What is the city doing about the Homeless situation, and addiction crime pandemic sweeping our neighbourhoods? It's getting out of control and the cops don't seem to be able to do anything about it.
Addicts/Homeless are combing the city day and night, stealing in broad daylight or threatening people in the parks with weapons. The garbage from them stealing is piling up. People are cleaning needles, feces, urine and vomit of their porches in the morning and looking for the damages or thefts that happened overnight.
It's a rather hopeless situation, like calling the LPS non emergency number and the machine is full, or the cops not showing up for hours or even days because they are too busy with far worse crimes.
It's no longer safe to use the Parks which are crucial during the pandemic, because men with axes or hatchets (or worse) are chasing people around. We can't ride our bikes or even try to lock them up outside because they WILL be stollen. Cars are broken into nightly or the catalytic converters are cut off costing owners thousands of dollars.
Wires, pipes, Ac units, central air even rain gutters are being stripped and sold to recyclers in order to supply their habits, only to be repeated the next day. Nothing is safe from them anymore, not even bird baths or plants in the ground.
I, we, are not heartless either and recognise that the homeless need help too, especially considering the cold wet weather approaching.
The cost of rent in our city is out of control. Affordable housing is essential but we need emergency shelters for them during the cold months ahead. We need to make emergency tents ( Yurts) in a field at the edge of town and supply it with water and washroom facilities. The solution has to take the safety of all of us into consideration, and not just prioritize one group above the others. They need a pop up trailer with *free* methadone and possibly therapists or social workers on site.