What do you have to write in a Richmond paper to get some flak? Mention an addictions recovery house for women and there's a flurry of letters, both pro and con.
But my last article on the relationship of drunk driving in East Richmond, with the need for transit, didn't raise a peep.
No one seems to mind that we have a hundred places to drink ourselves into a stupor but very few places offering services that deal with the attendant problems of alcohol.
My last article's narrow focus may have missed the mark. In a broader perspective of course, there is the darker side of this story - the one that has probably affected most people in Richmond in one way or another.
I want to say: my heart goes out to a dear friend who lost a son to drunk driving. She is a pillar of the community and now raises funds for her son's favourite charity.
I want to say: my praise goes to my dedicated colleagues who work in addictions counselling, addictions recovery and supportive services. The work they do for Richmond residents every day is truly heroic.
How can anyone say that Richmond doesn't need addictions recovery services and resources for substance abuse problems?
Do they suppose anyone who is affected - whether it is by alcohol, drugs, prescription pills, gambling or on-line gaming - lives somewhere else than in our own safe haven? I've heard it said that people who need treatment should just go somewhere else because if a recovery house opens in the neigbourhood, property values will go down.
This feeling of entitlement that pervades much of the dialogue in Richmond should not be accepted without question. What if this attitude is partly to blame in keeping housing out of reach for most working families? There are many repercussions to this "gated city" way of thinking.
Just when I start to think Richmond is a wonderful place to live because it is such a caring community, NIMBYism rears its head again.
"Not in my back yard" is easy to say, but hard to defend. Why should Richmond residents who require necessary services have to go to another city to receive them? People should be able to access services they need where they live.
In the 2041 Official Community Plan, Richmond will be striving to become a "complete community." A complete community can take care of itself.
It supports and nurtures its residents; it does not foist its issues on other cities. Richmond is almost 190,000 strong and like it or not, we are becoming a big city with big city problems that we need to deal with.
We need to change from NIMBY to YIMBY (yes in my back yard).
Luckily, residents who need help can access all kinds of information and counselling.
For more information, you can go to the Richmond Community Services Directory. You can find it through the Volunteer Richmond Information Services (VRIS) website, as well as the Richmond Public Library website.
De Whalen is a longtime activist in Richmond who is involved in poverty response and affordable
