Collective action needed to deal with addiction, homelessness

By Lethbridge Herald on December 17, 2022.

Editor:

A.W. Shier is quite right, of course. The lawyers defending these dysfunctional criminals are doing their jobs for money and lots of it; not some higher calling to make society better for everyone. 

If they truly did care, then as a professional group yielding their considerable collective political power and influence on a national level, they would lobby government vigorously at all levels to make effective changes. 

Changes to how criminals, especially those with addiction and mental healthdriven criminality, are dealt with, beginning obviously with removing them from their dysfunctional daily environment which does nothing for them except provide the criminal opportunities and substance availability to continue their downward spiral.

Various human rights groups strongly advocate for better treatment and more understanding of these tragic individuals which is basically honourable but they tend to place much blame for it all on what they see as heavy-handed and lack of compassionate treatment by police.

I disagree. Frustration experienced by all types of first responders dealing daily with this societal tragedy and its related debris must leave them almost hopelessly disillusioned. 

Remember that this daily dysfunction is nothing new; it has been evolving for several decades. 

Those individuals tasked with servicing calls from the increasingly angry and rightfully outraged public have been trying to communicate the growing seriousness of the addiction and resulting mental illness and homelessness for years now but it seems no one who can initiate change is listening to them.

I think we know how these critics of police would fare if they were the ones in the role of emergency responder day after day, year after year, feeling tasked with making a positive difference while experiencing ever increasing criticism. 

It is time for all groups involved to get together, stop the finger pointing and off-loading of blame and work to the common goal of creating adequate treatment centres, both open and secure as required, to cure addiction.

I include the National Association of Chiefs of Police in this initiative; their collective voice has been very understated for many years. 

This change would cost billions nationally of course, but when you consider what the problem is costing the taxpayer now, we are wasting this amount and more anyway. Time to get organized and get something in return. 

Jack Dodds 

Sylvan Lake