Nanaimo residents hoping to change conversation around homeless in positive direction
NANAIMO — Engagement instead of alienation is the message a group of concerned Nanaimo residents is taking into the community.
Formed in recent months throughout the Old City Quarter and area, the loose association of parents and concerned citizens are trying to change the conversation around homelessness and take more positive steps forward towards a solution.
“I definitely think there’s people in the community who care,” area resident Darrell Harvey told NanaimoNewsNOW. “It’s just about mobilizing those people because the voices of fear and exclusion often dominate in these discussions.”
At a community meeting Thursday night hosted by the City on the issue, Harvey told the story of how he and his wife came upon a homeless man in Pawson Park over Easter.