I absolutely love Seattle. Going to Boston for school only enhanced my love for this amazing city. There isn't a city in the world that's surrounded by such stunning nature yet enveloped in a booming technology industry perfectly balanced by a unique vibrant culture. There is nothing like walking down the clean urban streets and glancing to your right and seeing the Pier and absolutely stunning seashore, and then to your left to see the majestic Mt. Rainier. I love Seattle; I could go on forever.
Seattle is close, but no city is perfect. The city has a severe homeless problem. More and more tents and sleeping bags scatter areas of downtown and under the freeway. There are so many homeless citizens that there's even a community -- the Jungle.
The Jungle is notoriously dangerous. Many residents who live there are drug addicts. Gunshots are heard often by residents who live nearby. But one of the scariest incidents was the deadly shooting, where two people were killed and three were wounded.
I'm not writing this to tell you about how desperate the homelessness problem is. That's obvious. I'm writing because recently, the mayor of Seattle, Ed Murray, proposed a homeless shelter that would allow drug addicts to use drugs safely. A safe house to just let drug addicts use drugs by providing syringes and materials necessary to take drugs. I'm writing this because this would not solve the drug or homelessness problem at all. In fact, this would only worsen the state of drug addicts and ruin our beautiful city.
Seattle is not the first city to consider this idea. Our Canadian neighbor, Vancouver, has already done this. And the result is East Hastings.
If the words "East Hastings" don't instill fear and pity in your soul you probably haven't been to that part of Vancouver. East Hastings is an entire street where drug addicts openly inject in public, where prostitution is ridiculously prevalent, where people who are clearly mentally and physically ill stagger around the street, where people openly sleep on the streets, where there's more police than anywhere else in Vancouver, and where crime and violence are the norm.
It wasn't always like that. East Hastings used to be a beautiful, safe street filled with restaurants and stores. But when an influx of illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine entered Vancouver, the number of drug addicts spiked.
In response, the Vancouver government opened Insite, a safe house that provides syringes and other materials to allow drug addicts a safe place to do drugs. What they probably didn't anticipate is the migration of other drug addicts all over Canada into Vancouver because of the safe, legal and enabling Insite. The number of drug addicts climbed even higher.
Aren't cocaine, heroin or other illegal drugs illegal? So why would the government blatantly enable them? Maybe I'm missing something; what laws are allowing the government to do this?
Looking back on the city's decision, the Toronto Police Association's President stated: “Insite is not a model we want to see replicated.” He believes that money should be focused on treatment. Much of police efforts are drained in East Hastings as a result of spiraling crime and violence.
I acknowledge drugs are a reason why people are homeless. But enabling them to do heroin and other illegal drugs is completely ridiculous and is actually exacerbating their situation. We're taught from a young age how debilitating illegal drugs are. When drugs are safer and easier to do, it just furthers addictions. So why is the city enabling them and allowing them to do it when it would clearly worsen their lives?
Supporters state that safe housing would save lives because being under supervision, drug addicts wouldn't overdose. Addicts still overdose in East Hastings. Addicts are still addicted, still in the same terrible drug- dependent state.
They need to be put in programs to kill their addictions so they can better their lives. Create more affordable housing to ameliorate the homelessness problem. It might sound naive but put the money towards target drug dealers and enforce illegal drug laws. Put them in programs to clean up and find jobs. City Council members: if you care about these citizens don't help them ruin themselves; help them build their lives again.
