METH USE WORSE THAN VANCOUVER

Heather Steele spent more than five years as a health care worker in
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

These days, she's Maple Ridge's newest outreach worker trying to
combat homelessness on a contract with the Simon Fraser Branch of the
Canadian Mental Health Association.

While only in the community twice each week, and having only been
here a couple of weeks, Steele said a few things have already become apparent.

For one, she said, crystal meth use hasn't been exaggerated.

In fact, she said, it's worse on the streets of Maple Ridge than it
is in Canada's poorest neighbourhood.

"I worked in the Downtown Eastside and even though there's a crystal
meth problem there . . . it just wasn't as prevalent.

"Even though there are crack heads and heroin users down there, the
people that use meth are looked down upon."

But methamphetamine use, she said, goes hand in hand with homelessness.

"The people that are homeless are at risk a lot at night, so how do
you combat that?"

Simple, she said. Don't sleep.

Meth is cheap and long lasting, and, "you're not stuck to a pipe."

Regardless of her preliminary observations, Steele said she can see
that the situation isn't hopeless, that there are plenty of groups
working hard to combat both drug issues and the lack of affordable housing.

"There are amazing people here and I'm hoping to come in and join
that team. So far," she said, "everybody has been really welcoming
and very positive."

Her goal in the community is to help bridge the homeless population
into housing. If there is a sticking point, she said, it will be a
lack of available and affordable housing options.

"There's not a whole lot of housing out there so I'll have to get
creative." This lack of housing isn't unique to Maple Ridge. Most of
Greater Vancouver, she said, is experiencing a similar shortage.