Micah 6:8

I was on the News!

I try to make most of my blog entries relevant to those who read it but just had to share what happened recently. My city government is purposing to put a drug rehabilitation facility for those with mental illnesses into my neighbourhood. The centre would have 39 single occupancy suites and would have at least one staff person on at all times. Also, in order to qualify to move in the applicant must be drug and alcohol free for the previous two months and have no violent crimes or sexual offenses on their criminal record.

On Monday night the city and the organization that would be running the centre held a second meeting with the neighbour. The first meeting had around 1000 people attend but I wasn't there. The meeting on Monday had about 600 people. I attended the second meeting because the first was huge mess. The community was all riled up and mob mentality was on a high.

The mess at the first meeting made me angry. These people need homes. I don't understand what the community was afraid of. They were claiming that part of why this was a bad location was that it was near a high school and an elementary school. What do they think the people at facility are going to do? There are other similar facilities around the city. Why aren't they agitated about those facilities. It's just a whole lot of selfishness running around.

Anyways, on Monday evening during the question and answers/feedback part of the presentation I got up and spoke my mind on the issue. I was the first to speak in favour of the facility so I think that I caused quite a stir. When I left the microphone I got followed out by the camera man from our local media. They did an interview of me. My rebuke of the community made the 11 o'clock news as well as the morning news yesterday. I don't know if it hit the evening news last night. I also got quoted in The Vancouver Sun and The Province. You can read the articles if you follow the links. I feel like a celebrity! I know that that doesn't matter. Really, I'm just happy that I was able to be an advocate for marginalized people.