.
THE PROBLEM HERE IS. EVEN IF THEY ARE PROVIDED WITH A HOUSE, THEY AREN'T CAPABLE OF LOOKING AFTER THEMSELVES. LET ALONE LOOK AFTER THE HOUSE & PAY THE BILL. WHAT THEY NEED IS SOMETHING LIKE SECURED HOSTEL. - NO DRUGS ETC.
Breaks my heat too see this I lived in Vancouver 1974/1976 it was beautiful back then .The people today it’s homelessness and addiction .No hope it’s shameful the Government😢 does not step in .
The President of the Phillipines cleaned up things pretty fast. Was currupt and criminal , however it worked. Bring in drug squads take down all the street level dealers , Some will roll on there suppliers. Vacant there rights keep em locked up like what they did with M13 in El Salvador. Massive sweep....Then tend to the drug addicts , most will die some won't. Its all a horrible mess ....such pain an suffering.
There's literally a civil war been going on in the Philippines for decades, look up NPA. Philippines is not a good model.
But the country is still dirt poor!
This won't work for Canada, man
@@ExploreVancouverCanada I was born an raised in Canada " Man " ....Lived in every province ....Vancouver,BC at one point. Great city ....great people. Fond memories
Zero chance these people are fixable it's too late.
These guys will be gone when their times have expired, but how to stop the newcomers?
The wall murals are absolutely outstanding
Wow, at least there is someone loves street arts/murals. Thank You.
I am ever so great full that I am no longer addicted to Meth, as I used to buy it from here and go back to surrey, slam the entire gram, then walk back to Vancouver 18 hours later still high as f&$k.
Thank God my prayers for sobriety has been 3 years sober now. Prayers do help.
I pray for my brothers & sisters in addiction all the time.
Thanks for sharing your story, man. Nice to know that you're in great shape.
Canada is very rich.
Fertile land and abundant resources.
I don't understand how 🤔
Drugs
When you think about all billions of dollars spent on foreign aid surely we should clean up our own house first this is not humanity
This is happening everywhere these days Los Angeles, San Francisco, even here in Vegas. But what really can be done?
Likely west coast issue, but Metropolitan problem as well.
Build large out of town asylums (like the Victorians did for the mentally ill). With wards and isolation cells but also with theatres, dance hall, cinema, adjoining farm, gardens, orchards and space. Employ a suitable mix of skills to run them.
Then you make being found on the street in a state of intoxication a cause for examination. If doctors deem you an addict then you are sectioned and into the asylum you go. Release dependent on how you behave. Repeat transgressions lead to longer sections - just like mental health sections.
Clean and repaint the streets. I have nothing against murals as such but so much of this graffiti is ugly and bad for the soul.
Create public work programs if necessary to keep those released from section employed and give them a sense of purpose and worth.
Send dealers of the worst drugs to jail for a long time. A very long time.
Pick on one City at a time and spend what it needs.
@@Hereford1642 no no no no - we shant be needing any common sense here thank you. These are liberal governments we are dealing with here.
@@ssss-df5qz crime here, especially knife crime and gangs in the UK, homelessness, and drug addiction has worsened under our right wing government who have been in for 13 years. .
It's not left or right necessarily. It's having useless motivated people running our countries. They don't want to give any money to ordinary people, they just destroy services, increase homelessness, cause constant mental health issues without any care, brainwash people.
Lots can be done, the only problem is everyone is a pussified and helping anyone will get you called a racist or a misogynist. Lmao I'm so happy seeing this western society crumble. I seen this coming many many years ago
I have a friend in Vancouver named Sensei Doug, he actually helps rehabilitate alot of homeless who have ended up on the streets. He teaches them discipline and self-worth at his "Hobo-Dojo" both through sparring and even some common Jiu Jitsu techniques such as leg locks and arm bars. As soon as the rent went up he had a huge influx of new students ready to hang up the needle and chuck on the Gi.
For those folks who say that American politicians are the only ones to blame for this, tell me how this is happening in Canada where they have a social system like Europe?
