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Editorial: Coast not immune to ‘compassion fatigue’

The Sunshine Coast has always been prized as a friendlier and more caring place than its big-city neighbour, and this season’s many food drives, its fantastic boot drive and pledge drive, its kettle campaign, Christmas hamper campaigns and community

The Sunshine Coast has always been prized as a friendlier and more caring place than its big-city neighbour, and this season’s many food drives, its fantastic boot drive and pledge drive, its kettle campaign, Christmas hamper campaigns and community dinners are wonderful examples of this spirit of warmth and giving.

But this year we also saw our own version of “compassion fatigue” – and it’s a reality that has to be taken to heart.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog coined that phrase recently to describe what’s going on in his city, specifically in regards to the homeless problem and the supportive housing solution that’s created new problems of its own. “The frustration level is high, and the reservoir of compassion is drying up,” Krog told CBC News in a report on the weekend. “I call it compassion fatigue.”

In a nutshell, temporary supportive housing complexes have been opened in Nanaimo to accommodate the growing homeless population. They have brought with them a rise in petty crime, drug trafficking, public misconduct, litter and squalor. And while some people have been helped, the new units haven’t put a dent in the homeless situation – in fact, the homeless numbers have reportedly doubled.

Residents and business owners are fed up and the city’s mayor is channelling that message to senior levels of government, urging them to deal with root causes.

Although the type of facilities and the scale of the homeless problem are quite different, opponents of supportive housing projects on the Sunshine Coast have warned of the same negative impacts on neighbourhoods. Residents fought bitterly to stop the School Road project in Gibsons and some people in Sechelt, alarmed at the spike in property crime, have linked that trend to the establishment of a homeless shelter and supportive housing complex in fairly close proximity.

At this point we are dealing mostly with fear and speculation, and officials have dismissed the more sensational claims using fact-based arguments. Gibsons council, which gave final adoption Tuesday to the bylaw amendments for the School Road project, has qualified its support by pledging that a community advisory committee, the municipality and BC Housing will stay on top of the situation and that the public will be kept fully informed of “issues and solutions as they are addressed.”

Vigilance is certainly needed, because “compassion fatigue” is the last thing we want to take hold in this place where generosity and kindness are still common currency.

Happy Yule to you all!