#public shelters

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said Thursday he should have acted sooner to take over handling of the troubled Whitehorse Emergency Shelter.

"I do believe that that's my responsibility," Pillai said during Question Period. "Should I have done that six months ago? You know what, I guess I should. So again, this is on me."

The state of the shelter has dominated the first two days of the legislature's fall sitting. Pillai has said he wants civil servants across several government departments to draw a list of policy options to fix problems at the shelter.

The Yukon Party especially has blasted the government's handling of the shelter file. It comes in the wake of the nearby Alpine Bakery closing, because of numerous public safety issues around the shelter.

Meanwhile, several reports have also found shelter users often don't feel safe there. And those who are trying to stay sober have a hard time doing so, because the low-barrier shelter doesn't require people to be sober to access services. That has resulted in substance use in and around the building. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[lady-raziel]

Not to talk about the watcher thing again as I’ve already kind of said my piece, but one of the most batshit insane parts of this whole unbelievable situation is that for some reason they decided that for some fucking reason the BEST time to announce this highly controversial decision was literally DAYS before they would be going on an international tour and having to face irate fans IN PERSON. Guys. What the hell. At least have the sensibility to announce a move that you HAD to have known would make people upset AFTER one of the few times you actually interact in person with your fanbase.

I hope you’re ready to investigate the Tower of London for ghosts, because I have a feeling the Londoners will be more than happy to acquaint you with the building later this week.

Insane move after insane move. Truly.

[coochiequeens]

Every March 8, they remember that we women exist, but what we really need is security,” said Mirlande Lebrun, a mother of four who fled Delmas 30 during the latest escalating gang violence. “We live in this camp with no assurance that we won’t have to run again if gangs attack.”

Three women share a small space inside the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communication camp in Delmas 33, where they cook, do laundry and sleep with their children on March 8, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times

Overview:

On International Women’s Rights Day, thousands of displaced Haitian women living in makeshift camps denounced their dire living conditions and urged the government to restore security so they could return home. Many have fled repeated gang attacks in neighborhoods such as Delmas 30, Carrefour, Carrefour-Feuilles, Cité-Soleil, Solino, Bélair, Fort-National and Gressier, finding temporary shelter in public buildings like schools and the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communications (MTPTC).

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Sitting at the entrance of a cramped makeshift shelter, 21-year-old Evaïna Pierre tries to soothe her crying child while her other child sleeps. Once a resident of Solino, then a refugee in Delmas 30’s Acra Factory Outlet camp, she has now taken shelter inside the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communications (MTPTC) building. Her only wish on March 8, International Women’s Rights Day? To return home.

“I just want security,” she said during an interview with The Haitian Times. “If I could go back to my neighborhood, I would be so happy. Here, we don’t live well. Water leaks into our tent when it rains, and we can’t sleep.”

Pierre is one of thousands of internally displaced women in Haiti, where 55% of the country’s 1,041,229 displaced persons are women and girls, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Many have lost their homes, businesses and even family members to gang violence. Now living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, they say the government’s failure to restore security has left them in limbo, vulnerable to hunger, disease and gender-based violence.

Evaïna Pierre, a 21-year-old mother, sits at the entrance of her shelter, which measures barely one square meter, at the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communication on March 8, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times

A refugee camp with no relief for displaced women

In displacement camps across Port-au-Prince, including at the MTPTC in Delmas 33, women endure dangerous, unsanitary conditions.

No privacy: Women and children shower in the open, often in the same space as men.

Lack of sanitation: Residents must pay 10 gourdes or about 76 cents just to use the toilet.

Health risks: Piles of garbage spread disease, while stagnant water creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Threat of violence: Women are at risk of harassment and sexual assault in the camps, where security is minimal.

A displaced woman walks past a foul-smelling pile of garbage that spreads throughout the camp, situated on the grounds of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communication in Delmas 33, on March 8, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times

“Every March 8, they remember that we women exist, but what we really need is security,” said Mirlande Lebrun, a mother of four who fled Delmas 30 during the latest escalating gang violence. “We live in this camp with no assurance that we won’t have to run again if gangs attack.”

For many women like Pierre, this is not the first time they have had to flee.

“Between running away at two times, I lost everything. Even my birth certificate is gone,” Pierre said, cradling her baby boy, who seemed to be disturbing her as he kept crying. “Before, I sold cosmetics, but now I have nothing.”

