How do I get my city back?
By Letter to the Editor on February 20, 2020.
I know that you’re not Ann Landers, but I’m hoping you can help me mend my heartbreak. The heartbreak occurred when the city I knew and loved was taken from me. How do I get her back?
My city had her issues, but she was, for the most part, a beautiful, safe, friendly and clean place. She was taken from me when her leaders chose, without consulting her residents, to build a place that would bring all sorts of new people to her that she had no ability to heal. Those people have been left feeling hopeless and desperate and without the means to care for themselves.
My city has become their victim. She’s no longer beautiful. She sadly watches many homeless, helpless people wandering her streets. It breaks her heart that her citizens are no longer safe in their own homes, nor walking her streets. She misses them terribly. She’s certainly not as friendly as she once was. She’s guarded and unsure about the direction she’s heading. She’s no longer clean. Her streets are littered with garbage and drug paraphernalia.
I know, some will think I’m overreacting or lacking compassion but I can assure you neither is true. I’ve resided in my city for 40-plus years. Until the past two years, I never had the pleasure of having a drug-compromised person enter my home and take my wallet from my purse. Until the past two years I’ve never gone to climb my ladder to paint my house É oh, no, I can’t climb the ladder … it’s been stolen. Until the past two years I never had to chase out the squatters from my neighbour’s house as she vacationed.
And then be further blessed to be able to clean up the drug paraphernalia, used condoms, knives and clothes that were left behind in her home. The bikes are gone. The power tools are gone. We’ve added locks to everything. The police can’t keep up. But please remember, these are someone’s children that are stealing, squatting and generally throwing their lives away; and, but for the grace of God, they are not my children. They need help. They need to be in their own communities surrounded by and supported by their families and their friends.
In my city they are anonymous faces who are being victimized by a failed social experiment rather than being supported to become the best they can be. So, now you have the information. How do I get her back? Please help me.
Gwen Chadsey
Lethbridge
10-9
There is a lack of political will to change this. The municipal and provincial elected officials have their own agendas, and have no desire to hear from the “population”. As a certain Mayor has been quoted…”If you don’t like it, move.” Sad situation, but the bleeding hearts still support him.
The bleeding hearts don’t care about the innocent victims. They care about patting each other on the back and proclaiming what good and compassionate citizens they are. They will continue to ignore the harm of their actions until it begins affecting them. These type of people cause far more damage than the criminal addicts, as they are the enablers of those that have lost control.
Yes,so true,”until it begins affecting them”. This may take awhile yet. As the Arches staff (I know who own properties and those I have heard rental enquiries from)can afford and or choose to live in neighborhoods least affected,at this time. Bare in mind that only a certain amount of the violent or disturbing crimes are publicly reported. Although the police crime maps ,are a source. And Arches advises new and from out of town staff where to rent or buy for safety factors. I think Arches should share their list for all of Lethbridge to see. Where are the Arches staff choosing to raise their kids in Lethbridge? Which school districts do they choose to live in and why? Until they occupy neighborhoods where there has been and or is 6 drug houses and three chop shops , at various stages of being hopefully closed down-they seem like a bunch of hypocrites.
To some Arches staff that I speak of: I know why you have chosen to live where you do and which neighborhoods you try to afford and which school districts you want your kids in and you know, I know why. That makes you big ,fat liars at least on some of the aspects of this issue. Put your money (and family) where your mouth is for a change.
Thanks for that Montreal.
Can you elaborate on, “Only a certain amount of the violent or disturbing crimes are publicly reported”?
I am however aware of the crime that isn’t reported due to residents no longer bothering to call. The typical reasons for not reporting the crime are the police show up long after the perpetrator is gone, or they don’t show up at all.
Seth,check police crime maps,various facebook pages,see if (for one example) a report on facebook from a family that experienced a pretty scary incident at their home in riverstone AND THEN see a policeman’s verification of that unreported to mainstream media, at a Connecting Our Communities meeting (that is videoed ,should still be on their facebook page,saw video back in about Oct. 2019. In other words, seek info from as many different sources as possible and see what connects.
Great letter Gwen, a true depiction of what has happened.
Not fully true. Almost all of the users of the SCS are from Lethbridge to begin with. ARCHES does intake questions on where the people come from and what brought them here.
Nearly all come from Lethbridge to begin with. Many being born here.
The small handful (maybe 20 People, if that) who have come from other communities were asked what brought them here, and their responses were for work or school, maybe had a partner. None came here because an SCS was built.
An SCS started on Blood Tribe at the same time one was built in Lethbridge, but the one on Blood Tribe closed due to lack of use. In turn, Blood Tribe built a medical detox centre which has been very successful.
There’s a lot of myths surrounding the SCS, and we do have the numbers and data to correct a lot of the myths and outright lies, but, I don’t think fact and truth matters to the people opposed to harm reduction. No amount of evidence can sway them.
As per the content of the letter, it’s expert hyperbolic “won’t somebody please think of the children!” manipulation of truth.
Some great side eye shade going on there.
Uncle Buck,
The Kainai nation THEMSELVES admit that most of the scs users are their kids that left the reserve to seek services such as the SCS. It’s also blatantly obvious that we’ve seen a massive influx of very young indigenous addicts since the scs opened. Did you think this massive influx just magically grew out of the ground? So ya, you go ahead and deny the observable reality, and trust the word of the organization that has a vested interest in denying that their facility attracts addicts, dealers, and their crime.
Most of your other statements are just as laughably inaccurate, delusional, and out to lunch. So much so, that I’m finding it hard to decide where to begin invalidating the rest of them.
Furthermore, your wording is blatantly indicative of an association with arches and/or the scs.
BTW- “came here for work or school” LMAO!
I think what UncleBuck is saying, Seth, is “show your evidence”.
(And I don’t think he means more fantastical anecdotes.)
Fanatical Anecdotes? WTF?
Evidence for the obvious? Well how about the observable reality of the influx of addicts, dealers, and crime? How about the admittance by the Kaiani nation, the EMS, the LPS?
That sure beats the non-sense, non-evidence that UncleBuck is presenting. But thanks for that Fescue. I think you might have given me slightly more incentive to destroy UB’s other absurd statements.
‘Fantastical’, my friend. Though your version works for me.
I’m sure it does.
Either term can arguably describe your emotional bias on the matter, not the people who are exposing the truth on the matter.
Uncle Buck Get your head out of the sand! (you say “almost all of the users of the SCS are from Lethbridge”). NO- most are from the Blood Reserve migrating to Lethbridge with no skills only sordid problems they are unloading on us. No wonder racism is going through the roof.
I guess I’m a bit confused as to what is being said in this thread. UncleBuck says that a vast majority of the people dependent on the SCS for care for their addictions are residents of Lethbridge. I think that could mean residents from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Or, is it being implied, that Lethbridge is only for whiteys who never get addicted to opiods or steal or use foul language while driving?
And, I would reiterate, that many of the ‘observations’ being expressed are unsupported by actual measures (at least, none are being offered); and these ‘observations’ indicated a distasteful level of bigotry.
If I do recall, in a news release in the Lethbridge Media, a number stating that 93% of the SCS clients were Indiginous from the Kaini, Pikani, Siksika, and Montana Reserves. So now according to Unkle Buck this is not true. I guess since they now have a Lethbridge address they Must be Lethbridge Citizens, even though the had to have an address to receive there monthly stipends. Wow talk about stretching the truth.
phlushie,
Yes, that 93% number is correct.
Kainai figures around 70% of the scs users are their kids. The other 23% or so are from the reserves you mentioned.
Maybe it’s my emotion clouding my objectivity, Seth, but do you even have one source for these numbers? I mean a real source, not what someone thinks they’ve observed while wading knee-deep through needley detritus downtown.
read my reply above.
Digging a little bit deeper than your recollection of hearing it on Lethbridge Media, phlushie.
