Letters to the Editor of IMAGE
Letters to the Editor of IMAGE
Neighbour opposes St Paul’s-Eastern respite centre
This is about the disappointing decision to use St Paul’s Eastern church for a respite centre when there are already 47 social services in the Byward Market/Lower Town/lower Sandy Hill area.
Whatever the mitigating work being done, in my personal view this is another concentration of social services that will damage the lives of residents, students, business owners and workers, and Ottawa visitors through exposure to drug dealing, violence, loitering, verbal abuse, vandalism, littering, property break-ins, theft, maybe another home invasion. This will happen because this wrong policy will attract more emotionally fraught, mentally ill, often drug and alcohol addicted people with dreadful trauma in their past into the same small number of streets. The result will be more addiction, more conflict and more misery–all paid for by the city tax payers, when a more decentralised approach to service provision would prevent such harm, misery, crime and even death.
By locating services together, the city and its charitable fellow travellers are just exposing vulnerable people to more addiction, conflict and violence which will make it impossible for them to build a better life.
Keith Nuthall
Besserer Street
Seen and sketched
St. Charles on Beechwood is now a condo, but nice details are still intact.
Phil Caron
Chapel Street
From the Editor
The thanks continue!
IMAGE readers and contributors continued to boost our operation this fall when two more generous donations arrived, from Christine Aubry (Blackburn Ave.) and Larry Newman (Laurier Ave. E.).
As the old year passes…
We (happily) say goodbye to the challenges of 2020 and thank all those who have contributed articles, updates, notices, photos, advertising, advice, and encouragement this year.
Our chief copyeditor, Jan Meldrum; advertising guy, Peter Rinfret; proofreader and translator, Betsy Mann; website manager, Dave Elden; admin assistant, Frank Heilingbrunner, and 24-hour enthusiast, François Bregha—plus the latest fabulous recruit to IMAGE business management, Jan Finlay, get special mention and my deep thanks for rolling with the punches. We did it! Bring on 2021.
Jane Waterston