Addressing homelessness, property damage, and needle safety concerns
Asked by Anonymous · 21 days ago
Are you going to do anything about this homeless situations in this town . What ideas do you have to help this matter . The residents of Alliston are feed up with their properties being damaged and personal items being stolen, and the fear of our children picking up discarded contaminated needles and we all know what can happen with that . Action needs to be taken now , we have had enough .
Wendy Gabrek's answer
I had previously answered a similar question above, but in response I want to assure you I am aware of the issues. I am hearing about this regularly from residents, and I see some of these issues myself.
We need to separate homelessness from criminal behaviour, because they aren't the same thing. But theft, property damage, open drug use and discarded needles cannot simply become something residents are expected to accept.
I would like to see greater police presence in areas where problems are recurring, better education about using the OPP non-emergency reporting line, and a clear process for quickly reporting and safely removing discarded needles.
At the same time, we need to work more closely with the County and agencies like S.H.I.F.T. to address the reasons people are living on our streets in the first place — housing, addiction, mental health and poverty.
We can have compassion for people who are struggling while still expecting our parks, neighbourhoods and properties to be safe.
