To the Editor,
Re: Neighbourhood group dissolved without vote from society members, Feb. 18.
I an greatly saddened by the continued jostling for positions from my neighbourhood community members in Nob Hill. This lack of respect and communication has been happening for many moons with individuals pointing fingers when their own guns are loaded.
I have lived downtown for over 10 years and see more crimes being committed by my neighbours in contradiction of bylaws, ethics, and especially lack of human compassion for each other yet mostly for those on the street.
All too often the society became a podium for individuals to take upon themselves to promote their own agendas rather then manifesting collaboration for the betterment of all our citizens. It has become a vigilante’s society with members fighting amongst themselves for credit of misdeeds from postings in social media to closing down parks and city streets for righteous demonstrations to remove streetworkers and johns. This just moves the folks with barriers into another block or two with street workers receiving more violence directed at them.
I feel that the society should not only stay disbanded, it should have many of its members educated in-house about just what a not-for-profit community-based neighbourhood society is. I would much rather see my neighbourhood working toward harm reduction and restorative justice than working toward removing johns and street workers and closing down harm-reduction programs, and some educational programs for neighbours on social networking and collaboration.
Lee-Anne DoreNanaimo