posted on February 9, 2007 03:31:05 PM new
This is so cruel. I guess if they can't afford to pay they're kicked to the curb no matter what condition they're in.
Homeless Dumping
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A hospital van dropped off a homeless paraplegic man on Skid Row and left him crawling in the street with nothing more than a soiled gown and a broken colostomy bag, police said.
Witnesses who said they saw the incident Thursday wrote down a phone number on the van and took down its license-plate number, which helped detectives connect the vehicle to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Police said the incident was a case of "homeless dumping" and were questioning officials from the hospital.
"I can't think of anything colder than that," said Detective Russ Long. "There was no mission around, no services. It's the worst area of Skid Row."
Dan Springer, a spokesman for the medical center, did not confirm or deny that the van carrying the homeless man came from Hollywood Presbyterian. He said an internal investigation was under way and pledged cooperation with any outside investigation.
"These are very serious allegations. Our goal is to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. If we determine a mistake of this magnitude was made, we will respond swiftly and appropriately," Springer said.
The case comes three months after the city attorney's office filed its first indictment for homeless dumping against Kaiser Permanente for an incident earlier last year.
In that case, a 63-year-old patient from the hospital's Bellflower medical center was videotaped wandering the streets of Skid Row in a hospital gown and socks.
City officials have accused more than a dozen hospitals of dumping patients and criminals on Skid Row. Hospital officials have denied the allegations, but some said they had taken homeless patients to Skid Row service providers.
In 2005, Hollywood Presbyterian was accused of homeless dumping. At the time, a top executive denied the charge, but said Skid Row service providers offered treatment and care for some patients who had nowhere else to go.
posted on February 9, 2007 04:05:56 PM new
Maybe dave can blame Bush for canada having the SAME problems - as they too have homeless. I haven't heard that Bush is in charge of their homeless.
posted on February 9, 2007 04:18:36 PM new
When I posted this I knew Linda_K would be right on it gleefully pointing her finger at Canada and I wasn't wrong. She can barely wait.
Of course Canada has a homeless problem also. It's especially noticeable when the temperatures drop and shelters try to make room for more of them and volunteers gather warm clothing and provide meals for them but it's a temporary fix for a permanent problem in most large cities across North America.
So far I haven't heard of any hospital in Canada booting them out and dumping them on Skid Road in their hospital gowns...... but Linda_K is probably gleefully googling at this very moment looking for a similar case in Canada. lol
posted on February 9, 2007 04:22:46 PM new
I really have never heard of a Canada-phobia...or Canada Hate or any other whacky behaviour where some psychopath has a grudge against Canada...
posted on February 9, 2007 04:41:40 PM newThis is nothing more than Bush's proposed health care system for the uninsured.
As if Billary's national health care plan came through..
"When I talk to liberals, I don't expect them to understand my positions on various issues. I spend most of my time trying to help them understand their own." —Mike Adams
posted on February 9, 2007 04:46:23 PM new
KD - The situation in this case is that the hospitals, when the patients were ready to be discharged, had to take them somewhere. When they're homeless that makes it more difficult.
The used to send them to areas close to the downtown shelters, in cabs until some starting bitching about that. So they changed that and started using vans.
These Missions help this people...as best they can...with as much as they receive in donations.
The problem is so many liberals fight against our gov. giving funding to any groups like the Missions BECAUSE they teach about Christ. Therefore funding for those who volunteer their time to help these people is very limited.
I think ALL who feel so bad for them should stop whining and DO something to change it. Like make a donation to any of the Missions who spend their lives helping these people.
Many are drug addicts, alcoholics etc....and it's not going to hurt them to be given a choice on a way they can use to change their lives around.
But at this time....upon discharge there is NO PLACE else to take them...other than their local missions.
posted on February 9, 2007 05:14:22 PM new
Seriously, when I read that it was a homeless paraplegic I thought of those who came back from Vietnam and now live on the streets because the government doesn't care about them anymore. They were good enough to fight when the government needed them but now they are of no use so it's easy to neglect them and kick them to the curb.
There was a recent news story on the projected health care costs for the wounded who are now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and at the same time Bush wants to boost funding for the wars and cut health care costs. It's inevitable that more will end up on the streets and it's sad, especially if they are in pain.
