Pubdate: Fri, 01 Apr 2005
Source: Cloverdale Reporter (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Cloverdale Reporter News
Contact:  http://www.cloverdalereporter.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3407
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

HOMELESS OFFERED A HELPING HAND BY PARISHIONERS AND POLICE

Homelessness is a fact of our modern society. Sadly, it affects most 
communities in the Fraser Valley. Cloverdale is not exempt. Homeless 
individuals, frequently, come to our attention as a result of nuisance 
complaints from the public or due to suspected criminal activity.

How many individuals in the Cloverdale area are truly homeless? That's a 
hard number to nail down. But a reasonable estimate would be eight to 
twelve. I say that because although, these individuals stay in the general 
geographical area of Cloverdale, they are very transient and frequently 
"couch surf". In other words, for a short periods, they will sleep in an 
associate's home until they are asked to leave. The rest of the time, they 
either sleep in doorways, brush, between buildings, under bridges, in 
ditches, abandoned buildings or any other venue which affords them shelter. 
Their possessions consist of whatever they can carry or haul in shopping carts.

Many citizens ask "what is the cause of homelessness?" I'm no expert on the 
topic. But it appears there are a number of factors, such as mental 
illness, low self esteem, lack of job skills, feelings of inadequacy and 
inability to cope within society. The most consistent common factor amongst 
this segment of society is addiction/substance abuse.

Cloverdale's neighbourhood Constable, Sandi Farkas, knows all of the 
homeless people in our area. From her experience, the drug of choice, 
presently, is methamphetamine, commonly referred to as "meth", "crystal" or 
"crystal meth.". This drug is highly addictive, readily available in our 
community and relatively cheap. At low doses, it boosts alertness, blocks 
hunger and fatigue. At higher doses, it causes exhilaration and euphoria. 
In short, it blocks the discomfort of being homeless and increases one's 
abilities to be "street smart". With chronic use, "meth." also has some 
ugly side effects. It can cause anxiety, emotional swings and paranoia. 
Heavy, long term use can cause paranoid delusions and hallucinations.

Funding their next "fix" of "meth.", obtaining the drug and coping with 
rudimentary requirements of survival, such as, the need to occasionally 
eat, are the daily priorities for the homeless. Most are bottle/can 
collectors, panhandlers or petty criminals, involved in property crimes. 
With the present commodity crisis in the world, scrap metal and old wire, 
which usually contains copper, are materials these individuals collect and 
readily turn into cash to fuel their drug habit.

Attempting to reason with these individuals is very difficult. For example, 
during the weeks of bitterly, cold weather we experienced in December and 
January, Constables were frequently stopping during the night to check on 
the well being of those individuals sleeping without shelter or heat. 
Members encountered people who were shaking due to exposure to the cold. 
Each person was offered a ride to the homeless shelters in Whalley but none 
accepted. One street person had inadequate clothing and was obviously in 
need of assistance, He did accept some clothing and a sleeping bag which 
some members from our District purchased with their own funds.

The citizens of Cloverdale are truly a sympathetic community. During the 
cold weather, one local homeless person regularly moved indoors during the 
night to a bank machine lobby. He awoke each morning to a fresh coffee and 
muffin which a citizen left for him. Some local restaurants do supply free 
food to select homeless individuals at their back doors. But it's kept 
pretty quiet and no one will admit to such generosity.

Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church operates a soup kitchen in 
Cloverdale Mall twice a week. Pastor Randy Emerson and his group have 
offered temporary shelter to the less fortunate during the day. They have 
also had some success getting homeless people in Cloverdale off the street 
and into rehabilitation.

There are some good news stories which restore one's faith in humanity, but 
homelessness is a problem which continues to grow.

To contact Cloverdale Community Policing please call 604-502-6275
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager