Pubdate: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Holly MacDonald HOW LONG CAN WE TOLERATE CITY DELUGED BY ADDICTS AND THUGS? On every street corner this summer, you will see tourists peering out over their maps looking for the Vancouver they have read or heard about. Instead, they are confronted by sights they would never have dreamed of. Small armies of homeless people weave their shopping carts through the streets. Angry, aggressive, drugged-out people panhandle for their next fix. We have allowed this to take root in every corner of our city. I am not qualified to provide the answers. But the city must address this issue head-on and sort out the petty criminals, the drug dealers, the vagrants and the thugs from the truly needy, and get on with cleaning up our city. We cannot go on like this. These issues are far more complex than simply providing housing for the homeless. Holly MacDonald Vancouver - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin