Dear Editor,
After reading several articles in our local paper, I felt compelled to participate in the discussions regarding the establishment of a facility for the homeless on Elmbridge Way.
As some of you may know I was previously the chief public health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health Region before I retired in 2006. One of my responsibilities was to enforce the Community Care Facilities Act which governed daycares, group homes, intermediate care facilities etc.
During my tenure, a group home for addicts was proposed in north Richmond in a residential area.
The neighbourhood was up in arms protesting the establishment of this home, even to the point of erecting derogatory signs on their front lawns. Fortunately this home met all the rules and regulations, including city zoning requirements, and thus I issued the licence to operate. Suffice to say that this home operated without incident.
I also recall that this same organization attempted to establish another facility on Ash Street and again there was a neighbourhood uproar and eventually this rezoning application was withdrawn. I also remember the difficulty in establishing the Garrett Wellness Center. When we held public meetings, there was a neighbour adamantly opposed to providing health services in the old Garrett Elementary School. His rationale was that he did not want to see handicapped persons or those in wheel chairs visible in their neighbourhood. Fortunately the other neighbours came forward to oppose these types of views and today we have a wellness center providing many services to Richmond residents.
I use these as examples of the difficulty in establishing facilities for our marginalized populations. A large proportion of this problem can be traced to government policy in closing our mental health institutions back in the 70s and 80s. Many of these previously institutionalized residents were discharged to the streets of the Lower Mainland without any support and thus we see the effects of this policy especially in the DTES today.
I understand the area residents concern but rest assured, these homeless are currently “living” in these same areas in the back lanes and other hidden areas of our city centre. If we succumb to neighbourhood pressure and relocate this issue to another neighbourhood, I am sure that the response by those neighbours will be the same. It is fine to say “move them to a more suitable area” but I do not know where these “suitable areas” may be located that would be acceptable to the neighbours?
Currently, other social services are located in the general vicinity of this proposed homeless facility. It seems to me that co-locating facilities near services is logical and desireable.
Gandhi is quoted as stating “a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” Richmond has always been known for its caring and compassionate policies especially towards the disadvantaged and I hope that city council continues this tradition.
Kelvin Higo
Richmond
