AIDING ADDICTS

The question of whether it's morally responsible to give a loonie or
two to drug-using panhandlers is an interesting one, but it shouldn't
distract us from the larger problem of addiction and homelessness.

In Ottawa, where the crack market in particular has created alarm in
downtown neighbourhoods, some councillors and police suggest that
kind-hearted pedestrians are fuelling drug and alcohol habits.

It's true that many panhandlers -- not all -- take the money and hand
it right over to dealers. For some people, that is reason enough to
refuse a request for money, and that's fine. After all, if your money
lets an addict get one more hit, it's not really helping him. And it
might provide an incentive for him to keep panhandling.

Others see this attitude as patronizing, and are willing to give
small amounts of money no questions asked. The kindness of strangers
can have its own power. Sometimes the smile and greeting that comes
with the loonie pokes a hole in the wall between panhandlers and the
rest of society. Even those who choose not to give can still smile
and respond to panhandlers, rather than pretending they're
distasteful parts of the city architecture.

In any case, the question of whether to give to panhandlers is mainly
a red herring. Those few coins themselves do not cause an addict to
abuse drugs or alcohol. They'll get the money for their hits by any
means necessary, and the sad truth is that dangerous drugs aren't
expensive in Ottawa anyway. Severe alcoholism will lead people to
drink very cheap substances. It's unlikely we can control the
behaviour of addicts by controlling their money supply, meagre as it
is already.

Some people turn their lives around only after they hit bottom. The
best thing society can do is keep them alive as long as possible, and
be there to help them when they do decide to make a change. The
addicts who are trying to go sober are not as visible as those still
addicted, but they do exist.

Whether you give to panhandlers or not, support for social services,
food cupboards, addiction programs and shelters is always a good idea.

It's also a good idea to keep things in perspective. Residents of the
stately old community of Sandy Hill now sometimes see open drug use
in their neighbourhood -- and it's not just students with a little
marijuana anymore. A crack pipe left on your front porch is shocking.
But look at it this way: it's still uncommon enough to be shocking.
In many ways, Ottawa's drug market is still more of a problem for the
addicts themselves than for the city at large.

Many North American cities are tackling the problem of addiction with
exciting new ideas and programs. Kim Chadsey of Operation Go Home,
which works with young people on the streets, suggests that Ottawa
needs to "throw money" at the reasons why people become addicted in
the first place. That list includes mental illness, abuse and chronic
poverty. Low literacy and education levels are surely part of the
problem, too. If we want to reduce the supply of crack in Ottawa,
let's try to reduce the demand for it.