I am 16 years old. My sister, Helen Mae Hallmark, went missing from
the Downtown Eastside about three years ago. She was a junkie.

Helen and many other missing women did not choose the path of
drugs.

I am not saying that the government is responsible for the deaths of
drug addicts but I feel that the government hasn't done a whole lot to
get them off the streets.

Yes, these overdose deaths could have been prevented. However, they
weren't because of people who classify addicts as street scum.

As for junkies taking responsibility for their actions, they have!
They have cried out for help countless times and no one listens.

I only want people to try and look into the depths of a situation
instead of skimming the surface. These people have been condemned to
the streets because of family poverty and unimaginably tragic stories.

Kirsten McClelland,
Maple Ridge