We are coming up to a municipal election with numerous candidates for both the mayor and council.
These candidates have widely varying views of what the important issues are for the council to deal with. Some candidates are new and untried so we need to make sure we find out what they stand for before we vote. If you don’t know what a person thinks is important don’t vote for them.
Other candidates have served for at least the last term and if you were keeping track of what the council was doing, you will know that they very nearly passed a bylaw supported by a task force, chaired by Darrin Taylor. This task force said that they had researched the issue of homeless people on Vernon streets. One of their recommendations to council was that they pass a bylaw making it unlawful for people to have shopping carts on city streets. This was an attempt to stop homeless people from using shopping carts stolen or otherwise, to keep their belongings in during the daytime when they are not allowed to stay in the shelters. Fortunately, when council members learned what impact it would have, all but one councillor withdrew their support and the bylaw was defeated. The one councillor who continued to support the bylaw was Scott Anderson.
To my mind, the more upsetting thing was that this task force did not present an option for people living on the street to keep their belongings safe. Maybe if you don’t have a home you are not supposed to have belongings? Nor did it make any positive suggestions such as increasing pressure on the federal or provincial governments to increase funding for housing, create a poverty reduction plan or funding for a support worker. Just spend more money on more By-law officers and police presence.
It made no recommendations that would lead to improving anyone’s access to secure housing. A secure quiet place to sleep, keep one’s belongings, shower and dress are essentials if one is to get and keep a job. This is assuming that you have the skills and the required clothing needed for a job. None of this happens for people living on the streets without help from people who know how to access them. This would be our social service agencies which Scott Anderson has stated in public, are part of the problem (not part of the solution).
I presume he means services such as the Upper Room Mission, N.O. Youth and Family Services, Family Resource Center, Native Housing Society, Boys’ and Girls’ Club, The John Howard Society and the Social Planning Council (which holds regular meetings of representatives from the local social services to coordinates their efforts. I shudder to think what Vernon would be like without these dedicated people and organizations.
I worked as a counsellor for 13 years. I worked with people with a variety of family or personal issues, mental illness and a variety of addictions. I never met anyone who chose to have family problems, mental illness and/or an addiction. Those of us who live safe secure lives are lucky — life has been good to us. We have had the inner resources to help ourselves and/or had a person who has “been there for us.” Do not judge others. You have no idea what cards life has dealt them.
Before you vote for anyone find out what that person’s beliefs and attitudes are about the issues ahead. Make sure we elect a council and mayor who have a vision for our city that you agree with and who will be creative in dealing with the problem of homelessness which virtually every community in B.C. and Canada is also facing.
Linda Kennedy