> However, there is hope but we cannot rely on the government to sort it out.

Indeed:

"A change in public policy saw the mass discharge of Riverview Hospital's patients as an effort to integrate them into the community while the province considered the land for development. However, this caused a large influx of mentally ill into the DTES as poor follow-up support failed to reach a majority of these individuals."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Eastside#Mental_Illnes...