Pubdate: Tue, 08 Jul 2008
Source: Richmond News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008, Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.richmond-news.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1244
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

DON'T EXPORT SOCIAL ILLS

When it comes to social ills like drugs and crime, individuals and 
communities can either be part of the problem or part of the solution.

We, as a community, have decided to be part of the problem. We refer 
to the Turning Point Society's decision to withdraw its application 
to build a 32-bed recovery house on Ash Street.

On one hand, we demand that governments "do something" about drugs 
and crime, but when a plan to use land owned by B.C. Housing to help 
addicts recover was proposed, we rejected it.

"Unfortunately, your community has fought aggressively against a 
project that would have helped to address that (problem) in the 
community," Housing Minister Rich Coleman told the News.

Opponents said it was the scale of the 32-bed facility they opposed, 
not the idea of residential treatment per se. Economies of scale 
meant the government and Turning Point would have been able to get 
more bang for its buck by building one 32-bed facility than three 
10-bed group homes. So, it is just going to cost more to provide the 
same level of service.

Turning Point will now consider a smaller, 10-bed recovery house for 
women, possibly on the same site. We suspect we haven't heard the 
last of the neighbourhood group that opposed the proposal -- the 
"Caring Citizens of Richmond Society" -- who recently received a 
certificate of incorporation.

The group vows in a press release to "continue their vigilance 
against anything that may compromise the city's recognition as one of 
the world's most liveable communities."

Presumably a "liveable community" is one that exports its social 
problems to other communities. Here's something Turning Point's 
critics just don't seem to get: Opposing supportive recovery won't 
keep addicts out of our neighbourhoods. It just means they will go 
untreated and unsupervised.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom