Dear Editor,
My family and I are nine-year Township of Langley residents. We have many questions about the proposed Quality Inn supportive housing model and its place in our family oriented community.
We will be attending the Oct. 30 public consultation session and am submitting questions we would like initial response to.
1) What can the community expect from transitoning homeless residents regarding their productivity and activities?
A) Will there be goal-driven education and employment expectations with active case management and consequences for non participation?
B) Will residents be barred from soliticiting drivers and pedestrians for money/panhandling and how will this be both monitored and enforced?
C) What will be the caseload ratio of residents to qualified social or case workers? What will be their professional credentials?
2) Will there be a non-active drug and alcohol use upon admission requirement?
3) Will the residence by ‘dry and sober’ and enforced as such? How?
4) What level of partnership is being firmly and officially committed to by local policing?
5) What level of partnership is being firmly and officially commited to by local doctors, nurses and allied health services? What capacity for patient absorption analysis, and impact on existing patients, has been completed and what were the findings?
6) How will residents be vetted? Will residents actively involved in the justice system be admitted? If so, what degree of legal/charge severity will be considered tolerable and ‘safe’ to neighbouring community members?
7) What business impact analysis was completed regarding local shops frequented by families such as ours? (ie) Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Superstore, Earls etc…what is their degree of support for this project?
8) What current and industry-relevant and evidence-based study and criteria did BC Housing use to determine the appropriateness of such a residence in the centre of long standing local businesses, schools and family homes? What are the links to this research and where was this research published?
Looking forward to your responses in preparation for the Oct. 30 meeting.
Adrienne Alford-Burt, Langley