B次元官网网址淚 do not support the tent city at Regina ParkB次元官网网址�

Because of that statement, IB次元官网网址檝e been called anti-homeless, a NIMBY, hateful, and even a bigot. Organizers and advocates of Camp Namegans would like to have the public believe, that if you do not support the occupation of Regina Park, that you are a despicable human being. Let me tell you, that voicing your opinion against the occupation of Regina Park does not make you the awful person they want to paint you to be. ItB次元官网网址檚 possible to be against the tent city, and to not be anti-homeless, hateful, a NIMBY, or a bigot.

My reason for wanting the tent city gone has nothing to do with the fact that some of those occupying the park are homeless, or to do with the colour of their skin. IB次元官网网址檓 against the park, because IB次元官网网址檓 not OK with the actions and situations that have followed it into a neighbourhood that is full of families and young children. ItB次元官网网址檚 a neighbourhood made up of hard working citizens, whose houses are their biggest investments in life.

For clarity, not only do I live in Saanich, but I live directly beside the park. What IB次元官网网址檝e seen and the opinions I have are not from what IB次元官网网址檝e read online through social media, or what I have seen in the media. They are from my very own eyes, and the eyes of my neighbours.

IB次元官网网址檓 not anti-homeless. IB次元官网网址檓 anti-crime, and crime has drastically increased in our neighbourhood since the tent city arrived. Drug use happens in plain view, with needles being discarded without any regard to public safety, and even at times maliciously planted. IB次元官网网址檓 against drugs being delivered to the camp as if they were ice cream from an ice cream truck. IB次元官网网址檓 against the trespassing that has been occurring on residential property, that has included theft from vehicles, theft from sheds, swimming in backyard pools,damaging properties, and theft from yards. IB次元官网网址檓 against the spike in theft that has happened not only to residential homes, but also to businesses in the area. IB次元官网网址檓 against the constant urination and defecation in Regina Park. IB次元官网网址檓 tired of being woken up at night due to noise or alterations. IB次元官网网址檓 not okay with the intimidation tactics of hanging nooses and calling it their complaint department, of uttering threats and shouting racial slurs at some those in the neighborhood who are first generation Canadians.

Just as being homeless doesnB次元官网网址檛 make one a criminal or a drug addict, being against tent city doesnB次元官网网址檛 make one hateful , a NIMBY, or a bigot.

ItB次元官网网址檚 very difficult to engage in any constructive dialogue with organizers and supporters of the tent city, when if you voice any of these concerns you are only going to be called a hateful NIMBY bigot. Last time I checked, being against crime did not make one racist. They will try to tell you that you are criminalizing the homeless community by reporting these crimes and speaking out against them. I say false. Accountability should be taken by those that commit the crime, not those who call it in. ItB次元官网网址檚 the actions by some from tent city that add to the stigma they so desperately want to shed.

A Camp Namagans organizer was on the radio said that they had asked two people to leave the camp because they didnB次元官网网址檛 agree with their actions, and that they have the right to build the community they want to be a part of. These individuals who were asked to leave also had nowhere to go. Why is okay for the organizers of the tent city to speak out against the actions they disagree with, but itB次元官网网址檚 not OK for the residents living near Regina Park? Why is it acceptable for them to say that they have the right to build the community they want, but those of us that are law-abiding-taxpaying citizens canB次元官网网址檛 be against a tent city that has negatively impacted our community? Do we not have a say in the community we want? ItB次元官网网址檚 hypocritical is what it is.

Whether you are homed or homeless, the same rules should apply.

Steven Marshall

Saanich