Supportive Wet Housing Questions Valid

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Supportive Housing

Low Barrier Housing

Wet Housing

No Barrier Housing

Whatever You Call It There Are Questions Unanswered

Firstly, I am in total agreement with society's responsibility to provide help for any hapless soul who is bound by substances and destructive behaviour, that is not an issue whatsoever. I believe it is society's responsibility to see that all of our citizens enjoy a healthy standard of living which a country such as ours should be able to provide. That includes all citizens and not just those visibly afflicted with debilitating addictions or mental issues.

Stress and anxiety are two of the major causes of many other diseases that afflict the human soul and currently the approach to helping some among us, is creating very real health issues for others among us. The fear and anxiety being experienced by people living in the hospital area is very real and can have very real health impacts. To sit by and casually dismiss these very real impacts by saying things such as 'your fears are unfounded' seem most shallow when coming from those not affected such as councilors and city staff.

Some of the major concerns of residents opposed to these projects planned for the Quarterway area which have not been adequately addressed:

• Since there is no solid assurance to the contrary, it is entirely possible that either of these projects could house up to 36 active drug users at any one time. This puts up to 72 active drug users in a concentrated area which could destroy the neighbourhood and causes serious concerns for the safety of over 300 children attending Quarterway School.
• Those 72 active drug users are not required to abstain from drug use as a condition of being housed in this project, so logically you would assume they will be buying drugs to consume. Buying drugs of course brings the unsavory elements of society into the area to service their customers, and there is little evidence the local justice system does anything but tolerate this activity. If they could, there would be no drug problem as all the 'bad guys' would be locked up. No more drug pushers would mean no more drug addicts, but of course we are incapable of making that happen.
• Since the residents of these no barrier projects will only have welfare as a means of income and addictive habits such as drugs and alcohol would likely exceed their welfare income, the question arises --- how do they supplement their income? What does the prospect of having 72 poor souls needing to steal to support their habit do for the other citizens peace and security?

These are just a few examples of very real concerns that have not been adequately addressed by city council and the social engineers who think these projects are good for everyone. They have made claims about the success of similar projects, but the supporting data does not bear out their claims, when you take time to actually scrutinize the 'proof' being offered by the local social planning department.

Some contrary proof that has been offered included the statement that other projects in the province have successfully employed the no barrier model, when in fact that is not true. Pointing to other studies and reports to support the Nanaimo model is like comparing apples and oranges. Some success is reported for projects in the 10 - 12 client size, but not the 36+ size being proposed in Nanaimo. Some of the supportive housing success stories turn out to be housing people with differing degrees of mental issues and drug use is neither the problem nor is it tolerated.

On a very local level, on the one hand the social engineers would have you believe there will be no problems created placing 72+ active drug users in a small area. On the other hand, the city and downtown businesses have spent considerable time and money developing and employing strategies to get these people out of the downtown core.

Most recently, the prospect of a 24 hour 7/11 store on Nicol Street met with serious opposition from the South End Community Association fueled by their concerns of the 'types' of people that the store will attract to their area.

Yes, Nanaimo needs to tend to the health and well being of ALL of it's citizens and the current unanswered questions about the concentration of these two projects with the policy of housing active drug users is creating serious health and well being issues for far more citizens than these projects are designed to help.