Time to work together on homelessness

Re: “Local businesses bear brunt of social problems,” June 4.

It was very distressing to read of the horrible experience that the owners, staff and customers of Splashes Bath & Kitchen recently had to endure.

When we are personally exposed to members of the community who are suffering from mental illness, addiction or trauma, our first response is likely to be revulsion and rejection. And it is clear that businesses and residents should not have to bear the costs of repeated transgressions of this type. This just makes everybody more fearful.

But solutions to these complex problems have to start by recognizing they exist, and we can’t just ignore them or move them someplace out of sight. I believe the City of Victoria and the provincial government have shown leadership in taking the first step toward solutions by providing shelter for the unhoused.

Without secure shelter and food, other more complex behavioural issues cannot be addressed at all. But shelter is only a first step. We need to see more funding for assessment, mental-health and harm-reduction services, relocation of residents with complex behavioural problems and support for those seeking abstinence.

We need other municipalities besides Victoria to step up to share responsibility for addressing these challenges. And we need senior levels of government to reinstate some of the funding for supportive community services that they have cut in the past several decades. The public-health and security risks from ignoring marginalized folks in our communities are obvious. Time to do something about it together.

Stephen Tyler Victoria