To the Editor,
I have been following with interest the ongoing debate about low-barrier housing. I can understand the concerns people have as I had them myself, but over the years they have proven to be false.
I spent my entire career as a teacher and school principal in Vancouver. I worked in areas of the highest socio-economic level in the province to the lowest.
In the 10 schools in which I worked, five had social housing in the catchment areas, three directly across the street from the schools.
During my time in those five schools with social and low-barrier housing, never once did the staff have their cars broken into, get accosted on the street while doing playground supervision or leaving the building late at night after parent/teacher conferences and evening events or have any more intrusions into the building or onto the school grounds than any school in the affluent areas in which I worked.
In fact, we started to invite the folks from these developments to school events and special celebrations to try and include them in the community and ‘normalize’ life for them.
Many were in various stages of recovery and were just trying to get their lives back on track to again become productive members of society. They were not ‘throw away people’ who deserved to be housed in industrial areas or areas that would tax their will for recovery. Many became great supporters of the schools and would (after being vetted by the police) become volunteers and fundraisers.
All that was required was a little compassion, understanding and acceptance for them as people to gain esteem, self-confidence and a feeling of usefulness.
I can say without doubt that when given a choice in my school placements, I chose to work in these types of areas over the more affluent ones, as I found I could get so much more out of the people in these communities than just dollars. They were good people who for various reasons were down on their luck and needed an opportunity to get healthy and prove their worth.
I cannot and will not judge these folks because “there but for the grace of your protector, goes anyone of us”. And if it was you or me, how would you like the community to treat us in our recovery?
Daryl Grunlund
Nanaimo
