Editor: The following is an open letter to 91原创 City mayor Ted Schaffer, MLA Mary Polak, Cloverdale-91原创 City MP John Aldag and RCMP Supt. Murray Power:
Re: possible solutions to aid the homeless, mentally ill and drug-addicted. There needs to be a balance between entitlement and accountability.
With guidance, they can be helped with the ability to help themselves.
1) De-clustering of social housing. Together in large groups we see a negative effect. All municipalities and neighbourhoods should work together on this;
2) The duplication of our many agencies with their separate grants could achieve more by sharing ideas and information. They, too, should be de-clustered;
3) Injection sites should be placed by hospitals and addicts not allowed to leave the site until their needles have been disposed of properly. Needle sales should be better regulated. Playgrounds and libraries must be kept safe for our children;
4) The mentally ill, too, must be protected. A safe comfortable home with medication supervision, along with a care worker, is an urgent need. These homes of care should also be de-clustered. We believe the Charter of Rights must protect them from themselves, along with society in general. This includes our vulnerable children, seniors and Joe Average as well;
5) Social assistance would be better served by requiring the able-bodied to pick up their welfare once a week rather than monthly; a make-work project requiring four hours of labour required to receive the cheque. This could be the beginning of a work ethic and build the clients鈥� self-esteem as well;
6) A marketing system could be put together re: educating the general public in ways they can help. ie. City Hall to co-ordinate removal of abandoned grocery baskets; immediate removal of graffiti (who to contact and how to go about it); better donation box sites, locked and monitored.
Entitlement and accountability 鈥� two words we could well ponder upon.
Marie Smith,
On behalf of 91原创 Concerned Citizens
