Will there be a "residency" requirement for the homeless when it comes to benefiting from this taxpayer funded scheme? I hope so because it sends an invitation all across Canada. Unless other provinces one up us on benefits. Altruism has it's limits.

Good point Harbinger

"priority access to healthcare and social services for the chronically homeless"

Unbelievable. I've known people who have been hardworking taxpayers their entire lives, and when hard times befell them, had to subsist on loans from friends and jump through months of hoops and paperwork to collect even a three-month bridge of welfare until their life was back on track.

Same with hardworking, taxpaying Canadians who need hip or knee replacements and have to wait 6-12 painful months for surgery. Where's THEIR "priority access" to healthcare and social services???

With free needle exchange and now free condos, the message our government seems to be sending is "SMOKE CRACK, YOU'RE ALL RIGHT JACK! BUT WORK HARD AND LIVE CRIME FREE...JUST HAND OVER YOUR MON-EE!"

"The Province is making the Ministry of Housing and Social Development responsible for co-ordinating provincial and social housing and support services, including health and financial assistance for the chronically homeless. The point of this new integrated approach is to allow a more rapid and aggressive response to dealing with homelessness."

What a revolutionary idea: to co-ordinate efforts rather than have everybody chipping away at their own little corner of the problem unaware of what all the others were doing!

Miracles still happen, better late than never!

There will always be money for poor people. How poor? How poor do you wanna be to collect? It's up to you. Being responsible for yourself and/or others has it's penalties.(Taxes)

Whew, I am glad my life circumstances helped me not to be poor. I don't think I could bear your wrath.

bitch bitch bitch bitch ....\

This is about integrating programs as diplomat wrote. If done properly, this should be more effective and less costly to the system. I hope this is an operational change without new money attached to it. I would expect that a well run integrated program, which is where they should have been at from the start, will have fewer people employed and cost less, other than the fact that some people will have to be supported with UI and then become part of the homeless problem if they fail to find a job.

Ain't the twists and turns of life intersting? Never a dull moment. More stress pills to pop.

I suppose this initiative needs to be tried out, but I agree with Tombstone81, as usual, the government rewards those who have quit trying to better themselves for one reason or another.
Do nothing, you get paid by welfare sure it's not much to live on, but people can and do live on welfare, and if you get sick, well the system covers the cost of your healthcare too, no worries. Meanwhile the working class has to pay the whole shot (and why not? everybody should pull their own weight) It hardly seems fair to me that as a payer of many taxes with a few good tax paying years left in me, that I should have to wait years for a knee replacement, or months for an m.r.i. or c.t. scan (I am not a local celebrity or friend of one, or friend of a doctor) Should'nt the government invest more care in the working class? Keep us healthy and we go out and work and spend money, all of which is taxed out the hoop. Seems like we are not meant to get ahead.
metalman.

Diplomat said it best. Well written.

Well past due!!
However, why is it that the word "olympics" jump to mind !!

It will be interesting to watch to see if this project gets under way in record breaking time and exactly how long it will last.

Brings to mind a cartoon I saw awhile back with a cardboard box! I hope i'm wrong !

It's called centralization of services and with that comes cost savings. Need we be told more??

It seems pretty absurd to have this happening in only five BC communities when it could obviously save significant amounts if established across the board?
Unless of course the plan is to have NO services available except in the '5 chosen' communities??

Should be good for those that make their living off this stuff. The bigger the pool of money, the bigger the pool party!

I think if you get these people into a home and off the street it benefits everyone even the tax payer. With universal health care I'm sure we are saving money if we can get these people to stay home because they have a home to go to....

I would rather my taxes went to that then bailing out the banksters in the financial industry.

I think everyone would like to see an answer to the problem of homelessness. However, I think we all agree that the housing and extra help comes at a cost and life isn't a free ride. At some point the homeless need to be accountable for their own lives. So how long should they be supported? Lots depends on the reasons and root causes for homelessness.
Some have disabilities and some people are homeless because they choose to be. They don't want any structure or to have to be at a specific place (such as work) at a specific time. They want to be free....does society support someone that doesn't want to help them selves?

I think society should have options available, but you can't force anyone to help themselves. Option are as easy as buying up the old Joe's Place to make cheep rooms available for transition to more permanent subsidized low income housing.