BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to 'Complex problem': Council takes aim at chronic homelessness,' published May 17, and 'Council paints stark picture around need for homelessness plan,' published May 18.
One might wonder if it is not simply by a default knee-jerk reaction that protesters object to change of social policies without getting informed about them. In Barrie, the latest example on May 17 is council unanimously passing a motion in relation to homelessness.
To be fair, council designed the motion with considerations that provide for the vulnerable, as well as the peace and freedom of the entire community, including residents and businesses.
A key point in the motion is making arrangements for newly freed people from Central North Correctional Centre to be reunited with family or supporters in their community of origin. How does this compare with being dropped off in an unknown city, with no plan and few resources?
Council is also seeking funding from the County of Simcoe for employment training opportunities, and for Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) to help individuals who experience substance-use disorders. There will be additional support for meal programs, and warming and cooling centres, and the public is being encouraged to make monetary donations to social agencies.
I am sure most people would agree that many provisions have been made to help the less enfranchised meet their needs.
If protesters wish to challenge points in the motion that uphold the safety and peace of the greater community, then is the current problematic situation to continue with no intervention?
What is their plan for when a fire breaks out at an encampment, including medical help? Whose time and expense will this be?
Who will collect the debris left behind at encampment sites?
Who will mitigate the health and environmental risks that go along with improper toilet facilities at most encampments?
Do the protesters have a plan for making our community parks safe for families, and free of drug paraphernalia?
Have the protesters thought of what the costs will be, on the whole, to let the problem continue without introducing necessary steps?
With changes introduced by council, we need to remember that nothing is carved in stone. Staff will provide quarterly updates on how effective the changes are in respect to community safety, and Mayor Alex Nutall and council are open to making amendments as needed.
As a work in progress, how hopeful is it that protesters might use their voices at the community safety committee to help shape policies, instead of taking action without reason?
Might it still be possible to express love, compassion and care to others by making a donation, as suggested by council? Or by volunteering at a social agency?
After all, a little goes a long way with everyone on board. Something to consider.
Ann-Marie Quinn
Barrie
