Cool ideas to help people

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Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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He/Him/His
London has come out with a cool idea to help house the homeless. Our new shelter is built using the trailers that normally provide office space on construction sites. Which means semi-private accommodation rather than a dorm or single big room.


Seen any cool, innovative solutions recently?
 
Cities were very creative about adding outdoor space in the summer. Now oddly in the winter they are tightening up again. Open roads, open rinks, get people outside
 
Cities were very creative about adding outdoor space in the summer. Now oddly in the winter they are tightening up again. Open roads, open rinks, get people outside
IIRC, outdoor rinks are allowed to open with conditions under the provincial guidelines. Haven't checked to see if the ones here are open (we don't have many, though, in London).
 
Outdoor rinks can be very hard to maintain today, particularly in areas where climate change has bumped us up a zone, or even half a one. We have a lot more melt thaw cycles, instead of just a consistent hard surface which needs to be shovelled, and topped up with water periodically. We had one once in our backyard, but it was a bit of a duplication of effort, because there was always two down at the school (the big one with boards for the boys to play hockey, the smaller one with snow banks for the girls to figure skate).
 
There is a carpenter in Toronto who has been building small well-insulated mobile shelters (about 4' x 8' x 4') with a lockable door, small window, smoke & CO detectors - making them available for free to those who are houseless. The City has issued him a stop work order :( but I think I heard he (through various others who support his initiative) is appealing that. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mobile-shelters-homelessness-covid19-1.5777158

I've also seen some collapsible 'tunnel like' single person 'structures' of fabric that have been distributed.

The City of Toronto has recently opened one new supported housing space - studio apts built modularly then assembled on a site owned by the city & hooked up to services. I think modular building is a good route to go, and another modular supported housing place is due to open early in the new year I think. City of Toronto opens 1st modular supportive housing building

@Mendalla The London project is interesting ... have you seen any photos of the interior spaces? Is it just a space to sleep at night then back out in the morning as with many shelters? Or can people move into the spaces for longer?
 
@Mendalla The London project is interesting ... have you seen any photos of the interior spaces? Is it just a space to sleep at night then back out in the morning as with many shelters? Or can people move into the spaces for longer?
I think I saw a picture of the interior but it must have been in another article because that one doesn't have it. It was cozy, kind of a college dorm look. Not sure about the rules on staying. Again, need to look for a more detailed article.
 
It looks a thousand percent better than where he was. And he was very happy, so it seems like a current win-win.
 
I like this, but not to be a sh** disturber....we need to do better than this. It looks cold, it looks claustrophobic, etc.....
Is it better than nothing? Yes.
And remember that he chose to live outside. He had been offered an indoor place. But some people can’t tolerate it. I was wondering about a source of heat in there though.
 
And remember that he chose to live outside. He had been offered an indoor place. But some people can’t tolerate it. I was wondering about a source of heat in there though.
I was wondering about the heat too......the thing is, I don't think he would complain...being grateful and all....just saying we, as in collective we, should know better.
And the other thing that bothers me is making "the poor" a photo opportunity so the givers feel good.
 
Outdoor rinks can be very hard to maintain today, particularly in areas where climate change has bumped us up a zone, or even half a one. We have a lot more melt thaw cycles, instead of just a consistent hard surface which needs to be shovelled, and topped up with water periodically. We had one once in our backyard, but it was a bit of a duplication of effort, because there was always two down at the school (the big one with boards for the boys to play hockey, the smaller one with snow banks for the girls to figure skate).
Our outdoor rinks are open. The one across the road in the park is getting used - mostly by hockey types and adults getting exercise. Unfortunately non-hockey players often feel intimidated about the pucks flying around. This year there is no warm up facility or supervision.
Did you spot my rolling eyes when I read the words about a big rink for the boys and a small one for the girls?
 
I was wondering about the heat too......the thing is, I don't think he would complain...being grateful and all....just saying we, as in collective we, should know better.
And the other thing that bothers me is making "the poor" a photo opportunity so the givers feel good.
You have to keep in mind that this all happened on Eskasoni reserve. I think an account of communal spirit was also involved.
I heard a story of a couple in my area who had lived out in the woods under very poor conditions. The community got together and found them housing closer to town. Then they watched them running it down. They both were hoarders and the story goes that they had pigs and possibly other animals living in with them. The community got mad, because they expected them to value their deed by taking good care of the place they provided.
When I got to know them, they were living in a run down trailer in a trailer park for rent. I only ever got as far as the door ( I used to pick him up for church), the hoarding problem was not solved and there was no empty surface to be seen.
One time, the minister got them a new mattress which he also delivered.( I was wondering if he didn’t know what he got himself into because I was already scared of bed bugs just giving him a drive on Sundays.)
From what I gathered, the lady has had a hard life which must have included a lot of abuse. She did not trust anybody, but accepted the occasional drive from me. He ended up developing dementia and moved into a nursing home, not sure what happened to her. Fact is that there was no help in our area for people with hoarding syndrome. There was just general mental health, but they weren’t the types to go to an office in a hospital.
Eventually, The church had formed a mini support group, which was an evolution from just providing a treat bag for Christmas and they were involved in his move to a nursing home, I believe.
 
Our outdoor rinks are open.

What hardiness zone are you? We've moved from a 5A to a 5B in the last 30 years, and it's exactly the difference between being able to easily maintain rinks, and not.

And yeah, I get you re the big and small rinks. At the time, we were grateful to have our separate rink. It was very very early days of women's rights.
 
Tonight's the full moon, the cold moon. We have temps predicted for next week between -1 and +4. Both rain and snow in the forecast. It is becoming totally jarring in terms of my childhood memories of winters here.
 
We are supposedly 3a

Brrrr....that is still very cold, with a very long winter. I honour you that your English blood adjusted to it. My Mom found it quite difficult here in the winter, although my Dad embraced it. But except for the deep snow we used to get here, it would be only one fully hardiness zone colder than the north of England.
 
You have to keep in mind that this all happened on Eskasoni reserve. I think an account of communal spirit was also involved.
I heard a story of a couple in my area who had lived out in the woods under very poor conditions. The community got together and found them housing closer to town. Then they watched them running it down. They both were hoarders and the story goes that they had pigs and possibly other animals living in with them. The community got mad, because they expected them to value their deed by taking good care of the place they provided.
When I got to know them, they were living in a run down trailer in a trailer park for rent. I only ever got as far as the door ( I used to pick him up for church), the hoarding problem was not solved and there was no empty surface to be seen.
One time, the minister got them a new mattress which he also delivered.( I was wondering if he didn’t know what he got himself into because I was already scared of bed bugs just giving him a drive on Sundays.)
From what I gathered, the lady has had a hard life which must have included a lot of abuse. She did not trust anybody, but accepted the occasional drive from me. He ended up developing dementia and moved into a nursing home, not sure what happened to her. Fact is that there was no help in our area for people with hoarding syndrome. There was just general mental health, but they weren’t the types to go to an office in a hospital.
Eventually, The church had formed a mini support group, which was an evolution from just providing a treat bag for Christmas and they were involved in his move to a nursing home, I believe.
Thanks for offering another perspective....so many sides aren't there?
 
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