Editor,
After recent articles and coverage on Whistler's homeless ("Whistler's homeless relocated ahead of Olympics," CBC Friday January 8, 2010; "Whistler's homeless forced to 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料, Social Worker says," Vancouver Sun January 9, 2010), I would like to add a couple of comments since it has been on the radar of the Whistler Healthy Communities Committee and Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) for a number of years.
The central thesis of both articles is that persons have been "relocated," that WCSS ships people out with bus tickets and that "two dozen" homeless have bared the brunt of un-welcomed Olympic pressures.
No doubt the issue is complex however; these arguments are based on projections and a particular slant. Let me deconstruct a few of these.
Relocation: to me, this means people have been rounded up and ushered out of town. Show me who is doing this? The law of the land in any community is moderated by by-laws. If you choose to live in your car, you are going to be moved along in any community.
I propose a more accurate word to define these folk: under-housed. Yes, Whistler has these people and the numbers fluctuate depending on the time of year, many of whom work and are contributing to the community in some way. Homeless to me, conjurs a particular individual with particular needs (i.e., concurrent disorders).
Yes, Whistler has these people (I'd say four to six of them) and from the mayor on down I know they are accepted as part of the fabric of the community. Remarkably (and for the betterment of our community) they have managed to survive here with the generosity of many. Bus ticket relocation: again a misnomer.
Yes, WCSS provides bus tickets to under-housed persons in our community. This assistance is not to relocate anyone rather it is to assist them in meeting their needs in services that do not exist in Whistler.
For example, Service Canada, welfare, medical treatment etc. To my knowledge many if not all of the individuals WCSS has provided tickets to have returned to Whistler and their under-housed situation, by choice. And, they are welcome here!
An unreported reality is that there are regional services that serve the corridor. An overnight shelter is one of them (Helping Hands) and it happens to be in 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料. Since when has it become an issue for other members of the corridor to access this service?
As far as I knew, it was part of a regional plan. In any event, it is my wish that this spur's on discussion (read: funding!) about a cold weather shelter in all corridor communities.
I don't dispute; there are social forces at work here. Let's just uncover all the forces at work before we paint the town red.
Greg McDonnell
Executive Director, WCSS