“We ask for nothing but security,” Haitian women insist

Forty-eight-year-old Bethie Joseph shares a tiny, makeshift space with her son in the parking lot of the MTPTC building. Once financially independent, she now depends on charity to survive.

“We don’t live well here. Even sleeping is difficult, but we have no choice,” Joseph said. “If the government had taken responsibility for our security, we would not be running from place to place like this.”

Like many displaced women, she no longer trusts government promises and feels abandoned.

“We are not asking for anything but security—so we can go back to our homes.”

International Women’s Rights Day overshadowed by crisis

Haiti observed International Women’s Rights Day 2025 under the UN theme “Rights, Empowerment, and Opportunities for Every Displaced Woman and Girl, Everywhere in the World.”

However, for displaced women and girls in Port-au-Prince, March 8 was just another day of survival.

“Women’s Rights Day is a time for reflection, but more importantly, action,” the IOM said in a statement. “Displaced and migrant women need urgent support and protection to rebuild their lives.”

The United Nations and humanitarian groups emphasize that displaced women must be included in discussions on Haiti’s future. Solutions must address:

Economic empowerment programs to help women regain financial independence.   

Access to education for displaced children.

Social protection systems to ensure the dignity and security of women.

The entrance to the new displacement camp for individuals fleeing violence is located on the premises of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communication in Delmas 33, as of March 8, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times

But for women like Saloude Ciméus, 44, those solutions feel out of reach.

“I have fled Canaan, Delmas 3, and the Acra camp, and now I’m here,” Ciméus said, standing in front of her small shelter at the MTPTC site. “I don’t know where else to go.”

She tries to survive by selling bottled water, but sales are slow.

Haitian women demand action

The entrance to the new displacement camp for individuals fleeing violence is located on the premises of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communication in Delmas 33, as of March 8, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times Haitian women demand action As women’s organizations gathered for panel discussions and events, displaced women felt forgotten, waiting for action instead of speeches.

Their message to the Haitian government?

Restore security, open the roads, and let us go home.

“Let the government give us security,” Ciméus said. “We don’t need aid. We just want to go home.”

[runawaymun]

Btw if it’s hot where you live right now and you inexplicably feel like absolute shit, this is your reminder that headache/sleepiness/nausea etc are all signs of heat exhaustion. Please go run some cool (NOT cold) water over your wrists and hands, or if you’re at home take a cool (NOT cold) bath or shower.

If you’re out and you don’t have money to go somewhere then head to your closest library. They’ll have AC and a bathroom. I’m so serious. I deadass was on the verge of puking my guts out an hour ago and assumed I was about to get a migraine but turns out it was just good ol heat exhaustion. Your brain is cooking and it will get harder to realize that’s what happening. Stay safe 🫶

Btw don’t use ice or very cold water. It can kill you.

[soldierporn]

The chair of the Alabama Republican party is also the chairman on the state public library system who is pushing this farcical bullshit. That's a seriously blatant conflict of interest, because libraries should not be required to follow the whims of whichever political party has gerrymandered its way into political control.

Thankfully, the general public agrees and has stepped forward in support of the public library:

Here's the fundraiser, in case you want to chip in. Maybe they can add additional banned books to their shelves.

[drizzlessketchingnook]

Meet Barrett!

I’m a bit late to party about this guy since my friend, @regularassgrass has already been making drawings and stuff of him on their page. But life has been hectic with me getting a job and all other crazy stuff I’ve been trying to work on, including the blog rebrand. But he’s here now and hopefully I’ll be able to draw more of my anxious dire wolfbeastman and his adventures at RSA along with the world around him.

[redhoodscorvid]

IRL PSA: Coloradans, you may need rabies shots if you attended the Moms and Mutts adoption event on July 20, 2024 in Englewood! (20 min south of Denver, CO.)

If you attended:

Call the hotline: 303-692-2700

After hours: 303-370-9395

Email: cdphe_zoonoses@state.co.us

If it's determined that you were exposed, you need to get vaccinated immediately. "Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal." (WHO)

The news is spreading more widely now that lab work has definitively confirmed that a puppy was infected. Rabies can be spread through licks and scratches, so anyone who interacted with the puppies could be at risk. (Reporting from The Denver Post.)

