Dear Editor,
[Re: Is Maple Ridge’s approach to homeless and drug problems really helping?, Sept. 10, The News letters ]
I am a small business owner in Maple Ridge who sees and deals the with the drug addicted and homeless population on a daily basis.
There are some that have an interest in getting better and getting into a regular rental home – like all of us – but since the CERB cheque’s have been coming out the amount of overdoses and extreme nature of most of our clients has gotten out of control.
We have had daily updates as to the latest overdose or robbery in the local “mods” which is the modular housing that has been provided.
I don’t believe that throwing money at people who already have an addiction is helping. It is actually hurting them.
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Do you know how many drugs you can buy when you don’t have any bills to pay and you’re not only getting a welfare cheque for more that $700, but then you get a $2,000 CERB cheque every month – on top of that.
We all know they are not supposed to get them both, but no one is checking and it is killing people and only allowing people with addictions to get deeper into it or die from overdose.
Please, someone help me understand how it benefits anyone to not have any programs in place to make sure this doesn’t happen, and give me some sort of confidence that my tax dollars are funding something other than drugs and death.
Coryell Bonter, Maple Ridge
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