In view of the success rate of San Patrignano, I agree that we should start at Baldy Hughes.....Keeping it in town close to all the temptations makes it harder....When you are away from it and concentrating on healing, you stand a better chance on getting off the drugs.....This is coming from experience in my family......

Baldy Hughes... a complete no brainer!
Remove the temptation that locating at the Backpacker will bring.
Addictions and old habits will be almost impossible to control this close to downtown!!!
It is the Queensway location itself that will destroy this project!
Or does anyone pushing for this really care about that?

Unless you're planning on loading up the users that roam downtown on a bus and shipping them to Baldy Hughes, you're not going to see much local improvement.

What kind of support for mental illness will be provided at Baldey Hughes? Will life skills workers, counsellors, psychologists be employed there? Counselling for abuse, sexual assault? Will shipping the mentally ill out of town help them integrate into our community, or further alientate them?

Why do we have to think of this as an "either/or" situation... it can't be both?

"will shipping the mentally ill out of town help them integrate into our community"
Two things out of whack in this argument.
#1-Not all street people are mentally ill.Some just plain like the lifestyle so who decides who is mentally ill and who is not?
#2-The number of these people that will actually integrate back into the community is very small I am sure,so that is not even worth considering as an end result.
There will more of a chance of increasing these numbers if they are removed from the source of their issues and that will NOT happen anywhere near the towntown area!

You're right, Andy, not all homeless are mentally ill, but the majority are. Some of the others may "like the lifestyle" -- although I doubt it -- but these people would be unlikely to live at either Baldy or FH if they like living on the street so much.

If you get the mentally ill homeless off the street, into an environment where they're safe and their medication is provided for them, and it is ensured that they're taking the meds, they can live remarkably normal lives. I don't think that taking the mentally ill out of their communities, away from any friends and family, away from their support systems would be the best way to help these people to better deal with their mental illness.

I personally think that both locations are great ideas and will be a great benefit for those who want the programs to work for them, and are willing to do the work to get clean and/or healthy.

Do not be fooled by the propaganda. This is not about helping homeless and addicts, it is about warehousing and hiding our problems from the world when the Olympics come to B.C. I have been following this from the start and I can see how people are falling for this crap. It will do nothing for fixing the dual diagnosed and is nothing more than a concentration camp for members of our society that we deem unfit. We need to address root problems not put band-aids on our problems. Don't forget that Lorne was also the guy who captained the safe street act that called for the arrest and fining of panhandlers. The result was an increase in panhandling to raise needed money to pay fines and a huge backlog of unpaid fines that resulted in nothing. That is the brain behind Baldy Hughes. Don't be taken in by propaganda spewed to convince you to go along with a terrible idea.

And in 25 years time, when the people forced to go there against their will start law suits for unlawful confinement, who's tax money will be used to pay the compensation?

The statistics they use for recovery 70% applies when the people treated, have a work history, supportive family, etc; The statistics for people who are homeless, jobless, etc would be in the 5% area.


We cannot get Doctors, and Nurses in Prince George, how will we get them to Baldy Hughes.

These people need facilities in Prince George to help them to recover, and the facility should be located in downtown Prince George.

The Baldy Hughes proposal is a thinly veiled way of accessing Government money, for those who own it.

"1-Not all street people are mentally ill."

Very true .....

"Some just plain like the lifestyle"

Like? .... perhaps resign themselves to it, but the ones who actually "like" it are probably in a minority.

"so who decides who is mentally ill and who is not?"

????? The same as those who decide you have a broken toe .... health professional who are trained to do that.

If you think they are not adequately trained, or that no one should decide whether one has a mental illness or disability, then lets not train anyone in that field anymore.

"Some just plain like the lifestyle". Is that like or similar to being "stuck" in Prince George? Old habits are very hard to break.

As far as Baldy Hughes ... aka Moose Spring(s) Resort .... it is quite frankly a dump and should be torn down for the most part. To call that place a resort is to fallow in the footsteps of all the dumpy "resort" one sees on the highways around here and elsewhere in Canada's wilderness.

If Baldy Hughes were a detention centre and work camp something of the Hutda Lake Camp genre, people would not accept it.

I suspect that Camp Trapping has better facilities. I know that the Camp Friendship Children's Camp, for instance, has better facilites in a wilderness setting.

Too many people with good intentions but too little money and know-how to implement their ideas have been involved with the camp since Canada shut it down. There is nothing I hear from this new proposal that tells me this one is going to be much different. I agree with Palopu on this one.

As far as using a remote retreat to

The Scouts camp on West Lake is another dump. I cannot understand how people could send kids to a place like that. It looks like someplace for the third world ...

This project is a great idea to clean up Vancouver’s downtown eastside in time for the Olympics. I’m willing to bet very few people will be affected in Prince George in a positive way. Once the new clients of Baldly Hughes (Eastside addicts) decide to leave it only makes sense they will head to the closest town. Since PG is grossly over represented with liquor stores and has easy access to illicit drugs the future outcome should be obvious.
I question the need for this program so far away from the 604 area code where I am willing to bet the majority of service users will come from. I do not believe for a minute that the Fraser Valley does not have some land that could have been used; instead the government will ship the clients 900km away. Do they get a return bus ticket?
As well the government is also developing a long term public-private youth residential treatment centre in the Keremeos.
I am not against addictions treatment centers and continued support programs; it is the answer to successful addictions recovery in many cases. However this feels more like displacing the issues surrounding the downtown eastside into PG’s backyard and as a PG resident this does not feel good at all as we have enough of our own.

Ammonra: "And in 25 years time, when the people forced to go there against their will start law suits for unlawful confinement, who's tax money will be used to pay the compensation?"

Best comment, so far, in my opinion! If it is not 100% voluntary and in lawsuit proof writing avoid any determined action like the plague, even if it is well-intended and to the long-term benefit of the potential *victim.*

Yes REALIST how true, when they start shipping them out of Vancouver that will be the "choice" destination.

By the way, the drug dealers are already rubbing their greedy hands together expecting huge profit from the centralization of their customers. Proof yet again that the politicians are the dope dealers best partners. As long as drugs remain a criminal activity the profits are huge and once past a certain level of business, the real dealers have protection and rarely get caught. Harper news drug policy means increased profits as prices will go up due to increased pressures. How stupid are these guys? or do they do it on purpose?

Good work editor. throw out a line and reel in the fish.

The topic posted is just that...bait.

Friendship House is Transitional Housing, providing a safe living space while the New Hope Society is a rehabilitation process concept.

Why even suggest "Backpacker or Baldy Hughes, Which Makes the Most Sense?"
.......as if they are identical.

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either/or when there are as different as apples and oranges.

Norm1 has it right.

Gotta love it.............

I once had a boss who was nick named "no toes" cause he had a habit of pulling the trigger before drawing the pistol.

Mystery writer, please step forward.

Who is going to wear this moniker??

Actually it IS sort of an "either/or situation.
If a site out of the downtown core like Baldy Hughes(as an example)was chosen as a "treatment" center for addictions and mental health issues, those that need it would have a choice.
"Either" you go there of your own free will because you want the help "or" you choose to remain downtown in the lifestyle that it brings.
We can't force people to get help for their issues,all anyone can do is to offer the help.
Is this the point behind the Backpacker location or is it simply to give them a roof over their heads?
Because a roof over their heads won't change the attitudes,lifestyles or addictions.

Our Councillors should make an effort in reviewing the operational procedures proposed for the former Baldy Hughes Site, (Mayor or Councillor Krause to provide) as well the operational procedures proposed for the Back Packer Site (Public Hearing / Shaw Cable 10 provided). Both are oddly considered transitional housing;
B.H. with comprehensive, proven programs VS B.P. with basic life skills help.
B.H. far removed from temptations VS B.P. can I have that delivered?
B.H. appreciation of Nature VS B.P. depreciation of established neighbourhood. B.H. with mandatory compliance to programs VS B.P. free agents.
TRANSITION means CHANGEOVER. Establishing and spending our monies on social housing with structured policies and quality programs attached, designed specifically to enable the CHANGEOVER of the individuals to their independance is TRANSITION.

The Baldy Hughes site = transitional housing with recovery programs.

The Back Packer site = 24 hour emergency shelter.

The Baldy Hughes site = transitional housing with recovery programs.

The Back Packer site = 24 hour emergency shelter.

These ideas make sense. I don't think people being on the street is good for them or us or the olympics. I don't think we should enable that lifestyle if at all possible.

The proposed Friendship House isn't going to be a 24 hour emergency shelter in the style of Bridget Moran Place or Ketso Yoh. It's essentially going to be low-cost housing for people who are homeless, or are at risk of being homeless. There will be life skills workers, mental health counsellors, and drug and alcohol workers available to the residents.

I attened the Council Meeting last light. Two of the people that made the biggest impact on me were Robert Guest and the Lady with the Drug Addicted daughter. They put another light on this whole mess. We should not be building a wharehouse for people from who knows where with who knows what in the middle of a residential neighboorhood with parks and schools near by. You would think the people in favor of this project would be worried about the saftey of the children who must pass this facility twice a day on their way to and from school. . We should be building about five different complexes , one for the Mentaly Ill that can function on their own with medication , a place for people with drug problems that want to get clean . a place for both young and older people suffering substance abuse who want to stay clean and a place for people like Robert who just need help with decent accomodation. Could this home also house people just getting out of Jail. How can you house all these people with all these proplems together ?? Then there is the young fellow with the dyed blond hair who ran away from home to Prince George and wants accomodation. This problem is too Big for one neighboorhood to handle and we shouldn't have to. The Mayor got upset with Jo-Ann over the conflict of Interest Issue she had the Guts enough to bring up and a lot of people agree there could be. It should be resolved as the councilors feel there isn't a conflict and they represent the entire community. I hope they remeber that when it's time to vote. So Collin lay off of Jo-Ann, she was trying her best to help her Neighboorhood and we thank her for her efforts. This hasn't been easy for us either having to sit through three meetings hearing the same thing over and over and nobody listening to our concerns . The City should be happy with the research the Miller connaught group did for their presentation. Normally you would pay some government group big bucks for this Info. WE would not be going through any of this if the groups involved had obtaind the proper zoneing before purchaseing the property with our money.

Its all about the olympics hey realist. you are a piece of work.