Instead of blaming the Liberals for every single problem in the country, shouldn't the government care for the returning veterans no matter who is in power? Why should it all be foisted on the missions?
posted on February 9, 2007 07:25:59 PM new
"In that case, a 63-year-old patient from the hospital's Bellflower medical center was videotaped wandering the streets of Skid Row in a hospital gown and socks."
I saw that video on CNN or a video very much like it.
LIAR_K, you disgust me so I will do everything in my power to keep you and your kind in the slimy hole you all craw out of without power.
Now LIAR_k soon the caring Americans are going to take some of your money to help fix problems like this.
Like someone said people like LIAR_K has been put into a tiny powerless minority and we plan to keep her kind that way.
posted on February 9, 2007 07:26:08 PM new
NOWHERE in the article did it say it was a veteran and I didn't say that it had.
I said I thought of them when I read the article because of the known problem of many of them being homeless and that some have physical injuries and are not receiving the care they need.
Perhaps if the government took care of their vets and provided more programs to help them it would take some of the strain off the missions.
It's cruel to dump homeless people still in hospital gowns out on the street in the worst section of the city hoping or expecting that a mission will come forward and care for them because their government doesn't care and would rather spend money on wars than health care. I don't care what country in the world does it, it's wrong. That is just my opinion.
posted on February 9, 2007 08:15:03 PM new
"""IF they were vets...they'd have been treated at a VET facility."""
WANNA BET?
Here in Minnesota a suicidal VET was turned away because , allegedly, they had no room for him...he killed himself two days later.
There are many more examples of shameful treatment of vet in this country...
To imply that ALL veterans have adequate health care is just plain BS!!!!
posted on February 9, 2007 08:34:16 PM new
If he is 63,he could be a vet!
One night in New Orleans,I was riding in a van with a friend and he always kept some change by his seat and it was a Saturday night and several homeless people will come up asking for change.
He gave them some change,I saw a good looking young man coming up for some change,there was so much pain on his face,he just wanted a drink to numb his pain.
The VA is reviewing its files of vets receiving benefits ,they are looking for way to cut cost.
The Homless problem goes much deeper than building more shelters.
[ edited by hwahwa on Feb 9, 2007 08:35 PM ]
posted on February 9, 2007 08:36:41 PM new
You tend to read my posts much different than I write them, lindak because automatically you think I must be in the same rage as you constantly are when you write yours.
It wasn't any rant, it was written once again in a calm manner as I expressed my thoughts after I read a news article.
It's not my fault that the incident happened in the US nor did I write the article. Excuse me for actually thinking my own thoughts and expressing an opinion and not going with the mindless agenda that you follow, thinking everything is so perfect and your government can do no wrong.
(I just wrote this in the same calm manner as I usually write, lindak. Sorry that you do not have the same control).
posted on February 9, 2007 08:40:17 PM new
The issue is not just homeless people. The two examples given were patients who were dumped in the street still in their hospital gowns and socks helpless and no where near a mission. We all know homelessness exists in all countries,but the point of the OP was the cruelty of dumping the homeless and sick. One of these homeless men was a paraplegic in a wheelchair for God's sake. He was dumped on skid row no where near a mission, according to the police officer investigating. There is absolutely no excuse or explanation for this.
[ edited by coincoach on Feb 9, 2007 08:43 PM ]
posted on February 9, 2007 09:18:45 PM new
"A hospital van dropped off a homeless paraplegic man on Skid Row and left him crawling in the street with nothing more than a soiled gown and a broken colostomy bag, police said."
"I can't think of anything colder than that," said Detective Russ Long. "There was no mission around, no services. It's the worst area of Skid Row."
Should he have been dropped off in Beverly Hills? Would that have been more to your liking?
He shouldn't have been dropped off and abandoned anywhere in that condition.
posted on February 9, 2007 09:27:51 PM new
okay....kiara....there's a lot the article doesn't say.
How'd he get to the hospital in the first place? Did he crawl into the hospital to beging with? What was he wearing when he was admitted?
It's no surprise that his bag would be broken...his clothes dirty since he'd be crawling. Should they have sent him out naked???
Where do YOU think they should have taken him?
Did he have a drug and or alcohol problem? Is that why he was homeless?
Did he not have ONE person in the whole world that cared about him - who was willing to help him in any way they could?
