Dear editor,
I want to commend Anne Davis for her very inclusive recent letter on the homelessness issue.
She outlined that our homeless problem locally is a very complex issue. It is not just an issue about the Maple Pool Campsite.
Historically, I remember when the federal government started cutting back on supporting low-cost, social housing. That was about 30 years ago, and the problems have now “come home,” to put it bluntly.
Unfortunately, Jean Rowe thinks that the main problem now is funding the legal costs for the Lins in their battle with the City of Courtenay. That is not, in my opinion, the root cause of this issue.
Yes, the Lins are doing a terrific job with their tenants and with the multicultural society, and we should work with them in trying to find solutions for all the homeless, not just the current Maple Pool tenants.
Instead of pointing fingers at certain people, as Jean Rowe has done, and instead of trying to start a legal fund for the Lins, why don’t we try to get to the roots of the huge homeless problems we have in our midst?
Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland and the regional district could/should be lobbying for all of the housing support systems which this Valley needs, and all of which were outlined in Anne Davis’ letter.
Gwyn Frayne,
Comox Valley