PETERS: Approving the access hub shelter on the North Shore helped the helpers

But before it did, I remember sitting there in my dream, hoping that the driver would put the ambulance back in gear and take me to the hospital – not because I felt my medical issue was more urgent or more important than those of the people lying in the alley, but because I simply didn’t want to deal with what I was seeing.

I didn’t want to be faced with the level of spiralling despair that these people were caught in. It made me feel helpless.

I think the magnitude of the crisis on our streets makes a lot of us feel helpless — even if we consider ourselves generally compassionate people.

Even here in Kamloops, sometimes it feels like there are just too many people with too many needs.

There are helpers out there, though. Chiefly working with local social agencies, those helpers look past the magnitude of the problem as a whole and devote their days to helping individuals.

Like the child throwing beached starfish back into the ocean, they make a difference one by one.

Unless we give the helpers in our social agencies the tools they need, the problem will only get worse.

That’s why the approval of an access hub shelter on the North Shore this week was so important.

Certainly, it may concentrate some spinoff crime and disorder into one area — but it will also concentrate the helpers. Perhaps many hands can make light work.

It’s hard to imagine it will result in a situation any more problematic than the one we have right now — either for the individuals who need help or for the community as a whole.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by James Peters

PETERS: Approving the access hub shelter on the North Shore helped the helpers

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