Editor:
I’m a neighbour of the supportive housing complex on Hightide Avenue in Sechelt. I can see the new building from my apartment (I live in the nondescript gray-green apartment block where the specialty doctors have their offices).
I am astonished to read of claims that our quiet, low-profile neighbourhood has been taken over by disruption and fear, owing to the Hightide project. I have lived here since 2007 and am on casual greeting terms with a good number of people who live or work nearby. I also walk on most of my daily errands, and pass by the Hightide property and the surrounding area several times a week.
If there were apprehension about the newcomers, or significant disregard of public or private property, I would likely have heard about it. But even a direct question to the staff and customers of the hair salon down the block failed to turn up any anxieties. On the contrary, the eight women in the shop, all seniors but one, agreed that housing with on-site services and counselling was badly needed and long overdue. They saw the speedy completion of the project as a credit to the backers, governments and advocates alike, and a positive measure for Sechelt and the Coast.
Sue Jackel, Sechelt
