Recovery facility needs to be out of city centre
By Lethbridge Herald on March 23, 2022.
Editor:
At a recent council meeting these two topics were discussed:
The representatives for the Blackfoot Confederacy portrayed that a “no”or “needs further investigation” decision about the use of the Bowman as a recovery centre would be discriminatory and not recognizing the financial benefits the Blood Reserve provides to Lethbridge.
The decisions to be made are:
1). The best location for a recovery centre and;
2) The best use of an historical building.
There have been several submissions on both of these and all require a close examination.
Personally, I agree with the Sage Clan and some others who have suggested and area further out from the city centre for the recovery centre. This centre is to be for anyone in Southern Alberta who needs assistance for various social needs.
A purpose-built centre with enough room to house detox, recovery and the helping agencies makes sense at a location close to present resources wether in Lethbridge or perhaps on the Blood reserve.
It would be fitting for the Bowman to become a place for the arts again – the small rooms and several levels are suitable for writers, crafters, dancers and musicians. Its location beside the library and transit would make it more usable for the wider community.
Either way, I am asking that everyone speaking to the decisions remember that:
“Our fears, our hopes, our armies are one,
Our comforts and our cares.
We share each other’s woes,
Each other’s burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear” (John Fawcett)
Karen J Collin
Lethbridge
20-19
Not just out of City center, but out of the City entirely. All it will do is attract more peoples from outside the city.
Karen, I find your invocation of Blest Be the Ties That Bind to be, well, hypocritical. The phrase means friendship, which forms the basis of most Christian theologies (you know, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”, that sorta thing). When you say “our comforts and our cares”, who precisely is the ‘our’ to which you’re referring? And what/who are the burdens you and others bear? Reading between the lines it’s quite obvious. Cue prairiebrez who, with discriminatory precision, will clarify all of this to the lay reader. You speak of sympathy. Say it with meaning.
Bowman should be preserved for the arts or sold to some entity affiliated with the arts that would agree to pay taxes and building maintenance.
Allowing a ‘hub’ to serve indigenous addicts and homeless would be a disaster attracting even more of their homeless drug and alcohol addicted population and with that more problems for our downtown core. Library is already ruined because they’ve turned it into a hangout for drug dealing and shooting up. Those that went before Council looking for a handout from taxpayers are out of line. They need to take care of their own starting on their reservation providing parenting skills (the root of all their problems). If they want to set up shop in Lethbridge, the respectful thing to do would be to set up as far away from our city centre as possible. What has ruined downtown is obvious. The elephant in the room can no longer be ignored.
Another “Great idea but put it somewhere else” story. How about in your neighborhood Ms. Collin? Although I agree the Bowman is probably not the best “fit”.