=-====================
Monte Paulsen, The Tyee, 8 January 2007
Homelessness is not necessary. Unlike most other urban social problems, homelessness is something policymakers actually know how to address. The U.S. and Britain have slashed their rates of homelessness during the past decade. But in Canada, homelessness is on the rise; and in the Vancouver region, the official count of homeless persons almost doubled from 1,121 souls in 2002 to 2,174 in 2005.
Homelessness is not cheap. Provincial taxpayers spend up to $40,000 annually per homeless person, according a 2001 study. That money is spent on police calls, hospital visits and other emergency social services. If there are only 2,174 homeless people in the Vancouver area (an official figure everyone in the field assumes is well below the actual total) and if each person uses $40,000 in services (a figure that did not include all local services), then British Columbia taxpayers are spending $86.9 million a year just to help people living on the streets stay alive... [Read more]
posted on February 9, 2007 09:39:06 PM new Canada's Homeless Left out in the Cold
Growing homeless populations across the country mean a dangerous shortage of shelters, beds on winter nights
By Joan Delaney
Epoch Times Victoria Staff
Nov 03, 2006
A homeless Quebec man sits on Ste. Catherine Street in Montreal. (Andre Pichette/AFP/Getty Images)
With winter fast setting in, homeless advocates across Canada are scrambling to secure shelter—however rudimentary—for the thousands of Canadians who have no home. But despite their best efforts, many will be left out in the cold.
Homelessness is on the rise in almost all Canadian cities, and those on the front lines of addressing the problem lay the blame squarely on the fact that Canada no longer has a fully-funded federal housing program.
The federal government canceled senior-level housing programs in 1993.
In the years that followed, most provincial governments, with the notable exception of Quebec, followed suit by cutting funding to provincial low-income housing.
"It's getting worse absolutely everywhere," says Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe. "I could list about 10 communities where none of them have enough emergency shelters for single people, and none of them have enough shelters for families with children. And we're seeing huge, long waiting lists for affordable housing."
While there are many emergency situations across the country, Crowe cites Calgary's "rampant increase in homeless families" as one of the most serious.
The city, which has experienced unprecedented prosperity in recent years, has grown too fast for its own good. Ubiquitous "help wanted" signs have drawn in workers from across the country, but with new Calgarians flooding in faster than new homes can be built, rents have skyrocketed and housing availability has dropped.
The current wait list for subsidized housing in Calgary is seven years long. It's not uncommon to hear of Calgarians getting priced out of their homes when their rents suddenly double.
The homeless agency Inn from the Cold, which helps homeless families find temporary shelter, has started warning people not to move to Calgary without first arranging a place to live.
Calgary is now home to an estimated 3,436 homeless, many of them working full-time.
'Scared of Freezing'
Last week the Alberta government pledged $1 million to turn an abandoned warehouse into a temporary emergency shelter for the winter. The announcement came not a moment too soon; Calgary's largest homeless shelter has become so crowded that employees are forced to turn away dozens of homeless people every night, leaving them to fend for themselves in sub-zero temperatures.
"We have a serious problem because we're turning away upwards of 70 people a night," says Debbie Newman, Director of Programme Services at the Calgary Drop-In Centre.
"People are sleeping in stairwells, they try to get into the +15s [Calgary's downtown buildings are linked by walkways 15 feet above the ground called +15s], sneak into parkades [multistory parking garages], anywhere they can find refuge," Newman says.
"When you're desperate and scared of freezing to death you'll do anything. As an agency we have always said we will not allow anyone to freeze, but we have reached a point where we have put our staff in jeopardy and we've put limitations on liability issues. We had to set limits."
Crowe says one of the results she sees from the increase in homelessness is a rise in infectious diseases, including a resurgence of the potentially deadly tuberculosis. Overcrowding in a Calgary shelter last winter led to an outbreak of Norovirus, causing 350 people to become ill.
While Canada is experiencing a strong economy, anti-poverty advocates say that low welfare rates, lack of affordable housing, and low minimum wage are all contributing to an increase in homelessness.
Toronto has the largest homeless population in the country at 5,052. Of those, 3,649 live in shelters while some 818 sleep outside.
Toronto has an average of two homeless deaths per week. These, according to Crowe, result from a multitude of causes: accidents, trauma, beatings, disease, hate crimes, and hypothermia. A vigil is held once a month for those who die on the streets.
