Dear editor,
People opposed to the shelter’s location need to answer this question.
Where do the homeless of Courtenay go during the day?
Hmmm, they are the people you see everyday in and around Courtenay. They are people who for whatever reason need help to get back on their feet. They are someone’s son or daughter and deserve a chance to get out of poverty and despair.
The shelter is not just going to be a place to eat and sleep. When someone suggested that handing out hotel and food vouchers would be more cost-effective, I agree.
But as far as being a solution to homelessness I think it is off track. It would just be a Band-Aid solution and not really change anything. A shelter would provide needed counselling for employment, living and health.
Clients would get help with mental health and addiction issues. It would be somewhere stable to help people get back on track with their lives.
When you are homeless you spend most of your day just trying to meet your needs. There is little time left to pursue your dreams or focus on your future. This creates the cycle that goes nowhere fast.
Homelessness is not cheap. Provincial taxpayers spend up to $40,000 annually per homeless person, according a 2001 study. That money is spent on police calls, hospital visits and other emergency social services.
If there are only 2,174 homeless people in the Vancouver area (an official figure everyone in the field assumes is well below the actual total) and if each person uses $40,000 in services (a figure that did not include all local services), then British Columbia taxpayers are spending $86.9 million a year just to help people living on the streets stay alive.
Natalie Fisher,
Courtenay