Editor, The News:

I have been living in Abbotsford for 15 years now. As a homeless person, I travel the city almost every morning. What I see when I look around is not a very pleasant sight.

I see teenage hoodlums walking on the downtown streets. They move in packs as if tied together by strings. It is as if these adolescents pile up into herds like cattle wherever they see room available for them.

Just yesterday I saw a homeless man looking for pop cans from the garbage because these young miscreants are to lazy and thoughtless to bother recycling.

I see people every day, pushing buggies filled with the garbage these ill-mannered striplings litter the environment with.

These thoughtless punks make Abbotsford look filthy, unsanitary, and like it is an unpleasant place to live.

It is not only in the morning this is happening. It is through the whole day, mostly at night.

Is this the way we want people to see Abbotsford? I do not think so.

As we all know, Vancouver is hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. Many people will be coming to Abbotsford, and athletes may also be coming to use our arena to practise.

I don’t think many people who come here would like to see our streets filled with juvenile delinquents. These reprehensible hooligans are nothing but a bad impression on Abbotsford.

I used to see Abbotsford as the “City in the Country,” but I no longer do. My question really is: Why is city council not doing anything about these black sheep whippersnappers?

What’s happening in Abbotsford is not so great. It’s time that city council took action and started doing something productive for once so Abbotsford can be the “City in the Country” again.

PS: Perhaps G. Saini would care to correct the demonstrated ignorance on the subject of the homeless by leaving that nice sheltered existence, venturing out into the real world and learning a little about real life by volunteering at the Cyrus Centre for at-risk youth. More information on the Centre is available on the web at www.cyruscentre.com.

G. Saini’s Original letter for you information

Editor, The News:

I have been living in Abbotsford for 15 years now. As a young high school student, I take the bus to school almost every morning. What I see when I look out the window is not a very pleasant sight.

I see homeless people waking up on the downtown streets. They have made clothing lines by tying strings to trees. It is as if the homeless pitch tents wherever they see room available for them.

Just yesterday I saw a homeless man looking for pop cans from the garbage outside my school.

I see homeless people every day, pushing buggies filled with their belongings.

The homeless make Abbotsford look filthy, unsanitary, and like it is an unpleasant place to live. It is not only in the morning this is happening.

It is through the whole day, mostly at night. Is this the way we want people to see Abbotsford? I do not think so.

As we all know, Vancouver is hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. Many people will be coming to Abbotsford, and athletes may also be coming to use our arena to practise.

I don’t think many people who come here would like to see our streets filled with homeless people.The homeless are nothing but a bad impression on Abbotsford.

I used to see Abbotsford as the “City in the Country,” but I no longer do. My question really is: Why is city council not doing anything about the homeless?

What’s happening in Abbotsford is not so great. It’s time that city council took action and started doing something productive for once so Abbotsford can be the “City in the Country” again.

G. Saini
Abbotsford

Robberies, ‘bums’ walking down the street and girl strung out on drugs wandered into my house. These are courtesy of the actions of the Downtown Business Association and the City of Abbotsford administration in driving the homeless out of the downtown area. It is not surprising that the focus of the Association was on the Downtown area and thus they were not concerned about the effects on the citizens or their fellow businesspeople such as those on Sumas way. But one would have thought that the City would have shown a little concern for the citizens of Abbotsford. On the other hand, it may well be that an administration that thinks that giving a homeless person living in a tent a 48 hour notice to move is an intelligent action that will accomplish something, lacks any capacity to plan its actions and thus cannot see the effect its actions will have.

I wrote and posted an article last fall for www.homeless-in-abbotsford.blogspot.com about this, when the City and the Association embarked on their efforts to drive the homeless out of downtown. I pointed out that the only thing it would accomplish would be to relocate the homeless (or as you call them ‘bums’) to the residential neighbourhoods. But the City continues to think that they can accomplish something by forcing the homeless to move – rather than address the real problem of where do they move to. I also pointed out that those forced to move would not have access to the food available downtown and thus would become hungry. Ask yourself, answer honestly, would you quietly starve? Neither would I so it was quite predictable to anyone capable of even rudimentary thought that in chasing the homeless into the suburbs you were laying the groundwork for a rash of robberies.

“I want city council to wake up!” I could not agree with you more. Until the City actually addresses the real problems these types of problems are only going to get worse. BUT – you, your parents and your fellow citizens must accept some responsibility for the current situation you find yourselves in. “My family is now talking of moving to another town farther away to get away from all of this mayhem.” This running away from the problems will accomplish what? The reason these problems are as large as they are is that people seem to prefer to bury their head in the sand and refuse to see them until they begin to have an impact upon them. Then they blame someone else, demand someone else fix the problem or bury their heads again and move elsewhere – until the problems they would not face follow them to their new location.

Letting the situation deteriorate to its current levels ensures it will take much more time to address it. The more time wasted hiding from the fact there is a problem, the bigger the mess becomes. And the truth (which most do not want to hear) is that there are no easy, quick, clean solutions (which/like the public demands). This is a very complex situation that requires many different approaches to deal with the myriad of problems that get lumped together and hidden under the tag homeless. But if you and your fellow citizens want these issues handled you have too be prepared to step up and be part of the solutions, not sitting back waiting for someone else to ride to the rescue. It is your city, your society – what kind of city and society do you want to build?

However I must totally agree with your statement: “I want council to stop worrying about whether there should be a casino by the college – because college kids might waste their money – and focus on what really matters. I feel that maybe something really drastic has to happen before we see a major change. But why should it?”

A short personal rant. When I was writing about dignity and reflecting on the contempt I had heard the homeless spoken of with, I had to accept I been feeling some contempt myself just a few days before, as walking towards the Salvation Army in the company of fellow homeless we watched as a well dress couple scurried to load bags of vegetable and bread into their new, expensive vehicle. This was not the first time any of us had seen this type of thing (it happened again today, the day I enter these words into the computer from the paper they were written on). Some of the goods taken by these various persons end up for sale at locations around Abbotsford. Free goods = 100% profit.

Some come to the Salvation Army kitchen to take advantage of the fact it is free. Understand that I am not speaking of those on fixed incomes who find it necessary to stretch their incomes to cover monthly expenses by supplementing their food budgets in this manner. I speak of those who use the money they save on luxuries rather than necessities.

I see how some people need to be doing this to make ends meet and maintain their lifestyles. If that is what is happening I would suggest not buying that new car, the designer labeled clothing or that big SUV. In a simpler lifestyle you just may find some valuable inner truths and lessons (I certainly have). Leaving the food for those whose need arises out of having nothing to eat not out of greed. Despicable – especially those who themselves look with contempt upon the homeless, but feel it is perfectly alright to take food from the mouths of those with real need.

Contemptible – end of rant.

Dear Sirs:

I wish I had written it. The letter by S.R. Klassen was correct “If we want to be known as a Christian community, all of us need to join the ranks of those who are doing what Jesus actually told us to do. Let’s start meeting the needs of those in Abbotsford who have the least. While the needs of the least of these in our community are so wholly unmet, how dare we even begin to take a moral stand?”

One can only feel that someone is sending a message when you consider that on the day S.R. Klassen’s letter appeared in the Abbotsford News, on the front page of the Vancouver Sun was the story of First United Church at East Hastings and Main in Vancouver. A church that ran a deficit of $260,000 last year and is headed for the same level of deficit this year, all so that it may provide safe shelter for sleeping to those homeless who need it.

I hope that enough practicing Christians read story of First United and respond to the appeal so that First United Church can continue to provide shelter to meet the needs of the least of those in its community. I also hope that the lesson embodied in the parable of First United inspires more of the “christian community” in Abbotsford chooses to start practicing their faith instead of merely paying lip service to it.