Authorities Require More Power, Control Editor; Re: Safe injection sites poked (Peace Arch News, June 22) I worked extensively in the addictions field. I have seen it all, from the downtown east side to Whalley. I still do not have the answers. I recently returned from a trip to Europe to research a military reunion. I was the guest of the mayor of Faulquemont. I was in more bars than in the previous 10 years. Used their public transit system. What was apparent was the lack of drunks, addicts, panhandlers and homeless. I took my questions to the mayor. I wanted to know where they were. [continues 145 words]
The Editor, While I am sad that this has happened to Gary Robinson, it dismays me to see such a headline. It's almost as if you are saying this is a rare case. That isn't so. This is what is happening every day to families all over. Same story line, different stretch. It just hits the headlines because he was a public figure. Every day families are faced with heartbreak over daughters prostituting themselves and sons both pimping and selling drugs. [continues 108 words]
The Editor, I have just left city hall and the presentation to council by Mike Wilson of Phoenix Recovery Centre. I am thoroughly disgusted that this will even go to public hearing. Since Jan. 9, 2003, Wilson has been broadcasting his proposal which contained a medical detox. Now that he has 80 per cent of the $5 million needed for this centre, where is the detox? Nowhere. He does not plan to have one. He might have a social detox. Now I have been working in the recovery industry for over 14 years and I have never heard of a social detox. What we have here is a glorified recovery house. City hall never asked him if he planned to have federal beds. He never went to the nearby seniors home to see if they approved. So unless this city rises and gets out to the public hearing Jan. 26, the City of Surrey will have a $5 million recovery house to add to the dozens that already exist. We need the promised detox, not another recovery house. All I can say is that the City of Surrey has just been sucker punched with a $5-million project. Christine Eden Surrey [end]
The Editor, Re: "Mayor ups crackdown," the Now, Aug. 23. While I applaud any attempts to crack down on the drug and prostitution crisis in Whalley, I agree that what is happening is a waste of time and money. The problem will not go away until such time as it is addressed in the correct forum. For me, that would be to take drug use and addiction from the criminal system and make it a medical issue, which it is. This would free up big dollars for both the RCMP and the medical system. We could look at treatment and prevention with the money we saved. Just the paper work alone for our RCMP to take one addict to court is costly. If we had the proper facilities to detox these individuals and treat their addiction, then our community would be safer. No addict wants to be an addict. They want to be free of this devil on their shoulder, but when the desire to do this finally comes, the beds they need are not there. [continues 230 words]
The Editor, Re: "City may be sued over bill," the Now, Aug. 16. Being a landlord and a activist against drug use, I can see both sides of this issue. We had a house that was being abused by our tenants as a drug house. We found that the provincial residential tenancy office was totally useless in helping us to get inside. They came across as being more concerned about the tenants' rights than ours. The RCMP was even worse. Our repeated calls for help were put aside as a landlord/tenant dispute to be addressed in court. Getting these tenants out took some hard stands by us, and frankly bordered on vigilanteeism. [continues 87 words]
