My Letter to the Editor

One cannot help but notice that the Comox Valley has many people who work to prevent cruelty to animals while doing very little to improve the plight of the homeless human beings in our region. Just this past week our local newspapers have an article praising a young person for raising money to aid the SPCA in providing for the needs of cats and dogs. Ironically, in the other newspapers, the Comox Valley Record included, have articles about homeless human beings being evicted from vacant lots.
While is is understandable that squatting is less than ideal, it is a sad commentary on the values of our society when all authorities seem able to do is to tell them to leave, when there is no one else for them to go.
While organizations such as Habit for Humanity are doing a commendable job in providing housing for one segment of the population, many do not qualify for this type of housing for various reasons. We need to take action in finding solutions for this deplorable situation in our communities. In my view, it is inexcusable that there should be the number of homeless people in a wealthy province such as British Columbia. One might be tempted to argue that these people are drug addicts or lazy individuals, but such is not always the case, and even if this be true and some may actually chose to live outside of traditional society, surely there must be some way to aid the majority of the homeless people.
If we can do it for dogs and cats, surely we can do more for our own species.