Thursday, November 25, 2004

Vancouver's homeless

Economist.com |Vancouver's homelessness rate,though lower per person than in some of British Columbia's other cities, has doubled in the past three years: in summer up to 1,800 people are sleeping rough or in shelters, according to a plan presented this month by the city council's homelessness co-ordinator. Almost all the homeless are unemployed and about 75% are not eligible for or not getting welfare, so they survive by begging, scavenging and petty crime. Most suffer from drug or alcohol addiction, mental illness or both. A further 40,000 people, who spend more than half their income on housing, are “at risk” of homelessness. And almost 10,000 are on the waiting-list for subsidised housing.

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