Pubdate: Tue, 15 Nov 2005 Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2005 The Lethbridge Herald Contact: http://www.mysouthernalberta.com/leth/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/239 Author: George Paddy GET TOUGH DOWNTOWN? GET REAL Editor: There has been a recent focus on panhandling here in Lethbridge. I wonder if The Herald would be comfortable in publishing a letter that does not necessarily conform to the "get tough downtown" focus. I feel panhandling is an issue that will never entirely go away; a recent article in the Herald seems to focus only on the needs of business and investment. There are issues that need to be looked at regarding homelessness, poverty, and lack of affordable accommodation. Where do you propose these people go? The article's opening sentence is "City council has put drug users, panhandlers, and others on notice." So you've created an image of the people downtown as drug users and panhandlers. Not everyone is like that. Many have minimum wage jobs, no place to stay, no access to cooking utilities, and nowhere to go on the days they don't work. They make enough to get the basics, (food, clothing, bus passes); not everyone can afford a home here. Many of the people you are clumping together as "drug users and panhandlers" are the working poor! There are people who can only find casual employment and minimum wage. Sometimes they lose these jobs because they don't have the appropriate clothing, or adequate transportation (city transit does not go to all work areas in Lethbridge). Stop assuming you know all there is to know about the people downtown. You don't. You live in your homes, blind to the reality that people face in other economic levels every day. Everyone here has a different story. You don't know them. Businesses care about money, not about people. George Paddy Lethbridge - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin