Let’s not give up, but let’s focus on the issue
This is a very difficult column to write. It is about our community, people’s lives and human tragedies.
There is a crisis happening on our streets and it seems overwhelming despite the efforts of so many in Calgary. Anyone visiting downtown and those who live here can’t help but feel frustrated, afraid and helpless.
I am a big guy and not easily intimidated, but walking past the Sheldon Chumir Centre on 13th Avenue S.W. I found myself tensing up. The individuals hanging out on the sidewalks and laneways are intimidating. I don’t know if it’s a drug problem or a vagrancy problem, but when people are resorting to using sidewalks as bathrooms, it surely becomes a community problem.
You have empathy for these individuals but also concerns about personal safety. You may be subject to swearing and insults. In your car, people randomly cross in front of you, defiantly but also scowling and shouting. What can be done, as a community, to help the people forced to cower under garbage bags or makeshift tents?
The beautiful Central Memorial Park is full of litter and the monuments have become places to shoot up or lay down without regard for anyone. The lawns have become depositories for used needles. The chances of an inner-city family sitting down for a picnic or using that park as a place to relax or read are now remote. Shouldn’t something be done?
In East Village, the City of Calgary apparently has a work crew that visits the Reconciliation Bridge regularly to clean up litter, human waste and the general mess, but within a few hours the scenario begins again. Is it all a result of poverty and unemployment, or is it also about a disregard for any effort to make things better?
When we see an ambulance or a police car racing down the street, our thoughts go to the victim — thinking it might be someone having a heart attack or an accident — and we admire first responders for their challenging work. Yet, how often are those ambulances heading to someone passed out because of drugs, alcohol or worse? The scenario plays out over and over and is a cycle that seems impossible to break.
Reactions to my comments will be wide-ranging. Accepting the current situation isn’t working. There has to be some acknowledgment that drug safe houses are a failure. As one caller recently said to me, “You do not help an alcoholic by giving them free rum.”
Every individual deserves help and no one in this situation should be left by the side of the road. But the police cannot be tasked with simply hauling away every person down on their luck, any more than most of us believe it is up to paramedics and the police to become counsellors and caretakers for people living on the street.
The Salvation Army, the Calgary Drop-In Centre, the Mustard Seed and other agencies do incredible work to provide meals, shelter and clothing for folks who need it. These amazing groups save lives, and they help people get back on a road of self-worth; but how can we help and what are the solutions for those who do not want help? More police, more ambulances, more institutions?
Money is not the answer, for surely we invest a lot already to address homelessness, mental health and addiction treatment. It will take more than money to make our streets feel safe and our parks welcome places for everyone.
It is said that the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. No matter what it takes, our streets need to be safe and citizens should never feel intimidated and threatened walking down any street in our city.
Pretending there is no problem, ignoring the people on the street, and allowing individuals to consume drugs and alcohol publicly without consequences is not a solution.
Let’s not give up, but let’s focus on the issue.
George H. Brookman is the chair and company ambassador of West Canadian Digital.