Mid-Island candidates focus on homelessness, mental health and social disorder issues

Kathleen Jones (Liberals)

I will advocate for Nanaimo to get Detox and Rehab beds (especially for women & youth), housing from supportive residential staffed care models to independent community living for homeless, mentally ill, addiction and brain injured persons. I will advocate for more professional support persons: psychiatrists, doctors, nurses, addiction, social & mental health, probation and outreach workers. I want and will advocate for comprehensive therapeutic services based on individual need assessments with tiered residential staffed care models transitioning to independent living with a goal of social reintegration back into our community. Education, prevention and early intervention are high priorities, Bringing all Gov’t Ministries together to form and support a comprehensive community based plan for the safety of all of us is essential and this I will work to achieve for us here in Nanaimo.

Sheila Malcolmson (NDP)

Homelessness tripled during the BC Liberals’ 16 years in power, as social services were slashed. We’re instead investing in people, expanding addiction treatment centres, overdose prevention sites, and prescription alternatives to street drugs. Last year, overdose deaths dropped for the first time since 2012. But the pandemic has made everything worse. And the impacts on our streets are terrible and unacceptable.

For Nanaimo, I’ve secured new tools to help:

1. Navigation Centre: 60-bed “bridge to housing” pilot, with access to addictions treatment and healthcare.

2. Situation Table: Ten BC communities already used this tool to shift 54% of police files to agencies better equipped to deal with the root causes of street disorder: poverty, addiction, and mental illness. This frees police to focus on violent and property crime. I started this last year with Nanaimo RCMP, took it to City Council in August, and it’s moving ahead.

3. Assertive Community Treatment team (our second): 24/7 mobile services for people with severe mental health challenges.

We got all these because I used the powerful letters folks wrote me, to convince five ministers Nanaimo should be a priority. City Council supported my requests, which helped. It’s a problem we’re working hard on.

Lia Versaevel (Greens)

For the past 17 months I have worked with those in poverty to address issues around income security, debt, access to pensions, CPP, CPPD, homelessness, immigration issues, and have advocated for those individuals with government and other agencies as a Poverty Law Advocate with the Cowichan Women Against Violence Society.

The recent homeless count in Nanaimo revealed that there were more than 430 living on the streets, with the main causes being unaffordable rents, and challenges due to mental illness or drug addiction. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant existing shelters have had to cut back on the number of available temporary beds for the homeless.

I would advocate for a basic liveable income, so that people can afford rents, more treatment beds for those suffering from substance abuse, increased supports and facilities for those with mental illness, as well as more psychiatric beds in NRGH, and more shelters and temporary housing during the transition to supportive housing.

Finally, since most addictions originate from childhood trauma, I would advocate for more supports in our schools to help vulnerable at-risk children.

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Chris Istace (Greens)

I remember growing up with social assistance, without which we would have struggled as a family. I also recall friends who lived in government funded housing, and the daily struggles they had to overcome. These simple basic needs of shelter and security are often what is lacking today and rising housing and living costs push people over the edge.

CERB has shown that putting income into the hands of those most at risk in our community lifts everyone up, and this is needed. A universal basic income would help people deal with the struggles of basic cost of living. By combining these government supports with universal child care, social housing. and accessible mental health we will be able to support our community members and prevent them from falling into the difficult situations we now see so many in.

In volunteering with the local shelter during the time of the COVID restrictions, I saw first hand how limited resources, space and staffing are unable to meet the demand in our communities. I believe that a strong investment into shelter space and mental health supports so that people in need are able to be safe.

Duck Paterson (Liberals)

People in these vulnerable situations need to be given a hand up, not a hand out like the Horgan government has been doing. Buying rundown hotels and motels to place these folks into is not a solution. “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” is the NDP solution but it is not a solution that people with issues should be placed in. Accommodating vulnerable people in shelters that can offer care, counselling, rehab as well as security is what needs to be done.

We should keep in mind that more people have died from ODs on Vancouver Island this year than from COVID. Drug addiction, mental health and homelessness all play thier part in this tragedy.

Each of those challenges is problematic on its own; when all three combine, we have something too big for any one agency or level of government to address. A co-ordinated response is needed, as with COVID.

