ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS BY TACKLING ADDICTION

To the Editor,

Re: Let's get to work on housing the homeless, March 10.

I am responding to three letters all concerning what I feel are the
same topic, homelessness and drug addiction.

First we need to address homelessness in terms of those who are
addicted to drugs.

Having been involved with this issue as a property manager for a
number of support agencies, and a community voice at a number of city
workshops, I can say that the whole issue of homelessness needs to
come from the federal government. We need a true federal, provincial
and municipal partnership.

I firmly believe in using the services of a community court system
where members of our own community provide sentencing to those who
have been caught using drugs and where those sentenced are sent to a
Nanaimo facility.

This is not a jail or a prison, but more along the lines of an
apartment block where those people sent there would receive wet and
dry housing, counselling and training - followed by one-on-one
professional support. This building would be a secure building
preventing drug dealers from profiting and preying on various users.

We have also heard of the arguments of needing more police. Perhaps
we do, but not for those incidences of nuisance drug behavior.

What is the point of hiring more police at $110,000 per officer when
all they can do is write up the reports.

What we need in addition to the existing policing services is more
social and outreach workers, medical facilities to help people detox,
stronger sentencing for repeat offenders and many other support services.

I hear over and over again that the police should be out of their
cars, patrolling downtown streets - even in Seattle they are calling
for more police and a faster response. But to what avail?

What are the police going to do with the mentally challenged and drug
addicted? They are just one spoke in the wheel of justice.

Rick Hyne

Nanaimo