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Small tax break could feed a lot of people

A local charity is in danger of failing, unless Langley City steps in to help.
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Dear Editor,

Following is an open letter to the mayor of Langley City:

I have been a resident of both Langley Township and City for all but two years of my life. I am a member of this community through and through.

I am the ex-evening manager of the Ricky’s All Day Grill in Murrayville, a position which I happily held for nearly 15 years until medical issues forced me onto disability in 2012.

When I was first forced to stop working, I was uncertain as to what would happen to me. Where I would live and how I would support myself were questions I had no answer for.

Thankfully, my family has been an amazing help with my needs, especially before government assistance came through. Seven years later, I am still living with a family member and depend on her to get me from place to place most of the time, my illnesses making the bus service very difficult for me to deal with.

But as many problems as I am currently dealing with, I am one of the lucky ones. I do not struggle month to month to keep a roof over my head. I do not wonder where my next meal is going to come from.

The number of people struggling to make it day to day in our Langley has gone up a frightening amount in recent years. I am not in a position to help them.

You are.

I am proposing that the city use a tax grant of some sort to aide the Sources Langley Food Bank in finding a location to make a home. I understand that doing so would possibly create an issue with the landlords of other charities requesting the same tax break, but something needs to be done to motivate the owners of vacant possible locations to step up and help the charity. There are less than 40 days left to do something, or charity will become homeless, just as I almost was and as many struggling men, women, and families are in danger of becoming at any moment.

A low, per square metre tax break granted to the landlord could be as little as the low four-figure range yearly. By the time you divide that by each month, and then by the 600 mouths fed every week, it would literally be pennies per person fed per day.

An $1,800 tax break would provide $6.25 per person per week for 600 people

If the city can’t spare 6.25 cents each week to help feed its most vulnerable citizen, then I can’t see a reason to hope for any of our futures.

Scott Imbeau, Langley