BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication).
*************************
Homelessness is a big thing in Barrie nowadays. I think we can change and improve the way we treat and house the homeless, because they are people, too.
For all my life, I can remember seeing homeless people living and sleeping everywhere. Seeing this has just become a part of everyday life. Some areas in town I try to avoid because some of the homeless do drugs and leave empty needles and weed packages everywhere that kids don't need to touch or see.
I live beside Milligan's Pond and I can't even walk through the forest without seeing beer cans or narcotics. This isn't safe to walk in. People have complained before about the mess and the garbage they leave behind, or the mess they make, but we take no action to try and help them.
I think if we spent a little less money on decorations, like the Barrie sign at the water, we can also raise money to make more homeless shelters and try to keep them off the streets and in a warm building with a bed and blanket.
There should be more places where homeless people can get help with addictions or even talk about their feelings. To get a therapist, it's like $150 a session, with a lot of people who don't have it.
If there was a way to get them free help and turn their life around, I think we can make that change.
Lexi Hillyer
Barrie
*************************
