What to do? What to do? No one seems to know what to do about the homeless problem. The city seems to be doing nothing. The agencies that are doing the most, like Share, can’t even allow the homeless to camp in their parking lot because of the complaints of neighbors (must be businesses, not residents, on that part of Andresen Road). Maybe the homeless should start camping around City Hall, where they would be seen every day by city leaders.
This problem is not going to be solved by a driving-people-out-of-town approach. There are too many people suffering on our streets without a place to live and the trickle of help that is available out there is not going to stem the flood of homelessness. It’s time for the city leaders to give helping the homeless the highest priority in both developing new housing programs and finding a place for the homeless to camp until they can.
The homeless won’t disappear by wishing them away. They are a part of our community and, as a community, we need to do more both for their benefit and the benefit of the community as a whole.
Philip S. Parker
Vancouver