[maaaxx]

Studying social work means that i will never have any faith in a mental health provider ever again. Ive seen the type of people they give these degrees, the standards arent existent

[spurgie-cousin]

What’s wild to me is that Kaylee uses commas like she has to hit a daily limit or her phone will blow up, meanwhile Renee and Nurie use them more normally and more or less where they should be used.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the next kids to get social media and how they post - I think Gabe and Hannah are the next courtship-age kids with Tessie not far behind? And Sam of course, unless Jill makes him wait to court before getting social media like Tim waited

Yea Kaylee is by far the worst when it comes to grammar, but Renee, Nurie, and Tim have had their moments too lol (currently going through some of Tim's older "podcasts" and some of his descriptions/additions are so hard to get through).

Jill's homeschool structure is like, once you can read you're basically just teaching yourself everything, so I'm sure some kids paid closer attention to grammar than others or caught on better. And again I don't expect them to be writing at a grad school level on social media (lord knows I don't) but states are supposed to test homeschool kids regularly to make sure they're not being neglected, and I do wonder how in the hell Kaylee passed those tests punctuating each word with a comma lol. But I also know that they spent a lot of their homeschool years kind of bouncing around the country, so maybe they were able to avoid the few homeschooling regulations that most states enforce, idk.

[daily-public-domain]

Day 318: A litter of guinea pigs, Seattle Animal Shelter

link

–This image is part of the public domain, meaning you can do anything you want with it! (you could even sell it as a shirt, poster or whatever, no need to credit it!)–

[poppy5991]

Do you ever randomly remember that you are so many of the things that conservatives hate and just

[hexalene]

it’s not a shock at all but I’m having another blackpill moment while dealing with 911/police shit

If you see a homeless shelter advertised, it’s most likely men only, because they can’t advertise the locations of women’s shelters because every time they do, homeless men will show up and start stalking the locations to prey on the women sheltered there.

[bogkeep]

it's been over a whole month since i had a stupid argument with my parents about driving, a skill that i legally possess but hate doing because i have a special brain illness that makes me fear death and injury, but i'm still chewing over an absurd claim that it's "equally dangerous to go on a 14 hour train ride like you just did". literally how is that more dangerous. in what way. in what world. public transport is nice and good and i like it and i don't have to enter my personal torment nexus

[tototavros]

thinking about the possibility of cheapness of batteries, tech generally, and other materials + global warming could make "urban backpacking" a reasonable lifestyle, with a portable "home" of about 30 pounds costing about $1-1.5k in investment (backpack, 2 pairs good shoes, couple pairs of clothes, good battery, tablet, phone, misc.) hygiene would cost you a lot but you can probably get enough for showering reasonably for $100/mo, probably $50/mo plus necessities + storage food would be the highest cost but even still, you can get a day's worth of pre-prepped meals at grocery stores for $15/day even if you have no way of cooking

laundromat costs + minimal cell service would probably be another $30-50 per month, so monthly costs overall are max $150, or $5/day

current wages get you $10/hr after that dread beast taxation so that takes about thirteen hours a week of labor, which can easily be reduced if a mass of people take up this behavior and are able to know when/where to congregate for a mass food event, which could probably cut food costs in half, bringing total work down to about 8 hours per week

this isn't accounting for much, but if you could connect to wifi that lets you pirate media every week or two, that plus public libraries brings most entertainment costs down but still, what about entertainment? a movie ticket costs an additional hour of labor and you can get 4-6 cheap drinks for a half hour of labor. you might ask, what about the club? but there is much better, there are beaches.

[petsincollections]

A canine Christmas at Valley Animal Shelter, 1963

Photograph caption dated December 25, 1963 reads, "Even homeless dogs are not forgotten on this Christmas day. 'Monsieur Cognac,' a movie poodle from Universal Studios, played Santa Claus at the Valley Animal Shelter, 13131 Sherman Way. He filled the pups' stockings with goodies any dog would appreciate. He came this morning, toting a bag full of steaks, chops and juicy bones for all the orphan pooches. This Christmas was the first time a dog has played Santa to other dogs at the shelter, animal regulation attendants said. They were grateful for the kind gesture. And, from the happy yelps that were heard at the shelter, so were the pups."; See images #00131648 through #00131650 for all photos in this series.

[wickedsick]

Honestly they should've just made the human character in the sonic movies Chris Thorndyke. I think that would've been more fun and also less cop