Editor:
I live in the neighbourhood of the proposed supportive housing. I first moved to Gibsons almost 20 years ago when I rented a 500-sq.-foot house in upper Gibsons for $500 a month. Today a comparable property might rent for maybe $1,200 or $1,500 per month, if it were even available.
Clearly most people’s incomes have not kept pace. Speculation, short-term rentals and other factors have left many with very few choices for housing.
The least fortunate among us end up homeless or on the precipice of homelessness. Without secure housing, how can the most vulnerable in our community make their way forward? Do we simply pretend they don’t exist?
The opportunity being given to Gibsons – the land, the funding for support and services – to build this much-needed supportive housing on School Road is an essential project that should go ahead.
It seems that social media is being used to spread distortions, lies and fear and making reasoned conversation much more difficult. The Town of Gibsons website is a good source for factual information (www.gibsons.ca) or read what the Sechelt mayor had to say about their experience with supported housing (“Misinformation becoming accepted as fact,” Aug. 16).
I feel that this is a defining moment for Gibsons, one that can be a strong statement that we are a caring, compassionate town that does its best for all our neighbours.
Alan Sirulnikoff, Gibsons