Vancouver is not faring much better. A report released by Pivot Legal Society in September said the city is on the brink of a social housing crisis and called for action from all levels of government. The Downtown Eastside legal advocacy group predicts that Vancouver's homeless population of 2,175 will triple by 2010 when the city hosts the Winter Olympics.
Win-Win?
The B.C. Liberals, the governing political party in British Columbia, have unveiled a provincial housing strategy that will provide 450 new low-income housing units across the province. But Pivot's David Eby says it is not enough, as Vancouver alone needs 800 new units per year.
Pivot estimates that the homelessness in British Columbia costs taxpayers roughly $51 million a year—mostly in policing and healthcare costs—leading Eby to believe the government would actually save money by providing ample affordable housing. He cites New York as a city that has "done a really good job" of dealing with homelessness. New York has built 21,000 new housing units over the last five years.
"They have accepted the business case that it's cheaper to house people than it is to have people in shelters or on the street," says Eby. "They've accepted that model and they're experiencing returns from looking after their most vulnerable."
The Salvation Army, which operates 44 percent of the shelter beds throughout British Columbia, provides about 500 beds in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside during the winter and 325 year-round.
In Victoria, which has approximately 700 homeless and not enough shelter beds to go around, the homeless situation prompted renewed concern recently when a U.S. company cancelled a conference in the city, citing too many panhandlers and street people as the reason.
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell has said his government will increase welfare rates in the February budget. The welfare shelter rate in British Columbia, at $325 CAD ($288 USD) a month for a single person, has not been increased in 12 years.
Surveys show that Aboriginal people are disproportionately represented among Canada's homeless population and are more likely to be "street homeless" than ones living in shelters. In Winnipeg, Aboriginals comprise as high as an estimated 70 percent of the homeless population. The Manitoba Urban Native Housing Association, which has over 2,500 units throughout Manitoba, has 4,000 families wait listed.
"You could almost call it a form of racism internally in the country with the high proportion of Aboriginal people and refugees being stuck in homelessness," says Crowe.
It was Crowe's group, the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, which brought homelessness to the political forefront in Canada in 1998, when it issued a declaration that homelessness was a national disaster.
In the years since, the United Nations has regularly cited Canada in its status reports as not doing enough for its homeless citizens, in particular singling out the situation for Aboriginals, families, and children.
Adve
posted on February 9, 2007 09:48:25 PM new
Lindak, I guess you missed it where I said that Canada has a homeless problem also.
This isn't an issue about which country has the biggest homeless problem though I'm sure you'd like to make it one because of your obvious hatred for Canada.
It's an issue over health care and an uncaring society in a supposedly wealthy country where someone who is helpless is dumped from a hospital and left abandoned in the very worst section of the city. As I said earlier, no matter what country it may happen in anywhere in the world, it's cruel and heartless.
posted on February 9, 2007 09:52:24 PM new
And kiara either didn't post ALL of the article....or her article didn't mention this:
De la Cruz [police officer who arrived at the scene] later asked the victim if he had wanted to be dropped off at the location.
"He said he had nowhere else to go, and the hospital staff told him he could no longer stay there," De la Cruz said of the man, who is being treated at County-USC Medical Center.
The LAPD has accused several hospitals of dumping patients on skid row over the last two years, including Kaiser's West Los Angeles hospital, Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center and Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center.
Officials at those hospitals have denied dumping patients, but some said they had taken homeless patients to skid row service providers.
In 2005, at attorney for Hollywood Presbyterian denied that the hospital had dumped patients, but he said skid row service providers offered treatment and care for some patients who had nowhere else to go.
City officials are trying to crack down on crime and blight in the district, which has the largest concentration of homeless people in the western United States. In recent months, a police crackdown has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests and a drop in crime.
*
[email protected] [email protected]
posted on February 9, 2007 10:08:42 PM newAnd kiara either didn't post ALL of the article....or her article didn't mention this:
I posted the article exactly as it was written on the Yahoo news site that I read it on. If there was more to it available on that site at the time of reading I would have posted the url and noted that there was more to read.
Homeless dumping is a term that is used when patients are driven from hospitals to the bad part of the city and just abandoned to fend for themselves.
Those that care may call it 'dumping' because it's a cruel and heartless way to treat a fellow human and those that don't see it as a problem may refer to it as 'dropping off' because it sounds so much better.
