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LETTER: adequate housing is the beginning of the end to homelessness

Quesnel residents shouldn’t put their heads in the sand because it won’t away
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Editor,

You are either a part of the solution or a part of the problem.

I hear a lot of things being said as to not wanting a new housing complex to help with the issue of homelessness. However, the people complaining are not offering any solutions.

Homelessness is not going away any time soon. So what do we do about it?

Condemning people is by far not solving the problem.

We can say people should just go get help. Easier said than done. First off people need to have their basic need met, such as adequate housing.

Second, the services needed are not readily available. There is only one treatment centre for the whole North and it is only for men.

There is no detox in Quesnel.

Many watch the show Intervention and think you can get a person in rehab at the drop of a hat. Often the time between detox and rehab is a very long time, which just sets people up for failure.

Also, homeless people often have more than one problem.

I never heard anyone complaining about the drug places that have existed for years around the area where the proposed complex is slated to go.

City council never condemned the building of Coconut Grove.

There is plenty of drug activity all around. The green team goes out and cleans up all the time.

These homeless people never get the credit. It isn’t all the homeless people doing drugs. Many are not.

We can’t act like ostriches with our heads in the sand thinking that the problem is just going to solve itself.

If you are saying bad things about these people, you are tearing them down. It just adds to the problem.

Would you just prefer that people wander the streets or put them where they have a chance to better their lives?

This, one day, could be someone you cherish and love.

“Hate has caused a lot of problems in the world, but it has not solved one year.” (Maya Angelou)

Louis Wannop

Quesnel