'DILUTION IS NOT THE SOLUTION' TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Minister's Suggestion To Move Services Away From Downtown Draws
Skepticism, Support

Comments made by Ontario's social services minister that the
concentration of programs and support downtown are contributing to the
city's growing problems with drugs, homelessness and prostitution drew
mixed reactions yesterday, from strong support to skepticism.

Community and Social Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur said in an
interview with the Citizen that concentrating social services downtown
is adding undue pressure to the area, since everyone gravitates there.

Her comments stirred up the old chicken-or-the-egg debate: are the
homeless and the vulnerable drawn downtown because services are there,
or are the services there because the people who need them tend to go
downtown.

"There is a reason why the shelters are here. It's where the people
who need them are," said Lowertown Community Association president
Angela Rickman. "They're going to keep gravitating to where they can
panhandle.

"Frankly, kids that run away from home, they don't run to Kanata. They
run to downtown. And that's where the services they need should be, or
need to be."

While Ms. Rickman agreed with Ms. Meilleur that it's a good idea to
move detox centres out of drug-ridden areas, she was skeptical that
moving other services out of the inner core will curb the area's problems.

"It isn't practical," she said, adding that decentralization will only
work if enough social support is available where the people who use
them live.

However, it's not only a geographic issue. Ms. Rickman said the city
must deal with underlying problems first, including affordable housing.

"But if it's just moving existing services around, spreading it out,
dilution is not the solution to this problem."

At Operation Go Home, an organization that educates and helps street
people return to their families, manager of youth services Natalie
Elliott said a downtown location provides her clients with the most
options when it comes to finding affordable housing.

"It's downtown, it's convenient," she said yesterday.

Ms. Meilleur had suggested there was no reason for Operation Go Home
to be located downtown, saying street youth shouldn't be placed in
environments where temptations are hard to avoid.

Ms. Elliott said the minister's comments weren't the first time the
argument had been made about the downtown location being a potential
liability -- when the service moved from Rideau Street to Murray
Street, the same concerns were raised.

She said, however, that despite Operation Go Home's success, she
agrees there are people who need services in other areas of the city

"I do believe that there needs to be more social services outside the
downtown core. But I also believe that there needs to be more
(affordable) housing."

Rideau-Vanier Councillor Georges Bedard was more fervent in his
support of Ms. Meilleur's assessment.

"I've been saying this for years," Mr. Bedard said.

"It's just a huge accumulation of social services in one area. As a
result, what happens is the drug dealers know where they're located,
so they come in and prey on these people because they're all located
within a short walking distance."

He said moving some of the services away from downtown will
"incorporate" the homeless or those who need social services into the
community.

"It will allow for these services to be dispersed to where people need
them, instead of ... forcing people to come to that particular area to
get their services."

Mr. Bedard said he's not necessarily advocating that services be
planted in outlying areas like Orleans or Nepean.

"There's a larger urban area than simply my ward or Somerset ward," he
said. "You can have them out in Westboro, the Overbrook area, the
southern communities of Ottawa, where there are homeless people.

"But we're forcing them to move downtown."

Somerset Councillor Diane Holmes was unreachable for comment
yesterday.