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" " " " mm 0 “SING SIMS Mt hunger Is tt Itrott em IN':':?) l wuul wt nan: 1n Innl :nrnllnt‘ ' of rvaorur, newline? helo when tht, rhnin- (‘nnnw " the llisahII-d and the l Hum: luril It's easy to look around Waterloo and see an afflu- em community, with a low unemployment rate and a booming economy. While there may be no visible signs of the social ills other major metropolitan areas in Canada may suffer, hunger is still a major issue for too many of our neigh- bours, according lo thc lap est Hunger Count statistics released by the Food Bank ofWaterioo last week. More than 23,rroodifhr em people received Umer- gency food help from the Rind Bank and its m mem- ber agencies last year. And although that wasit a major increase in the num- Re: T9addy gets a kinder surprise' column by Bob Vrhanac. I was quite taken aback when I read Bob Vrbanac's column in the Chronicle on March 31. regarding the sa-called pressure In get our children involved in various activi- ties. I wasn't even going to mention how I felt about the derogatory remarks made by Mr. Vrhanae with respect lo breastfeeding, hut I could hardly believe the insensitivity and lack of knowledge with respect to the benefits {both in the baby and the mom] of breastfeeding that came across in his enlumn. I have hreasI-fed both of my twn baby boys, and it has been an incredible. nurturing and bunding experience kind-tttill has been a positive tmtttrltmett R: Bub Vrbanac's column in the farch 31 edition of the Chroni- cle, called "Daddy gets a kinder sur- prise". Too bad for young Luke-he doesn't stand a chance of"creativcly expressing" anything living with such pessimism. Aia parent of two young chil, dren, I have attended my share of Partlltttttdllttg is Bttt the tmly major issue Children learn so ttttttttt trttttt program Continued from page 8 per rent]. followed fry Hstasy I40 per ccntl, trying ruraim- 134 pm ccrttl. trying LSD (32 per cent). daily drinking (3I pm rent), smok, ing one at two cigarettes daily (24 pvr (on!) and trying MI [19 pm (THU. Now the wont pan, 28 per foul of students Iu‘livw- drug us? is a hig problem in their whtrol, with 51 per rpm saying it is a small prohlem, I"hirty-wvtm pm 11'”! report that smnrnnt‘ mm m wil Iht'm drugs in thes past vvarv Srvvnlh gradcrs n-pnrl six pvr rrnl have used MI. whit" 1 Ith and 12th graders "port 45 pm (rm on awn-rage. MI Int-rs "ave nut-d ll H, “mos during ttw her of people needing help over the year before, the fre- queruy with which people are seeking food relief tells a different story What was only limited to a few visits a year has developed into a more tXMI- sistem need for emergency food help. Hood bank users are telling the agencies that the current food hamper no longer meets the needs of many individuals and families who use the ser- vice, In addition, the Hunger Count survey still shows that there are 25.654 low- income households still wailing for subsidized housing in Waterloo. And CHROI playgroups. storytimes, swim lessons etc. These programs were chosen (yes. I said chosen! to spend time together in a way that is fun for the children. Kindermusik has been a positive experience for us -.. especially because of the instructor, The songslmusicldancefmovernent pan of the program are enjoyable. Mainly. I would like to comment on the negative attitude Mr. Vrbanac portrays with respect to childreris activities. especially the supposed "bane of his existence" Kindcrmusik, l have had my son enrolled in Kindcrmusik since last September. when he was almost two years old. Not only do I thor- nughly enjoy the time I spend urgethcr with my son during the sessions, but also. he has learned social. physical. and listening skills while having a great time participat- ing in a creative atmosphere with other children. Kindermusik has become an important part of our life w nm a day goes by when my for both my children and myself. year before the survey with 14 per n-m of the mus, In {mu pm run nf all students reporting daily use lho month hvftm- the sunny. Ton pvt mm of MI uwrs 11110" a signifi- ran! Ievcl of drpcndvnrv sy'mp- toms. Only one per rvm had rcceived troalmrm for drug m alco, hol 11w in the 12 months before the survc-y or if applied In the grades 7 to 12 total population, 1.1.an slur dvrus had lrmIml-m Now how many tlunk ll Pe high timp IVE' takr nn this drug pmhlem as parents. family. a community and as govt-minim! al all levels? Dr arc um kids not worth the Imuhk-7 50 how many still think that panhandling ls the prnhll'm that north the hcadlimv? when the choice cumes dawn to paying the rem or buying food, more often than not these families are choosing to go without. And that's why they're turning to the Food Bank and its member agencies. That's borne out by the star tistics that show more than halfof all Nod Bank recipi- ents are single parent and two-parent families, with t0.575 children receiving emergency food aid. Even more alarming is that 22 per cent of all users are considered working poor. holding down jobs that just didn't allow them to make ends meet. And there's a growing segment DITORW Did I already say fun for the chil- dren? Relax and enjoy...lhere is no pressure here and parenthood is not meant to be a shared pain. Please do not "creatively avoid" hugging your child. son doesn't talk about his teacher or the other children in his class. not to mention listening to the CDs and singing along to the songs we've learned. I'm sure Mr. Vrbanac is a won- derful father. and I hope he finds another activity [besides working late). that enables him to spend quality time with his son. I just wish he hadn't bad-mouthed Kinder- musik, because it's obvious that those of us who do attend Kinder- musik classes Incl otherwise. Considcr this a wake-up call