Re: Just plain nasty

I sent the following letter to the editor off regarding the letter linked to in Just Plain Nasty. It has not been published which surprises me. Perhaps because it has actual information in it and maybe the press do not want to have people know more regarding Nanaimo's Homeless Strategy. This way they can continue to have the Hosuing issue remain contentious so that it is news worthy.

June 11, 2011

Initially on reading Larry Mashinter’s recent letter to the editor, Using tax money to give homeless comfort wrong, I thought to address his ludicrous comment stating the homeless and those with addiction are vermin. Given more thought I realized that some comments do not dignify a response and so will leave that one to public opinion alone. What I will do is give Mr Mashinter credit in that he did, despite his asinine comment, use his real name; at least I am assuming the newspaper did establish that as a fact.

I do want to briefly address his concerns on costs. It has been a well researched and established fact that it actually costs less to house the homeless than not. While initial expenses towards housing may be expensive the savings over the long run far outweigh the costs of the status quo. If you, the reader, are at all interested I have included the following three studies that can be easily found on the internet.

Housing and Support for Adults with Severe Addictions and/or Mental Illness in British Columbia ; Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University , February 2008. (CARHMA study)

Calgary Homeless Foundation Report on the Cost of Homelessness in
the City of Calgary ; RSM Richter & Associates Inc. Business Valuations & Litigation Support Calgary, January, 2008. (Calgary study)

The Costs of Homelessness in British Columbia ; Province of British Columbia, 2001
(Cost of Homelessness BC)

Just found this one when getting links for above Homelessness-costs-BC-taxpayers-1-billion-a-year