City working hard to deal with complex problem

LETTERS

This is in response to John Davies’ letter June 7 and the recent community meeting on the opioid crisis.

Our community leaders are working hard to develop a city-wide approach to this problem, to lobby to all levels of government for funding and look to the experience of other communities to develop solutions. The results have been funding for the detox beds at the regional hospital, fast-tracked funding for the supervised consumption site and access to health experts who provided information at the community meeting.

Education is important; we need to understand the root causes of addictions before we can treat it. This is a complex problem, requiring a multi-faceted approach including harm reduction, detox and treatment centres, counselling and rehabilitation.

Protecting our community is also important, not only relating to needle debris but also to criminal activities associated with addictions, as well as impacts to businesses. The Lethbridge Police Service and numerous organizations are working to fight crime and minimize impacts, recognizing that there is still more work to do. Our City and LPS have not “given up and given in” to the opioid crisis.

We need to educate our children to recognize and avoid needle debris, and inform them on the dangers of opioid use. Conversations with our kids on this issue should be no different than the “do not talk to strangers” or “look both ways before crossing the street” training. There are steps to take when encountering needle debris (refer to City website and signs posted in parks); let’s know it, use it and teach our children.

There has been a lot of passion and different points of view expressed about how to address the opioid crisis. Disrespectful comments and personal attacks only serve to divide our community and not help fight the war on drugs.

Our community still has work to do. The dialogue and debates that are occurring are a needed step to understand and respond to this issue. Thanks to the organizers of the community meeting, and the health and addictions professionals who participated. The Q & A provided useful information and offered an opportunity for residents to express concerns. It’s important we have these community discussions; let’s keep them respectful!

Mark Bellamy

Lethbridge