Many have quit going downtown because of homeless situation
By Lethbridge Herald on December 9, 2022.
Editor:
After reading the recent Letter to the Editor from Ryan McAdams, I totally understand and sympathize with his situation regarding the homeless people around the Lethbridge Herald property. A few years ago there was a problem with the homeless sleeping and doing drugs in the heated lobby of the downtown main post office. They would discard their used needles in a garbage receptacle placed there as a convenience for the box holder rentals, causing the staff to move it inside the main area.
So now I am sure they are throwing them in the pull- down mail slots located at the south end. A decision was made to lock the exterior doors at night and on the weekend. This caused a problem for the rental box holders to access their mail so later Canada Post required them to stop this practice. A short while ago I visited the post office to send a package and noticed a woman from the janitorial staff mopping the front area. She was talking with an employee and both were discussing that it was the worst that they had ever seen it and were wondering why security was not handling the problem. On my way out, I stopped to chat with her.
I asked her if the situation involved the homeless people. She stated that it was, and that she had to clean up feces and urine in the one corner. I had been approached by some homeless people in the past in that lobby who asked me for money. I tried to be pleasant and told them that I was sorry but I did not have my purse, but would help if I could. I quickly left, while feeling afraid for my safety. I will never go there after the post office regular hours again. What a shame when a person fears visiting a federal building.
Many residents have stopped coming to the downtown core due to this situation. The problem will continue unless some drastic measures are taken to do something about it. Current solutions by the city are not working. I have a feeling that there will be no end to this problem any time soon.
Kathy Braun
Lethbridge
8-7
Thank you Kathy for taking the time to write this letter. The Post Office is not the only place downtown this occurs as you are aware.
The BMO bank’s downtown indoor ATM is closed after business hours due to similar things. Before these changes, I went in one Sunday finding a young FN couple on the floor beside the ATM with an empty vodka bottle and her head between his legs . . . well you know the rest. He looked up and said, hello sir . . . about a year ago at night someone was in partying and they started the rubber mats on fire, causing thick dark smoke to spread into the main branch, blackening walls and ceiling. Now it is closed after business hours. Most of the businesses downtown have suffered similar events, if not in their lobby, their main entrance or back alley doorway! Now the DBRZ offers bandaid money to help secure your place, but that doesn’t make the customers feel safer.
We have lost a lot of services downtown because of these issues. Thanksgiving day I went to the Post Office in the day to get my mail, after working long harvest hours and no time to prior . . . going up the ramp at the bottom were 3 addicts smoking a white powder in meth bowl pipes and as i walked by, one blow the smoke in my face on purpose. What I wanted to do and what I did were 2 completely different things . . . I got my mail and left by the other door and didn’t bother to call police because I knew they had more important things to deal with. Technically it was assault.
There are many stories I could tell you about downtown and why people don’t want to come downtown anymore, but the leadership isn’t listening!
They keep pumping millions into downtown to attract people, but it isn’t working. This Canada Day numbers in Galt Gardens festivities were down at least 80% from past non Covid years.
Write to Council and call 311 to file your complaints regardind the issues downtown and state you want change, contact the UCP as well!
Thank you again . . . I have seen similar things at the Post Office, in fact they just throw the needles on the floor.
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What a sad situation! It is very simple, we can stop all of this, but leadership are not true leaders, giving up downtown as the scapegoat for the whole city, without thinking that it is not going to stop with downtown, but spread further across the city.
Too many transplants at City Hall who didn’t know the city several years ago, that beautiful, clean city. They only believe that we just have to accept it!
I know 2 of the councillors want to clean up the city, but we still have the 3 C’s left over from last council who create issues and block attempts. One was even scolded and had to apologize to another councillor for unprofessional comments.
The Mayor appears to be under the influence of the Blackfoot Confederacy and non-profits now, and has forgotten that this is the City of Lethbridge, not Standoff, and decisions are to made for the better of the citizens of Lethridge. We have lost faith in him and it appears many residents have given up!
When their kids end up addicted and on the streets, will they listen? They think it can be contained downtown. Hilarious!
After the SCS opened, many businessed died because of the impacts of crime and anti-social behaviors. One long time business, with a young couple now running it had to sell other assets to pay for the over $50,000 they had to pay to secure their business after several large windows were broken and he was assaulted several times, while another older business owner next door had to sell his business.
Pleas to council fell on deaf ears and the great chamber of commerce (LOL) did nothing! Many business fell into bankruptcy, while others hung just to get hit from the COVID closures, They could have survived COVID if they hadn’t gong through the SCS crisis! I am surprised there were only a few lawsuits.
People will not accept this anymore! When no one listens, people rise up!
The downtown is only the beginning. It is spreading on the northside, westside and far south. I was talking to a dollar store manager who has had multiple issues with First Nations addicts including the popular, drop your pants and take a dump on the floor when asked to leave.