It was not heard , it was seen in writing in a news release.
Fescue, why do you continuously disregard the sources (reality) that I’ve posted in this thread, and many others? Why do continuously disregard the observational reality of the matter?
I’m looking for the original PDF of the Blood reserve’s 2019 drug report, as their original link to it no longer works. I did find the HTML version at the following. Read pages 10 and 11.
https://issuu.com/tsinikssini/docs/drug-magazine
It’s not so much that I don’t accept observational data, it’s who is making the observations.
As H2Ofield said, there is a hair-on-fire aspect to these stories.
And, as it seems that there is little evidence beyond the imaginative gyrations of a few here, maybe we could back off from the stereotypes and hurtful prejudice.
WTF Fescue?
Stating facts and truth is now racism? Describing such is now hair on fire?
Your posts on the matter have always been facepalm worthy, but in the last couple of weeks, your bias and emotional dysfunction has become dual facepalm worthy. When I first observed this in you, I jokingly asked if you stopped taking your meds. Of course, you’re not on said meds, but maybe you should be.
The only whitey comment is yours, the only bigotry is yours, the only SOLUTION is to identify the problem and people like you Fescue go out of your way to try to make it NOT look like the indigenous problem it is. For as long its not faced there will be nothing more then WHITEY guiding Indigenous youth AGAIN. I will bet you they are being slowly converted to Catholic by the Bible Punchers in the SCS.
Shades of, Reform Schools all over again. This time the Elders are complicit!
Uncle Buck sad: Nearly all come from Lethbridge to begin with. Many being born here.
Calling you out on that one. You are 100% wrong. Unlike yourself I have spent time talking to these people and its exactly the opposite of what you state …Maybe 20 people that I talked to lived here.
80% of whom I talked too were from Reserves, 10% were from Mill River, Sterlng, Cardston, (although I believe those that answered Cardston, were actually Blood) 2 from Taber, 2 from Claresholm, 4 from Fort Mcleod. Thats just a sample of those I talked too.
So quite frankly you made up your numbers.
First of all “Uncle Buck” the only lies I see being told here are yours. The reason your SCS as you say closed was because the Blood Tribe Police prevented the dealers getting to the addicts on the Reserve. So your addicts moved here. THATS WHY your pretending SCS closed. The Reserves built (I believe a 5 bed) detox unit, when they had more than 600 addicts….so where do you think they went UNCLE BUCK? Certainly from your narrative, truth does not matter to you?
Gwen, it will be a frosty day in Hades before you get any reply from the mayor or SCS, so let me venture a guess at what they’d offer:
1] It’s all al lie. You are making this up. It never happened. You are being hysterical and inflammatory.
2} IF it happened, it’s your fault. What makes you think you have the right to leave a ladder on your own property or keep personal possessions of value in your home? Or that your neighbour has the reasonable expectation of leaving his/her property and having it not occupied by someone street troll ? You are fortunate the ladder was taken, obviously some drug addled creep needed it to break into someone else second story window. A compassionate soul would consider themselves fortunate to have helped the “ladder challenged”.
3] The SCS has served to reduce the number of ladders you have had stolen. It would have happened anyways, probably more than once. . The presence of the SCS has thus reduced crime in the city.
4] ALL the ills you speak of could be solved if only the Province poured millions more into the SCS garburator. It is their fault, not ours. Rather than spending your post-tax dollars to buy a new ladder you should give the money to the SCS .
5] To paraphrase the mayor, if you don’t like it, move.
Now, be a good sheep and remember to vote for the mayor and his boosters in the next election.
I hope this lets you sleep better, albeit with one eye and ear open.
Q)how do i get my city back?
A) go back in time to when we were less than 70k people. the larger the pop, the more problems arise.
Wow. Really Biff?
Lethbridge’s population was about the same 2 years ago, yet in the last 2 years the amount of addicts, dealers, and crime we have received has skyrocketed. What happened 2 years ago to cause this?