Category Archives: Municipal

Addiction, Municipal

Commentary on Abbotsford BC’s Recovery House Policy – part 1

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I was speaking to someone I know about Abbotsford’s new recovery house policy. She told me that the intention was not to close the bad houses but to cause them to become recovery houses in fact, not just in name.

This statement contains some fundamentally mistaken beliefs.

What I consider the major failing in addressing the question of recovery houses is that the policy assumes that all those who are currently living in a recovery house in Abbotsford are there seeking recovery from their addiction (the economics of the recovery house industry and the effect of market forces will be addressed in part II). Reality is that many of those who are in a “bad” recovery house are only there so as to have a roof over their heads. These people have no real interest in getting clean, staying clean and getting on with recovery.

They have not yet reached a point where they are ready to move into sobriety and recovery. So, while you can force the houses to become bona-fide recovery houses, you cannot force the substance abusers into recovery.

The net effect will be the same whether you close the houses or force them to be legitimate places of recovery – more, a LOT more homeless on the streets of Abbotsford.

Understand that I fully support the need to clean up the recovery houses in Abbotsford so that those coming out of treatment and/or looking for a clean environment free of mind altering substances can be sure that in our city a Recovery house is a substance abuse free environment. We as citizens of Abbotsford owe a duty of care to those seeking help in overcoming substance abuse problems that require ensuring a safe environment for them.

Reality, what a concept, is that in ensuring this safe environment the city’s actions are going to displace 100 – 200 substance abusers out of their current housing and onto the streets. I say onto the streets because there are no viable housing alternatives for those abusing whatever substance they prefer.

Why do you think there are so many so-called recovery homes in Abbotsford? It is simple supply and demand, supplying demanded housing at affordable cost.

The Reality is that even with the best of intentions the net result of the city’s recovery house policy will put those 100 – 200 substance abusers on the street. The Question is why the city has ignored reality and proceeded as though there will not be any consequences of implementing their recovery house policy?

Common sense and leadership would seem to me to have demanded acknowledging the reality that the recovery house policy will have a significant effect on increasing the number of homeless on the streets of Abbotsford and taking action to address this reality before flooding the streets with more homeless bodies.

Clearbrook residents are currently screaming at City Hall about problems in their neighbourhood. The new city approach will likely close many of the recovery houses that residents are complaining about – and drive many of those in the recovery houses onto the streets in the Clearbrook area.

What then? Round ‘em up, move them out to fresh pastures in a new neighbourhood, much the same way a rancher would his herd of cattle? When the new neighbourhood starts to scream and complain loud enough, will the city perform another round-up of the homeless and drive them to new pastures in another neighbourhood and so on and so on ad infinitum?

It is time we stopped futilely dealing with social problems on a piecemeal basis that experience has shown not only fails to accomplish anything, but allows problems to worsen. We need to take a much more holistic approach, dealing with the entirety of a situation, issue or problem.

The new recovery house policy is not a solution. A solution does not merely trade one set of problems for a different set of problems, but address all the underlying facets of the problem. It does no good to take an action that will cause many of the current residents of recovery houses to leave the recovery houses …

… Unless you have also put in place policies to provide affordable housing for the newly “released to homelessness” in a manner and form that will encourage and facilitate their moving into treatment and recovery. Where are these policies and alternative housing?

We simply cannot afford the insanity of repeating past behaviours over and over hoping the outcome will be different this time and solutions magically appear.

Municipal

The Abbotsford Blight is Bloating!

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I see from the front page of the July 3, 2007 Abbotsford Times that the NO-FUN pestilence infecting Abbotsford BC has spread to another Fraser Valley community – Chilliwack. Like a plague, Abbotsford’s NO-FUN pestilence is lowering the level of fun in our neighbour Chilliwack.

Before you know it Chilliwack will be as devoid of fun as Abbotsford. One can only speculate what kinds of panic the City Councils in other neighbouring communities are experiencing with this proof that the Abbotsford NO-FUN pestilence is contagious and spreading.

Langley, Mission and smaller communities such as Yarrow must now worry that the misery of this NO-FUN malady will infest and curse their communities with NO-FUN – turning them into lifeless, funless Abbotsford clones.

Langley perhaps can hope that being in the GRVD will result in the fun and nightlife of Vancouver inoculating them against the plague of NO-FUN invasion from Abbotsford.

Mission has no such hope for inoculation against the plague of NO-FUN spreading outwards from Abbotsford City Hall, leaving Mission’s council and citizens to desperately search for ways to remain uncontaminated by the epidemic of NO-FUN from Abbotsford.

Mission does have the Fraser River Bridge going for it in the battle against contamination, a choke point to make a stand against contracting the NO-FUN plague from Abbotsford. Strict decontamination procedures before being allowed across the Fraser River will hopefully prove effective in preventing Abbotsford’s NO-FUN pestilence poisoning Missions entertainment, nightlife and anything else resembling fun.

If this decontamination proves ineffective we face the depressing possibility of quarantine as communities scramble to protect their fun and joy in living. Finding ourselves condemned to a bleak and joyless gloomy future of NO-FUN confined to the Abbotsford Blight, a deadly dead zone of NO-FUN.

Abbotsford City Hall will discover it has spent $100,000,000.00+ on Plan A to no avail in attempting to bring back life and fun into the city. It matters not how much they spend while the city is infected with the NO-FUN virus. The only cure is to fumigate Abbotsford City Hall, cleansing it of the parasites infecting our City with the NO-FUN pathogen.

Municipal

Customer service? Get real; we are talking about Abbotsford BC’s City Hall.

