Vancouver suffers from a myriad of social challenges. Now, an onslaught of negative reviews from summer tourists is showing viewers around the world that the homeless situation in Vancouver is already being revealed.
Some visitors to Gastown and Chinatown on Monday told Global News they enjoyed the sights. , many said they were surprised by the chaos in the streets. Use and defecate, and a vast sidewalk tent street along East Hastings west of Main Street.
"You would normally expect some degree of homelessness in a big city, but he's not as much as you see on one street," said a man visiting from the San Francisco Bay Area.
"The kids hadn't seen it yet, so they were a little scared to be honest," added the Chicago father.
READ MORE: Panic erupts on East Hastings Street as Vancouver staff begin removing tents
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Recent TripAdvisor reviews of both neighborhoods are scathing.
"Horrible Horrible!" One reviewer added, "I will never go to Chinatown in Vancouver again."
Karen H, from Yorkshire, North England, writes, "AVOID AVOID AVOID – SHOCKING – SLUMS – SAD."
"No. Not today! Stay away," said another reviewer who said he would not eat anywhere in Chinatown.
A visitor from New York City who was "extremely disappointed" in Gastown wrote: "We had to go through very desolate streets with tent villages on the sidewalks."
One!!” added a reviewer who described Chinatown as dirty and unsafe.
"It's like a scene from 'The Walking Dead,'" said one visitor from Nottingham, England, after checking out the Chinatown Millennium gate.
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Read more: Racist slurs hurled at staff at Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown, Vancouver
China in Vancouver Town BIA president Jordan Ng said he had to agree with TripAdvisor's review.
"The Walking Dead are roaming the streets," Eng told Global News.
Negative reviews are a sign of a broken system in desperate need of a fix, he added.
"There are people in the taxpayer-funded Downtown Eastside who advocate the status quo... what about rehab? What about making these people better.
Simon Fraser University Health Sciences Professor Julian Summers said: The government's approach to dealing with mental health and drug use in the Downtown East Side (DTES) is not working.
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Somers sees custody centers full of people previously diagnosed with serious mental illness and addictions, more visible homelessness, and an escalation of both violence and survival. Crime for the failure of the current system.
"All the evidence supports that things are getting worse," Sommers said Monday.
READ MORE: Vancouver mayor defends public safety measures after downtown machete attack
Clinical psychology The academic has said it's time for a new approach.He advocates recovery-oriented housing spread across the city to meet the specific needs of people with severe mental illness.
Another solution is to consider the 'least livable' before selecting independent affordable housing with support to ensure stability for each recovering client.
"The result is a dramatic reduction in medical emergencies and crime," Somers told Global News. .
Most Vulnerable Right Now A large population is concentrated in one area, he said, an area with revolving doors for social services and crisis services.
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"Putting people in constant danger," he explained. “Where is the opportunity to leave it? For both, it is fully manifested in DTES and adjoining areas.
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