WE SEEM TO VALUE DRUGGIE RIGHTS OVER OUR CHILDREN

Re: 'Homeless hotel draws criticism; Drop-in centre for street people is
part of plan for mental health facility' (Daily News, July 3).

I've been living in the south end of Nanaimo for four years now. I
shop, walk and eat here.

When I drive down Irwin Street to get home, I pass the park where
there used to be two prostitutes at the most.

Now when I drive, by I often see the park filled with druggies,
prostitutes and street people. A person's home should be their
sanctuary but for those who live in that area, it's a nightmare.

There is a preschool and playground that should be filled with the
sound of happy children playing. When I drove by the other day a man
was beating a woman and was stopped by the football team that was
practising at the time.

If it happens in the park in the day then what happens to these poor
women under the cover of night or behind closed doors?

The police have been called on many occasions so I'm not sure what the
problem is as it's getting worse.

Now if the Balmoral Hotel takes in street people and druggies, the
situation will only increase the number of them. That park should be a
place for children to be playing in, and remember fondly. Instead,
those children will remember finding used needles, druggies flailing
on the ground, or a prostitute being beaten.

Isn't this the wrong message to be giving the children? It seems to me
the quality of life in Nanaimo for druggies is being placed before
that of the children.

Why isn't the city doing everything it can to fight back, including
the mayor and the police?

Kathy MacDonald,
Nanaimo