LETTER: More needs to be done

To the editor:

I am glad the University of Toronto has acknowledged our city as being on the right track.

Unfortunately those are simply numbers.With that, we have also been named one of the most violent cities in Canada.

The alcohol-management program, overdose reduction, and safe needle exchange are simply a band-aid for many underlying issues.

They are services that we require in our city but I think the focus should be on mental health, addiction treatment and prevention. The mental health care system in this city is severely lacking and extremely underfunded.

What we need in Thunder Bay are more in-patient addiction treatment centres, more counselling provided to those seeking recovery and those being released from incarceration. What we also need is a focus on prevention.

Maybe we can't help all of those deep in the cycle of addiction and violence but we may be able to prevent some from succumbing to that lifestyle.


Allison Scott,
Thunder?Bay