Lights of Wonder a joy to behold
Thank you all who have been part of the fantastic project, Lights of Wonder at Centennial Square.
It was truly magical to walk around this enchanting white forest. My husband and I聽went several times and every time it was beautiful again, even on New Year鈥檚 Eve in the heavy rain.
Thank you all for your imagination, work and time. You really made it White Christmas and yes, the volunteers deserved to be at home with their families on Christmas Day.
Nina Frankl
Saanichton
Finding ways to save the聽lives of loved ones
Re: 鈥淚llicit-drug users are from all walks of life, including Mark,鈥� opinion, Jan. 4.
Excellent commentary by the Victoria police staff sergeant. Anyone who thinks drug users and alcoholics don鈥檛 come from all walks of life has blinders on. Tragically, many end up losing their lives, like the barber in the staff sergeant鈥檚 commentary.
We are saving lives with Naloxone, but what next? Will these users end up like the barber? Informed people would agree that treating drug and alcohol abuse is extremely difficult without medical intervention and the appropriate prescription drugs. Some would even agree with a safe supply of drugs for those with an opioid-use disorder, but what next?
Do we keep sending our loved ones back out there without the support required to maintain their sobriety? People struggling with addiction need to talk to people like themselves. They need support from those who are recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, from those who have been there and are still alive. They need to find this support in a safe and non-threatening environment where they can discover what they really need to stay sober.
This is the principle upon which Alcoholics Anonymous was established in the 1930s. There are those who scoff at this principle today, saying it鈥檚 outdated and no longer relevant. Nonetheless, it might very well be the next step in truly saving the lives of our loved ones.
David Mansell
Courtenay
Six quick ways to a better 2020
It is now that time when we set goals for the coming year, generally designed to make us better people. I hereby resolve to:
1. Stop using the term 鈥減re-plan.鈥� That鈥檚 what a plan is, it鈥檚 鈥減re.鈥�
2. Get over my fear of hurdles.
3. Stop insisting that cellophane is made from thinly sliced cellos.
4. Get some real furniture. (Though I might keep the curtains I鈥檝e drawn.)
5. Stop eating frozen poultry. And I鈥檓 going to do it cold turkey.
6. Stop pronouncing 鈥渉amster鈥� as though it had a P in it, and start pronouncing the Ls in salmon, almond and psalm.
That should do it. Happy new year!
Mike Erwin
Saanich
Churches must do more for the homeless
Congratulations to the seven churches that have united to run a rotating homeless shelter in Parksville and Qualicum Beach. But what about downtown Victoria?
I understand that the First Metropolitan United Church on Quadra continues to open its doors, with staffing from Our Place. But I see all those huge church buildings downtown that can鈥檛 find space for the homeless. Why not?
I know it is not an easy job to make everyone welcome. I鈥檝e volunteered at Our聽Place. Goodness me, the homeless might even hope for a cup of coffee as well as a thin mat on the floor. But what are churches all about if they can鈥檛 get together and provide shelter and share the work? Does charity only mean providing Christmas dinner, nice organ music and coloured glass windows?
I walk down Pandora or View and all I聽see are locked doors and elaborate iron fences to keep out the poor and homeless. And don鈥檛 tell me church-goers are too scared of them to let them in.
If the Victoria churches cannot even get together to provide shelter, please tell me what they are for?
Alison Acker
Victoria
No, those bus passes are聽not free
A well-worn aphorism states 鈥渢here is no such thing as a free lunch.鈥�
Why do politicians and the media insist on calling bus passes for youth 鈥渇ree鈥�? Let鈥檚 call them what they are: taxpayer-supported bus tickets for youth.
And apply that to all 鈥渇ree鈥� government programs.
Mike Spence
Victoria
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