A rise in visible drug use on city streets is causing some Londoners to voice safety concerns, while businesses say they have had enough and others are paying for security guards to tackle the problem.
This week, the CBC radio program London Morning heard from three people who understand the impact of drug use on individuals, families and community well-being. These are their perspectives:
Thai Truong, London’s police chief
Chief Thai Truong has said he wants to improve safety, and has more financial resources available to him than ever before to do this. The police foot patrol is a mainstay on Dundas Street, and last week the London police announced it had hired 19 special officers to improve response times.
But Truong admits that when it comes to overt drug use, the public perception is that officers are unresponsive. When asked why more arrests are not made when police see people smoking and injecting drugs in public places, he replied:
LOOK | London’s police chief on tackling open drug use
‘You can’t arrest your way out of this,’ London police chief says of open drug use
Police Chief Thai Truong has pledged to improve community safety, including by tackling rampant drug use in the downtown area and Old East Village. Here are his thoughts on when arrests are warranted for people using themselves in public.
Marc Henderson, recovering drug user and current counselor
For almost a decade, Marc Henderson lived on and off the streets, using drugs and struggling with mental health issues. He has been sober since March 2023 and now works as an outreach worker in London, helping people living in rough conditions.
LOOK | How a formerly homeless man deals with the people he encounters on the street
Former drug user and outreach worker meeting people who use today
Marc Henderson knows what it’s like to be addicted and homeless. He lived by it for years. He got sober in 2023. His life has changed, including getting a job working with people on the streets of London.
Rosemary Van Gelderen, mother of a homeless daughter with addiction problems
Rosemary Van Gelderen’s daughter is one of the estimated two thousand people who will live without a home on the streets of London in the autumn of 2024. (Submitted)
Rosemary Van Gelderen has become an advocate for people living on the streets. One of her daughters lives rough with her partner. Van Gelderen says that municipal councilors must give people a safe place where they can spend the night, where they feel safe and can rest.
LISTEN:
London morning12:29Mother of a homeless daughter speaks out
Rosemary Van Gelderen’s daughter is one of an estimated two thousand people living without a home on the streets of London. Van Gelderen opened up to London Morning about what it’s like to have a child living a rough life and what she’d like to see happen to help those who don’t have a home as winter approaches.
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