Council in a no-win situation on the camp situation
By Lethbridge Herald on July 30, 2022.
LEAVE IT TO BEEBER
Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald
During a marathon meeting that continued on with other matters past the main focus of discussion on Tuesday, city council acted to address the homeless camp situation.
And it may be acting again at an upcoming special council meeting or meeting of an SPC to address the second, third and fourth parts of a motion mayor Blaine Hyggen made Tuesday that was divided into different sections for discussion.
On Tuesday, as you’ve read, seen or heard, council voted to allocate up to $230,000 in one-time funding from corporate budget contingencies to assist in administrative and policing funding shortfalls “to expedite compassionate clean-up and establishment of encampments.”
Debate was long on the issue with council members engaging the mayor, city solicitor Brian Loewen and the Director of Community Services Mike Fox on the encampment situation.
What became clear, if it wasn’t already, is there is no easy fix to the situation. There there are issues that need to be addressed and by a 7-1 margin on Tuesday, council decided to take action to partially deal with the situation.
When it gets a report back from city administration, council will take on the other three parts of Hyggen’s original motion.
These include a task force to be struck to deal with the complex issues of homelessness and encampments.
Council will also address a motion by the mayor to allocate up to $470,000 in one-time funding to come up with more suitable solutions than camp cleanups, that amount of money which clearly is highly contentious in the city.
The mayor also wants council to write a letter to the province requesting the formation of a working group to allow for collaboration on solutions to the homeless situation.
For some council may not be doing enough, for others council is doing the wrong thing by approving that $230,000 or whatever it actually turns out to be.
Others may feel council is picking on the homeless as some in the community have been accused of doing.
What also became clear at Tuesday’s meeting is this situation is a difficult one. Other communities are struggling with the same issue and so far there isn’t a clear path to a solution anywhere.
But how much responsibility for a fix needs to be put on the shoulders of a civic administration here or anywhere else? How much should be put on any level of government?
Should some of the responsibility be on the shoulders of those who put themselves in the predicament they are in?
Some will emphatically say no, that people facing addictions aren’t and can’t be held responsible for their situations – that it’s up to the state and society to take care of them regardless of whether they want or will not accept help. They will say society has a moral responsibility to pay whatever costs are necessary so they can go their own path regardless of consequences to them and others. Is that fair? If so, to whom?
Others will say taxpayers should not be on the hook for a single dime to help these people. Is that fair? Again, if so, to whom?
Is it not possible to find some middle ground?
People dealing with addictions and mental issues do have assistances available to them to help face their demons and get their lives back on the track. The city itself, as made clear at Tuesday’s meeting, does outreach when it performs camp cleanups. There is indeed compassion being shown and an effort to help the people in camps.
But some say there’s nothing compassionate about city efforts and will slag me ferociously for writing it but where’s the compassion in a shooting that could have had dire consequences? Where is the compassion for those who are threatened or harassed or whose homes and businesses are broken into? Are the drug dealers preying on addicts showing compassion?
There is a huge elephant in the room when it comes to this matter which isn’t being addressed. It’s there for all to see but nobody will bring it forward. Unless that elephant is moved, there may never be a solution to homelessness and encampments anywhere.
One letter writer summed up the situation quite well this week when he suggested if addiction is a disease, it needs to be actually treated like one. Others, however, have fallen upon hard times despite their best efforts to keep employed. While both deserve compassion, perhaps there needs to be different approaches taken to dealing with their life situations.
We’ve seen on social media and in the paper the derogatory comments made about those who have questions and concerns about the encampment situation. Automatically, some are inclined to dismiss, at times abusively, legitimate questions and fears about the situation now in the spotlight here.
If there is going to be a dialogue on homelessness and camps, that elephant in the room needs to be addressed. Who is responsible for the situation some people are in? Who is actually responsible for that situation changing?
As the mayor said on Tuesday, safety is a huge concern among residents in this city. Some will dismiss that and attack me for writing this but those concerns are valid. And there are safety issues for the homeless as well as those with homes. Trust me I know: three summers ago I was accosted outside the Herald’s door in broad daylight by a stranger who suddenly cocked his fist and said he was going to kick my you-know-what before bolting away.
Just months ago in the dark at Nicholas Sheran Park, someone who came upon me and my dogs yelled at me he was going to kill me when my dog growled at him which happens when dogs are startled. He continued to yell as I backed away toward the safety of my car before he staggered off into the dark. It was incredibly disturbing
In both instances I was justifiably fearful of my well-being so I know the dangers lurking in this city.
People have the right to feel safe and safety is an enormous concern here so the mayor and council are trying to address that as well as find a compassionate, balanced approach to homelessness.
Council and administration are in a no-win situation here. If they spend money or not, if they clean up camps or not, they’re going to be attacked, especially by keyboard warriors who can hide on social media or behind the anonymity of fake Twitter or Facebook names. Given the attacks on us here, we know how ferocious some of those keyboard cowboys can be.
Anyone who doesn’t take a hardline stance of either let the homeless fend for themselves or let them set up camps where ever they want and do whatever they want, will also take flak because some people aren’t interested in a meaningful dialogue.
I seriously wonder if some among us just revel in conflict. They may want their names out in the public so they are perceived as either a social justice warrior on the path of righteousness or a flag-waving, capitalist, freedom-loving patriot. They aren’t really interested in solutions because they make issues entirely about their own causes. No other take on an issue has relevance to them.
Good luck, mayor and council. I don’t envy you because you’re going to take heat no matter what you do. Or don’t. Or can’t.
Follow albeebHerald on Twitter.
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I completely agree Al that this is a very difficult situation for our city council to handle. Unfortunately, they can’t just go all in and address the problem without being called out from many directions. I am getting so frustrated watching our city being taken over by people who not only seem to be growing in numbers but are becoming increasingly emboldened because there are no serious consequences for their actions!
I don’t see the province stepping in to help out except for more coddling. I’m hoping more citizens will step up and start putting more pressure on the powers that be to start getting serious. You are doing a good job Al saying it like it is even though you have to take some flack. We must get this city back!
Take care.