C10

Pat Carlson
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The Aug. 11 Daily Gleaner article read "Canoeists get more than they bargain for."

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TENT TOWN: The problem of homeless people living along the riverbank near Old Government House is an annual one, but columnist Pat Carlson believes simply forcing them to move is not the solution.

The Daily Gleaner/James West Pho

A vacant shelter along the saint John river behind the old government house in Fredericton

Reading the article is only half of the story; reading the web blogs really says a great deal about where our sensitivities lie.

You may wish to consider this question. If not on the river bank, just where can they go?

Three years ago, I sat on a committee trying to find parties to start a wet shelter. Social workers and the head of addictions and mental health were in agreement that this and a long-term care facility were needed so that those leaving addiction's two week intervention program would have somewhere to live to continue their therapy.

The persons who disagreed with starting a wet shelter may now look at the problem again. The solution I and many of my colleagues would recommend is this. If you want to help anyone, first you have to build a relationship with them, on their terms.

When the police say they monitor this situation, it does not mean, nor is it deserving to say they pay more attention to Tim Horton's, as one blogger did. It does mean they are taking precautions to do what can be done for the people there, as well as those who are uncomfortable around the area.

We have worked with police on many occasions and I am delighted to see newly trained officers who understand that getting rid of the problem is not as easy as moving them along.

It is about taking into account what a person with an addiction is going through.

Are you aware of the pain they experience every day?

The Gleaner also published an article on Aug. 16 about the waiting lists for treatment. If we want to keep our heads in the sand and think we can move them along and suddenly the problem is solved, well, I guess you can call me because I have a bridge to sell you. Wink, wink.

Answers - I likely have more questions than answers, but I do have an idea of what is going on in the mind of the addicted and I can safely say, they are in so much pain that swearing, cussing and anti-social behaviour are just more ways of screaming to be heard.

Let me share something with you. A guest from the shelter stops in at Changes to chat for a moment. He is a person with a huge addiction.

For example, after having a major organ removed and coming out of surgery, he got totally drunk for days after, choosing to live outside while still in bandages. Serious addiction?

When he came over to chat with me, he told me he was now painting. He is talented. He is gentle when sober. The next day, when I arrived at work, I checked the mail box for some reason. In the box was a painting, unsigned - a gift from him for listening to his story, perhaps? It now sits in our front window and is not for sale.

He is a person. He is hurting most of the time and the memories that control his soul also control his behaviour. He is a slave to a past that haunts him.

Do I agree with drinking and bad behaviour? Of course not. Do I have all the answers? Only a fool would say yes. But one thing people with addictions have taught me over and over is this: they do not trust the system, their families in most cases, nor people in authority.

If we want to get even close to reaching such a person, we have to show we care and can walk with them until they can walk with us.

Pat Carlson is an advocate for the disadvantaged. She writes every second Thursday and can be reached at changes@nb.aibn.com.