We're importing insane amounts of people with nowhere to put them because nobody can afford housing. Our social programs , and healthcare are either breaking under the strain or are being strangled to death by conservative politicians on purpose. People are struggling, pissed off, and many can barely afford rent or food All levels of government are utterly uninterested in trying to fix it. Not a frikin peep out of any of them.
A disaster, a total disaster.....the government must pay dearly for allowing this torture and causing it.
Same in Australian cities....but not as bad.
Most are a hopeless cause but many could be rehabilitated if only they were given the chance.
Just another shinning example of a liberal/ndp plan in action. Not just canada, check out the other examples of liberalism in Spokane, New York, SanFrancisco.
...really? Example of a liberal /ndp plan in action or example of greedy and rich conservative plan in no action?
@@dianem7677 actually example pf liberal action
@@sreejiths5872 ...explain....You dont know what you are talking (writing) about, actually.
We are west coast climate COOL.
This is a complete failure of Turdeaus government policy
Same in Ireland Dublin. The lost the lonely the forgotten
So powerful and brave
woke and beautiful
Stunning and blinging
Absolutely incredible, walked those streets some 30 years ago very little homelessness around then the streets were pristine, what the hell happened.
It began in the 90s before that is was mostly artists and film industry guys owned a biz on Hastings.
30 yrs ago, there was just one odd drunk sleeping on the bus bench.
@@ExploreVancouverCanada Not true. East Hastings was already like this since the 70s.
@@khachaturian100east Hastings was always sketchy, but never to this extent
This neighbourhood was already way out of control when I lived there in the 90s@@sjfulton10
From my experience not even a video can show & make you feel how terribly bad this is. It breaks my heart. Absolutely shoking and such a dark, evil environment. God have mercy. The government has to do something. This is criminal to allow these people to suffer like this.
It’s the local businesses that are suffering.. The people in the video are on fentanyl… they feel better than you do !
@@johneeeemarry34 not coming down off it do they. Yes tradegy for business and people living there. No winners. Breaks my heart.
its more like addiction crisis
Everybody can guess what they are like.
Oh my Goodness😢 I live in Québec province and i feel blessed that is not like this here. Poor people down there. We have our own issues with the povrety and addiction in the city of Montreal but not that bad!!!
Some of you guys come to Vancouver as snowbirds.
It is just beginning. Pockets of blight spreading out quickly. Open drug use in the metro now a normal occurrence. Scary and off-putting.
@@ExploreVancouverCanadaI heard groups of homeless people were given free train tickets and sent from QC/ON to BC
It's nice to see how neat and tidy they keep their area's glad to see how they respect the communities around them.
I work in Strathcona.
I stopped at a Subway to get some food on my lunch break. A vangrant came in with a wagon and bunch of bags and suitcases which he proceeded to dump in the middle of the floor.
When the staff told him to leave all of his crap outside he threw a tantrum and started screaming and throwing his belongings against the wall.
The staff called the police.
In the lineup was a woman who worked at a nearby crisis center. She went up and attempted to calm him down and told him she'd buy him a sandwich if he behaved.
Which she did.
When the police arrived he calmed down as soon as they dragged him outside.
When he was outside, the woman in the lineup started berating the Subway staff for not being more compassionate.
I said to her "The only thjng you taught that guy is that if he piles all of his crap in the middle of a restaurant and causes a scene, somebody will buy him lunch."
If I DON'T hear a dozen ambulance sirens, it means I didn't go to work that day.
Well done Canada
My god this hasn't gotten so much worse since I left in 2018.. I used to go through the East side to work every day and it was not like this... the drug use is out of control. So sad.
It’s waaaaaay worse. I used to walk through that area during the day when commuting on foot. It was gritty but not dangerous. Now I do not go there at all. I don’t even drive through anymore as there is constant no-look j-walking and it’s just too much of a pain to navigate. I really don’t know what the solution is but I hope these people are able to see their lives get better somehow. It’s hard…when it comes down to it the cold reality is that many people don’t give a fuck about other people and we gotta advocate for ourselves to succeed.
Very tough to navigate on wheels in this neighbourhood. Drive slowly and extra caution.