February 25th, 2025

The B.C. model doesn’t work


By Letter to the Editor on December 9, 2021.

ditor:
Build It and they will come.
Once again, we see increases of homeless in this city and every time we increase capacities, more come! Have we not learned!
Apparently not!
The best example of harm reduction not working is right next door in Vancouver. Many of us have watched the experiment fail, with increases in fatal overdoses, crime, numbers of addicts increases annually. The more housing, they provide, the more people are attracted. Can we not learn?
Vancouver DTES has pumped billions into housing/social services programs over the last 18 years since they opened the safe injection sites . . . over 260 programs costing $360 million per year and the greater Vancouver DTES is about 19,000 people with 43 per cent not from B.C.
Do the math! Is this what we want? Do you want over 50 per cent of your paycheque going to taxes?
I stated to council in 2016 that if you open the SCS, they will come, and they did! Now, we see Lethbridge being dumped on by other communities and the more capacity we have, the more people will be dumped here!
They will and are coming.
I know most of the groups providing services for the “vulnerable” want to help and their hearts are in the right place, but those services attract more to the streets.
I watched too many homeless die that I meet on the streets, the most recent was Helen, whose remains were found on Blood Tribe land after LPS asked for the public’s help. Helen was one of many that I have met, listened to and tried to get to addiction counselling.
Why are we blindly following the model B.C. has used where there is plenty of data the shows it doesn’t work!
If it worked, then why do we see the increase of fatal overdoses, numbers of addicts/homeless and crime annually? If it worked there should be reductions – one doesn’t need a degree to understand that.
Many years ago I was at an international event, sitting around a large campfire with people from all over, but next to me was a man from B.C., who came to the Prairies in summer, but returns to Vancouver in winter, because it is warmer and has better social services and other supports.
Those services attracted him and that was back in 1981.
I say again: Build it and they will come!
Barry Ewing
Lethbridge

Share this story:

2
-1
22 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments