Hidden costs of homeless

Dear editor: Homelessness and hard drugs addictions: How much is it costing us? How much more will it cost? What improvement are we getting for our money? What is the rate of success (long term) of the detox centres?

I hear people asking for more recovery centres more counselling and so on. This will be costly and won’t solve the immediate problem of discarded needles and overdose deaths caused mostly by fentanyl.

I suggest safe injection centres as a starting point (clean drugs, a lot less needles in public places) that would be a good start.

Then for individuals who are determine to kick the habit let’s provide them with the help they need.

Remember that homelessness and drug use is mostly caused by poverty to start with.

For any kind of improvement to occur at many level, the focus has to be working at reducing poverty.

Everyone can do with a little less, that leaves a bit more for others. So we all have a part to play to shift the direction where this is going.

Trying to move the problem to a different neighbourhood is not going to accomplish anything. It’s not us and them and it has never been, there are only us here, rich, poor or middle class of any colour it makes no difference. Better start accepting it’s not going away.

A good read: “The door is open.” Memoir of a soup kitchen volunteer. By Bart Campbell. It takes place in Vancouver.

Alain Lauzon

Penticton