What do they teach them on the reserve? Maybe we should send a $5 million bill to the Blackfoot Confederacy for having to deal with their rejected people on our streets. I just can’t believe the behaviors I see from these people and wonder where they parents or guardians were as they grew up. Did they let them grow undisciplined? I know there are many dedicated families on the reserve, some are friends, but why is it now our responsibility since they kicked them out and even banished them.
The recent homeless count has made me question the validity. Am I the only one that wonders why they would inflate the totals by adding people who are in jail or in treatment? They have a roof over their heads at the time of the “6 hour” survey. At least in Vancouver, SFU scientists oversaw the surveys.
The display of disrespect for our city has to end!
Now, Say What, you have stated many Facts about the situation others have also experienced – but be prepared to be called a Racist. For me, this all began with the so called SCS, and extended to the Main Library, Post Office, my Bank, the eating places, and also LSCO.
Thank you Fairness. You are aware of the situation by the sounds of it.
My best friend is indigenous, another close friend is indigenous and I have friends that are Sikh, Pakistani, Israeli, Sudanese, and many other nationalities so call me what you want. I call it the way i see it. If I see a duck walking like a duck, looks like duck it is a duck.
Although I have seen caucasion addicts also downtown, creating problems, the highest percentage are indigenous. The highest percentage creating violent crimes in this city are indigenous. They were not picked out because they indigenous, but because they committed the crimes.
It is time we stop the coddling and call it for what it is! The gloves are off and we will take back our city!
I mentioned being called a Racist because I was when I made a fair statement that someone did not agree with. I actually have family members who are Indigenous.
“I just can’t believe the behaviors I see from these people and wonder where they parents or guardians were as they grew up. Did they let them grow undisciplined?”
My brother in christ, it is the year 2022. For at least 20 some odd years now they have been beating us over the head about residential schools.
The two on Blood Tribe were closed in 1988. One was Catholic and one was Anglican in order to pit them against each other.
In these places they didn’t learn math or home economics, or social studies. No, they were raped, and beaten, and no skills from self care to parenting were given to them from the age of 5 to 16.
This was GENERATIONS of people. The entirety of the population. To answer your extremely stupid question, the ongoing results of those places are what we are seeing manifest on the streets. Now as white settlers is this our fault? no. Is this our problem? Sure as hell seems so because it has followed our culture everywhere we have gone from ireland, to australia. None of these problems were here pre-colonization, so the question is, what as a society and culture are we going to do to address this concept of homelessness and beggars that has pervaded western culture since the earliest days of rome, and seemingly nowhere else in the world? (except for where the west has colonized and brought it)
Blaming the victims of this culture is not being realistic toward what the actual problems are, and if we are not realistic to those problems then we will not have realistic solutions.
also, if ya’ll voted for Parker, Mauro, Hyggen, and Middleton-Hope ya’ll deserve exactly WHAT YOU’RE GETTING FROM THEM. lol
I’m glad I don’t own a house in this city because they’re gonna keep raising taxes while voting themselves higher wages as Parker always has over his many decades on city council. You dopes keep voting him in.
You start out good and have numerous good points. However, you have no solutions, don’t really care as you are not a property owner, and discend into calling people names who vote. Think you should just be quiet and go on your way. You have your opinion but no solutions. lethccc.com is and was a solution.
I’m not here for solutions, and neither is anyone else. I’m here to gawk at the ridiculous opinions of the regular posters and occasionally make fun of their stupidity.
I see you are not a taxpayer in our City. As such, you couldn’t possibly relate to how the embattled Lethbridge taxpayer feels. You are entitled to your opinion, however, no matter how feeble it may be.
Lethccc.com is a viable solution. But what do you care when trolling.
My Uncle in christ – it IS the year 2022. Could we perhaps put some focus on the many children who went to Residential Schools, who have become Educated, Law Abiding Adults, and have admitted that these Schools had a very positive influence. Some very revealing books have been authored by them. Yes, there are two sides to the stories. Blessings.
By this logic we should focus on the rest of the road and not pay attention to the potholes.
While I would like to go downtown, when I go out, I often have my Grandchildren, 3 and 5, with me. There is no way that they are going to go anywhere addicts hang out. When I worked for TELUS before retiring, I would often find people or feces behind the transformer outside the side door. Disgusting and smelly. They would be using it for a toilet, or shooting up there.
Have you taken them to library downtown? I would avoid it as well. I knew several people that worked downtown for AGT then Telus. Sadly some have passed recently.
This NEEDS to be Out of Town altogether! By flinging potential dangers on Anyone (residents or businesses) in Lethbridge is Not the solution. If there’s millions of money to be had, spend it away from City limits. That is what I, a ratepayer of Provincial and Federal taxes, think.