Letter opposing treatment centre draws criticism
When Rosalind Davis read the letter that was dropped in the mailbox of her parents’ Windsor Park home last week, she felt her stomach drop.
The unsigned letter — which was hand-delivered to residents of the southwest neighbourhood — condemns a proposed addiction treatment centre on 55th Avenue S.W., suggesting the site would “invite POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS INDIVIDUALS into our quiet, family-friendly neighbourhood (sic).”
Davis, who lost her partner Nathan Huggins-Rosenthal last year to a fentanyl overdose, said characterizing people with addictions as “dangerous” perpetuates a harmful stigma that forces families to live in shame.
“It’s just so heartbreaking with everything that’s going on, that that sort of language would be used,” Davis told Postmedia.
“Whoever the (writer) is, she obviously hasn’t been exposed to anything like I have. That fear comes from a place of not understanding and assumptions that so many people have.”
The letter titled “PROTECT OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD! (sic)” points out the site for the proposed addiction centre will be directly opposite Windsor Park School. It also claims that such a facility will depress nearby property values.
According to documents provided by the Windsor Park Community Association, the Origins of Hope facility currently has an application before the city’s planning department.
The private treatment centre would provide lodgings and inpatient treatment for six to eight men suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.
A public engagement session will be held to discuss plans for the site at the Windsor Park Community Hall Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Davis posted a lengthy personal response to the letter that was subsequently shared hundreds of times:
“We’re also a lot like the thousands of other people in the province who lost a loved one to fentanyl overdose last year. My partner, Nathan, was one of the 349 who died. That’s why his seat at my parents’ dinner table was empty when we heard you shut the mailbox that night,” wrote Davis, who now advocates for a foundation called Changing the Face of Addiction.
“We struggled in silence for over a year trying to find help for his substance-use disorder that started with a prescription for a drug that, odds are, you or someone in your home has also been prescribed before.”
In her post, Davis admonishes the letter’s author, saying “you would have never known (Nathan) was using drugs,” describing him as a successful stockbroker, the kind of person who, had they met, “would have helped you move a heavy piece of furniture.”
Davis said she has no affiliation with the people behind the proposed facility, but was motivated to speak out because of the “harmful language” the letter used to describe people suffering from addiction.
Ward 11 Coun. Brian Pincott said the letter prompted three complaints to his office.
“The letter that was circulated was a stigma-based letter that plays on fear and doesn’t really capture what the addiction treatment world is about. I was disappointed when I saw it, because it wasn’t very thoughtful,” Pincott said.
Pincott said while such a facility would have to satisfy a number of municipal and provincial regulatory hurdles before going ahead, he added that he appreciated Davis’ efforts to “put a human face” on addiction.
“I think we are very quick to demonize without thinking about the neighbour that we might be demonizing.”
Addictions specialist Dr. Hakique Virani said social stigma tends to fuel the fears people have about disclosing their struggles with addiction, including those addicted to opioids.
“We want people to seek out help and we want for there to be good evidence-based help for them available. If we use language that’s demeaning and use language that pushes them further to the margins when they’re already struggling with an addiction, you can expect that this death toll is going to continue.”