and call for help lo gm smnrlhing othcr than uur (nuns filled up. " is time. fnr a drive. like the community did for Hair Share for Health Care, only this time aimed at drugs. Anyone else gamv. m have rvsnum-s‘ surh as meeting areas or mum-v In assist? It takes a village to raise a child. Ink gm working nn thr solutions, instead of mistaking the problem, Together wv Hm makr a dilTl'n-nn- and whim I for usz-(l on youth here. thvrc arr manv older addicts ax wrll that Ill-ml this mu-rvvutinn lt iusl gI-ls harder with age and Ivnglh nf addiction, (If the disabled and the elderly seeking help because their benefits haven't been updated since 1995 and they haven't been able to keep up with intla- tion. Something must be done to both improve the size of the hamper and the ability of users to access the help when needed. The Fund Bank and its member agencies have pledged to offer more help. and have asked regional government for more sup- port for their programs. But it will be up lo the rest of the community to meet this increased demand for emergency food help. Indy t Ewenwnod Speers errlm: Do your pan and give. Cindy Schkawrilka Stratford Amy Quesnelle Waterloo on I tirst started this column l enroumgml readers [0 IM:?? 1n with their questions mulmr nunmenls and I would do my best to respond. I have written columns on a variety of topics, Janet Jackson. Don Cherry. Waterloo North Hydro. city budgets, urban plan ning, universities and dowritowrvs and student housing. Ali of these topics generated some correspondence from readers and I have responded to all e-mails. I must'confess that I haven't picked up an answering all the questions that some readers would like to see in print [don't worry. I/ll gel to them). So, for this week. I'm pleased to share with you some of the feedback I've received on a couple of topics. " is no surprise that many of the emails have been centred on the universities. after all we do live in a university town. "Planners must draw from a number of theories from plan- ning and other disciplines to map out a process and plan for their downtown A each unique. each different. Universities provide numerous employment. development. cultural, and business development opportunities. Moreover. they provide opportunities to educate and disseminate research findings to help improve 'community' and propel efforts of revitalization. The rules of l engagement that they follow are S'IRICKLY l based on selfish reasons tie. sell- preservation). academic inquiry tie. ‘ SPEAKING contributing to the broader knowl- edge hase of urban revitalization), and ‘ te _ FF, T civic responsibility (i.e. helping indi- _ lr . ' viduals and community). Tensions do 4 N NE": exist with such partnerships and uni- P , FiHb, r 'c'., versity administrators and communi- ' i = . ty leaders must come together to pro- “ ‘ .5; _ vide strong leadership and keep ongo- ‘ . 'triiq ' ing dialogue." Mr. LL. Waterloo. ' ' > Universities & Downlowns Mr. l.L. from Waterloo shared his m- dissertation on the role universities SEAN can play in revitalizing downtowns. STRICKLAND The excerpt above is a mere sample of his very thoughtful work. It is clear that if done correctly. universities can play a key role and have a positive influence on revitalizing downtownsr As LL points out, the success of these efforts is largely determined by the motivation of the university. If the only,r motivation for moving campuses to downtown areas is to grab cash incentives from municipalities. the effort will he a failure. If, however. universi- ties are motivated by a sincere desire to help shape a city's downtown revitalization efforts. these experiments have a bet- ter chance of success. Student housing can be a problem for, s.""".' "I live near the university and reside within the so-called student community, I first moved in this area ten years ago when mostly families resided here and it was a quiet, beautiful area to live in. Since then, it is completely taken over by tittl- dents. The superintendent does not live here so problems con- stantly go undealt with and tenants are told to Call the police. 1 am sick of the yelling and screaming every time they drink and get totally obnoxious. Beer bottles are thrown on our front lawns as well as fast food garbage on a daily basic No sleep because of partying at all hours of the night because they do not stagger home til 3:30-4 a.m. This is the reality ofliving next to unruly students and it is not fair to put them next to hard working. lax paying citizens. As soon as we can we will leave too and never look hack. My suggestion is to put them all together since they seem to think their behaviour is accept- able. and we what kind of rvflcvtion some of these students really have on our emnmunity. Look at other citics, they end up calling them slums and ghettos for a reason. The universitiex are taking their "tisiness and money and should step up to the plate and offer more residence accommodations and be more socially responsible for the student housing problem." Mr. & Mrs. P.M.. Waterloo, llufurtunau'ly, living near students (an he a prohlcm. ()hviv nusly thcse "xpericrwcs arc Imuhling I will. howevcr, stick with my point of view that our city has [and ac well as it has III-muse ofthe Imiversititss and the ovvralf positive Imparl qttt dents, haw on our tutmmunitv. Creating an hulall-d andior drxignmml stuticnt housing arcit is not thc anwwt Where pruhlvms (-xisl Hum-divs must Iu' found. Tougher bylaw "oforrprtwrtt, mmv mull-m artutmmoriatiorl I‘hul nnl all! on mmpux and greater accountability for aivivntce landlunk are m-rdmi In sumo situation; Pleas" svnd vnur (wt-stionsx‘l rrrttttit1rsttt seaeseanstrick landmm. The correspondence has bein edited. Answering the bell STRICKLY SPEAKING 1 ? bi t' i. , “5‘: ICC., 1 SEAN \STRICKLAND