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Patrons of ARC (the Abbotsford Recreation Centre) have had to sacrifice and adjust their exercise schedules to accommodate the Abbotsford Whalers; displaced from Centennial Pool its its failure to open at the beginning of May due to the lack common sense at City Hall. Beginning in June patrons have also had to run the gauntlet thrown up by the start of construction for ARC’s new, superfluous basketball courts.

On July first, in a show of total distain and disregard for patrons, the mere hour granted to patrons was reduced by half. With the need to leave the pool before 10PM if you want to shower and the delay in getting the Whalers from the pool and the patrons into the pool you have enough time to warm up and cool down – leaving no time to actually exercise.

To add insult to the injury they have dealt to patrons exercise programs: on July 1, 2007 the cost to use ARC went up – two months ahead of the normal September 1st date. On the day they all but eliminate the opportunity for those who must exercise in the evenings to swim they increased the fees.

My first thought was: “Only in the oxygen starved atmosphere of Abbotsford City Hall, with its total disconnection from what goes on in the real world, would reducing services and raising fees on the same day be considered an acceptable way to conduct the City’s business”.

I should not have been surprised as this year citizens have been handed enormous tax hikes while department budgets and services are cut back. Now they hike fees and cut access for ARC. Are they adopting a new city motto: “Abbotsford BC, where we tax you for deluxe services but deliver mediocre services”?

My second thought was to wonder how many other fees and charges will go up as services decrease, will go up earlier than usual and just how many inventive new fees and charges citizens will be taxed with. After all, they just announced the need for an extra million $$$ for Plan A’s steadily increasing cost.

Municipal

Recreation not about encouraging Exercise?

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I always thought that the purpose of the recreation department was to encourage, not discourage, people to exercise. Apparently I was mistaken about this with respect to the Abbotsford recreation department.

I am speaking of the new schedule for ARC that begins July 1st and runs until Centennial Pool opens or the Whalers competition season ends – whichever comes first. In keeping with the operating behaviour of the City of Abbotsford the decision about this schedule was made behind closed doors and without consultation with or consideration of patrons.

I accept that some inconvenience must result from the need to accommodate the Whalers due to the failure of Centennial Pool to be opened in time for the Whalers to begin training for competition. I made the necessary, though personally inconvenient, changes to my exercise (swimming) schedule to get my needed exercise in around the Whalers schedule.

This was possible because for May and June the Whalers finished by 9PM leaving the 1 hour adult swim available to those displaced swimmers and water-cisesrs. However in the proposed new (indefinite) schedule this time has been reduce to a ½ hour – inadequate time for a proper exercise regimen.

I think it only reasonable that the proposed schedule be amended to ensure at least one hour as the minimum time for an exercise workout. If it is not possible to reschedule the Whalers so that they continue to finish by 9PM, then the pool should be kept open until 10:30PM until the Whalers are able to move to Centennial Pool.

Should it be suggested that this extra expense is to onerous I suggest that the money should come from the salaries of those in City management who, lacking the common sense to hire someone who had experience in pool construction, are responsible for the need to accommodate the Whalers.

Not only would this be an equitable sharing of the pain the Whalers and patrons of ARC have had to endure for no justifiable reason, but it would hopefully serve to encourage common sense and good business practices as future behaviour from senior management.

Federal, Homeless, Municipal, Provincial

A letter to the residents of the Clearbrook neighbourhood of Abbotsford BC:

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While I cannot say I share exactly your frustration over recovery houses, homelessness and crime problems, I can say I too am intensely frustrated over recovery houses, homelessness and the crime fallout from the way people and politicians continue to fail to exercise basic common sense in responding to the situation.

I concur that we need a recovery house policy, not to appease citizens but to protect the addict(s) in recovery who are seeking safe and supportive housing to continue their journey of recovery. Having witnessed the damage and pain that results for those who have the misfortune to end up in one of the houses that has nothing to do with recovery, I whole heartedly agree that we as a community owe it to those seeking recovery to ensure that is what they will find at a recovery house in our City.

What I find so frustrating is the continued failure of people and politicians to exercise common sense by asking some basic and obvious questions, then proceeding to address the issues raised by these questions. So here are some questions for the residents of Clearbrook to think about – and to demand the City answer.

Where are the displaced residents from houses that close going to go? Why would those who find themselves “released to homelessness” do anything other than join the ranks of the homeless who currently call the Clearbrook area home? There are no services, resources or housing to draw them away from the Clearbrook area, an area they are familiar with.

Have you considered the effect that dumping between 100 and 200 newly made homeless onto the streets of Clearbrook will have on the area? If you think you have problems with crime, homeless and addicts in the area now, what do you think is going to be the result of tossing large numbers of additional people onto the streets?

Are you prepared for the newly made homeless to take up residence in sheds, yards, parks, doorways, under trees and bushes, on the sidewalks etc? These people are homeless why would you expect them to just disappear? Where else do the homeless have to go?

Why is it that when these points were raised with the City over a year ago, when they first began to work on recovery house regulations, they have failed to address the most basic and pressing question of what/where are you going to do with those released to homelessness?

What kind of neighbour, what kind of citizen are you? Are you about solving these problems or are you about chasing them to some other part of the City, into someone else’s backyard as the homeless were harassed out of the downtown and into Clearbrook?

What is the point of the City chasing the homeless, the poor from residential neighbourhood to residential neighbourhood when they have no other place to go but around in circles, from spot to spot within the City? Would it not be common sense to provide leadership, support and political will to provide viable alternatives for housing, support and recovery?

Do you want to continue to act thoughtlessly or to act with purpose in pursuing long term, solution focused policies? Do you want these problems and issues to continue endlessly into the future, worsening year by year, or do you want to achieve the goal of the issues and ending these problems?

Think about it, then demands the city, provincial and federal governments begin to act with thoughtful common sense…