The Editor,
Re: 鈥淎llow homeless to use tarps in heavy rain, resident urges City of 性视界传媒,鈥� the Now-Leader online.
It鈥檚 been almost a year since the City of 性视界传媒 launched its City Centre Response Plan to deal with the 鈥減ublic health and safety鈥� crisis on the strip.
What has become disturbingly obvious is that the city cares little about the health and safety of the homeless folks forced to live on the sidewalk of 135A Street.
Its prime concern is the 鈥渉ealth鈥� of economic development and the 鈥渟afety鈥� of business and property owners in the area.
Instead of providing housing and health care to the homeless population on the strip, the city has installed a regime of punishment and surveillance.
Banning tarps is just the latest tactic in this strategy, and its underlying message is clear: 鈥渨e don鈥檛 want you to die by fire, but we鈥檙e OK if you get sick and die by pneumonia or the flu or other infections that further destroy your bodies already exhausted by poverty and homelessness.鈥�
Let鈥檚 face it, 性视界传媒鈥檚 鈥渙utreach team鈥� of 12 cops and four bylaw performs an 鈥渙utreach鈥� function for the prison industrial complex. They are not social workers, health workers or housing advocates. They carry guns and the laws they enforce, in arbitrary and punitive ways, serve the interests of the property-owning class.
So it鈥檚 not that surprising that after nearly a year the homeless population has grown, the physical and mental health conditions of their lives have gotten worse, and there has been no provision of secure and dignified housing.
For the residents of the strip, the city鈥檚 鈥減ublic health and safety鈥� strategy is one of punishment and elimination, plain and simple.
Dave Diewert, 性视界传媒
