MORE DRUGS, MORE STREET PEOPLE

The number of people living on the street in Maple Ridge - or in bush camps
or vacant houses - has almost doubled in the past two-and-a-half years,
according to a new list compiled by the local RCMP, bylaws department and
Salvation Army.

Most of them are from Maple Ridge and most of them use drugs, particularly
crystal methamphetamine.

A local task force is developing a plan to combat growing meth use in the
community, co-ordinating health, education, addiction, policing and
enforcement services. It is be completed by November and, if nothing else,
streamline efforts to get drug addicts help.

A series of town hall meetings, starting Sept. 13 at the Arts Centre and
Theatre, will discuss property crime, drugs and homelessness. "It's a
vicious circle," RCMP Insp. Janice Armstrong said.

She's worried about the increasing number of youth using the drug. It is
highly addictive and can lead to mental disorders. A Greater Vancouver
Regional District study in January 2002 found 62 homeless people living in
Maple Ridge. Of those, 27 were living on the streets - the third highest
total in the region.

There are now about 50 people on the street in Maple Ridge, according to the
new list provided by Kathie Chiu, captain of the local Salvation Army
chapter and manager of The Caring Place emergency shelter.

The shelter has space for 26 clients - 14 in transitional and 12 in
emergency beds. It is full every night, Chiu said. Without the shelter,
those clients would probably be living on the street, pushing the total of
homeless people in Maple Ridge to at least 76. Chiu suspects there are more.

They live in bush camps and rental or vacant houses around Maple Ridge and
range in age from 19 to 56. Some are women. More than there used to be, Chiu
said.

She blames drugs. "There is a horrible drug problem in Maple Ridge."

Police have heard of local street women being sexually abused in exchange
for crystal meth. They are aware of several flop houses, as well.

Insp. Armstrong said the list of street people gives police an idea of who
they are dealing with - many are drugs addicts with mental illnesses. In the
same way the list provides safety to those those living on the street;
police can keep track of them, look out for them.

"The street can be a dangerous place to live," said Armstrong, a member of
the meth sub-committee of the local task force.

RCMP Cst. Chuck Glover encounters many of the same drug-addicted street
people over and over again. Few are new to town, he said. "It's pretty much
the same group."

He said nearly all are from Maple Ridge. Again, drugs are to blame. 'That's
what's causing a lot of what we are seeing," Glover said. "It's so prevalent
and plentiful."

He doesn't see how it will go away. An outreach worker would help, he said.

Glover's hoping the Salvation Army or another local group will employ one,
someone to direct the street people to get the help they need. That could be
getting into rehab or to see a dentist.

The Caring Place shelter opened on Lougheed Highway in downtown Maple Ridge
almost two years ago. Chiu still gets complaints from neighbours about
people doing drugs in their yards. She said the shelter is not to blame.

"The problem is not the shelter in the neighbourhood. The problem is there's
a need for the shelter in the neighbourhood."

And the problem isn't going away. Chiu faults various levels of government
over the years for that. It takes too long to addicts into rehab, she said.

The task force was started by the Meadow Ridge Rotary Club. It includes
numerous local social agencies, as well as the RCMP and Salvation Army. It
is working to co-ordinate addiction services, streamlining the process of
evaluating clients, entering them into detox and rehab.

Chiu claims the shelter moves more people in Maple Ridge into rehab
facilities than any other agency in town.

In the past year-and-a-half 230 shelter clients have moved on, either into
rehab programs or to live on their own or with family or friends. One now
has a job and on Wednesday went to get his driver's licence back.

Another is heading back to Miracle Valley, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation
centre run by the Salvation Army in Mission.

Still, the Salvation Army church congregation is shrinking because of all
the bad publicity the shelter receives, Chiu said. She would gladly run just
a church, if the shelter wasn't needed.

"I'm tired of running a quasi-agency for drug addicts," Chiu said.