I’m familiar with the impacts from my Town of Ladysmith perspective. I’m already part of the conversations between the province, various agencies and the Town to lessen the impacts on our streets. I’m ready to work with everyone to find solutions that work and keep communities safe for everyone.

Doug Routley (NDP)

We are all concerned about what we see happening on our streets. The issue of homelessness and drug addiction were ignored by, and allowed to grow exponentially, under the previous government who refused to make investments in communities and people. When the NDP formed government, we made different choices including announcing the largest investment in housing ever seen in our province. Locally this has translated to over 1,000 new affordable and supportive housing units from Nanaimo to Cowichan Valley. We have taken measures to increase access to safe alternatives to make it easier for people struggling with addictions to transition away from toxic street drugs. We have invested in creating and expanding outreach teams that work with people who face addictions and severe mental health challenges and recently we announced that Nanaimo will be receiving a Navigation center for people experiencing long term homelessness. The wraparound supports provided at this centre, including 24/7 accommodation, individualized attention and case planning, will help people stabilize their lives. We have made progress on these issues, but there is still more work to do and I am committed to ensuring our community gets more investments that help address these complex issues.

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Robert Lyon (Greens)

The Green party and I care about families. Everyone of these people came from a family. Saidly somehwere along the way trauma, abuse, disconnection, mis-diagnosis or worse no diagnosis has left a trail of broken people in its wake. These people need the supports that have been denied them by past governments. They do not need bandaid solutions that waste precious time and money. Homelessness, drug addiction and social disorders ARE MAJOR concerns. They require a massive effort from all levels and partys of government. We must consult with other communities who have been successful, ask health professionals and social workers to offer proposals and call on all levels of government to put forth their best ideas.Turn those ideas into policy with a commitment to complete no matter who is in power. Then work in unity to provide solutions that will strengthen those most vulnerable citizens of our society. While we are doing this we also need to consider the integrity of our community and the businesses who operate here. Help and hope are possible, Green leadership will make it happen.

Don Purdey (Conservatives)

Separate the problems: Homeless due to miss fortune, unemployment need a hand up and a safe place so they do not loose the few belongings they still have. Drug and alcohol addiction: Provide help for those that will make the commitment to treatment. Mental Health Problems: Provide institutional care to start with and monitor those that can be on their own. Qualicum Has chosen to restrict development. Respect their choice. Parksville is expanding. This will create jobs and young families will move in and they will need to be able to serve their growing community.

John St. John (Independent)

I Personally I think past governments actions on this are deplorable, every Canadian should have the right to food, education, and housing. I think we should concentrate on getting our own house in order on homelessness and poverty before building more luxury homes. I know what it is like to be homeless, and we need to give these people a hand up, not a hand out! I would make this one of my top priorities.

Michelle Stilwell (Liberals)

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their communities – it should be a given. The NDP have abandoned many neighbourhoods across BC and done nothing more than warehouse people who are seriously ill. One thing is for certain we need to treat the causes of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness, and prevent the harm.

We need prevention and recovery to treat the causes, not just wait for the consequences we see under the NDP’s approach of simply warehousing people. And we need to end these lawless camps and tent cities in city parks with a provincial mandate to help these vulnerable citizens. The BC Liberals will make sure our courts, law enforcement, and first responders have the tools they need to keep us all safe in our own communities.

We need to help those that need it most and we need to ensure families, kids, and seniors can feel safe in their communities again.

Adam Walker (NDP)

We have all felt the impacts that these challenges have had on our communities. We need collaborative efforts between all levels of government to address them. I am proud of the work the BC NDP has already done, but much more is required.

We need to build on the work we’ve started. We can’t afford to go backwards. A BC NDP government will continue to fund affordable housing. We’ll support communities by working with and funding local governments to address street disorder and public safety, and by funding mental health supports.

Before the pandemic, our efforts to tackle the opioid crisis were making a difference. We saw the first drop in the rate of overdose deaths since 2012. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, the crisis escalated again. The BC NDP government responded with action, such as doubling the number of youth treatment beds in the province. We will keep accelerating B.C.’s response to address this public health crisis.

Equally important will be continuing the investments the BC NDP has made in people and families, to support our youth, and ensure our next generation has the healthy start they need to thrive.

by NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Mid-Island candidates focus on homelessness, mental health and social disorder issues

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