Just one day before our community gathered to remember our loved ones who have died from drug abuse, two more died at Taylor Beach in Metchosin.
As I write, I do not know the price the other two people will pay for their drug use. I do not think those people would have benefitted from a safe supply site. There is a lot more to our drug crisis than the government's safe supply.
Those four people never imagined themselves homeless on Pandora reporting for safe drugs. They never imagined themselves dead in a parking lot, either. I do not know what they imagined. The government did not encourage them to use drugs so they could become homeless addicts asking for free drugs. That is certainly not anyone’s plan for their future.
People are eager to blame the government for the chaos on Pandora Avenue. How did we get to where a mob attacks first responders? I think because people are looking for who to blame instead of how to fix the problems. I would blame those who don’t believe that government or public services can do any good. Spreading the idea that private enterprise and private initiatives will solve social problems encourages the entrepreneurs who are selling contaminated drugs to addicts.
Where success is measured in dollars and possessions, healthy communities are at risk. Success should be measured in trust and investing in healthy communities.
Heather Phillips
Sooke
