Addicts housing approved
Mayor says it’s unfair for opponents of complex proposed for Rutland to characterize recovering addicts as ‘monsters’
Future residents of a controversial housing complex for recovering addicts will not be “monsters” whose presence jeopardizes neighbourhood safety, Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says.
Basran said Wednesday he was dismayed to hear the way some opponents of the project characterized the kind of men likely to eventually live there during a five-hour public hearing Tuesday night at City Hall.
“I was just really sad to hear some of the labels that we being given out,” Basran said. “These men are the fathers, brothers and sons of people in our community,” he said. “To label them as people who want to do harm to others, as monsters, is just not justified.”
Basran was one of six council members who voted to support plans by Freedom’s Door, a faith-based charity, to develop a four-storey, 51-suite housing complex for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics at the corner of Rutland Road and McCurdy Road.
During the marathon public hearing, 71 people addressed council. Thirty-five of them were against the necessary rezoning, according to a tally kept by the city clerk, and 700 people had earlier signed petitions against the project.
Opponents have criticized the location, saying it’s too close to schools, parks and a well-established singlefamily neighbourhood. Concerns have also been raised about people living in the complex having a relapse and bringing drug use to the area.
The city received 34 letters of support for the project and 154 form letters endorsing the project. Supporters said there was a demonstrated need for more facilities to tackle addictions.
“There is already drug use in the neighbourhood, as there is in all neighbourhoods in our community,” Basran said Wednesday.
Having a safe and well-managed residential facility for men trying to beat their addictions isn’t part of the drug problem, but part of the solution, Basran said.
While many project critics complain Rutland already has more than its fair share of housing projects and social programs for low-income people or those trying to overcome addictions, Basran said the reality is such facilities and services are spread throughout Kelowna.
The project was based on Dickson and Bodger’s conviction of using oral communication to nurture the parent-child relationship and foster family wellness.
The pilot quickly evolved into a national undertaking that served families with differing needs, and parents who demonstrated an aptitude for the program were soon trained as teachers.
In Kamloops, the Parent-Child Mother Goose is supported by the Kamloops Early Language and Literacy Initiative (KELLI) and primarily funded through the Raise a Reader campaign.
Says Doll: “As in other communities, the Kamloops ParentChild Mother Goose program couldn’t be simpler. Typically during a session, you see parents sitting on the floor with their children in their lap, singing songs, no props, no books. It’s indicative of how profoundly the internet has changed us that many parents at first feel awkward interacting with their
child in this manner. But that awkwardness evaporates as soon as the child responds with smiles or laughter.”
An initiative with a similar theme is the Interior Savings Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week.
“Studies have shown that 45 per cent of British Columbians aged 16 to 65 have some difficulty with tasks like filling out a form, understanding instructions or reading a newspaper,” says Fiona Clare, the literacy outreach co-ordinator for Literacy in Kamloops.
“Unplug and Play is simply that: a series of community events that encourages parents and children to spend at least 15 minutes per day interacting with each other, which experts say can make a positive influence in a youngster’s literacy development.”
Meanwhile, in Revelstoke, Tracy Spannier, that city’s literacy outreach co-ordinator for the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy, is receiving enthusiastic feedback for yet another program that encourages early
childhood learning.
She says: “Our Kindergarten Transition Project was rolled out last year. Amongst other things, it dispelled any myths parents may have had about this stage of schooling and what type of books they should read to their children to prepare them socially and emotionally for kindergarten.”
So positive is the feedback that the program will continue next year “and hopefully well into the future,” according to Spannier.
Whether it’s singing lullabies to infants or preparing children for their entry into formal schooling, early-stage learning programs demonstrate that the groundwork for true learning should be laid as soon as possible.
“The activities of these programs are fun and informative, and I view them as nipping potential problems in the bud,” says Doll. “Fortunately, so too do the parents: whenever we do a registration, it fills up within minutes. That really makes me think positively about the future of literacy advocacy in Canada.”