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8 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • Th ursday, November 16, 2017 Serving your community since 1856 WATERLOO CHRONICLE 630 Riverbend Drive, Unit 104 Kitchener, Ontario N2K 3S2 519-579-7166 Fax: 519-579-2029 www.waterloochronicle.ca Donna LUELO PUBLISHER EDITORIAL Bob VRBANAC EDITOR ext. 2305 bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca Adam JACKSON REPORTER ext. 2308 Twitter: @KWAdamJ ajackson@waterloochronicle.ca Joy STRUTHERS REPORTER ext. 2229 Twitter: @struthersjoy jstruthers@waterloochronicle.ca ADVERTISING SALES LEAD Michelle STEVENS, ext. 2232 mstevens@waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVE Cassandra DELLOW, ext. 2306 cdellow@waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVE Aaron MURRAY, ext. 2304 amurray@kitchenerpost.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVE Paula GARCEAU, ext. 2303 pgarceu@kitchenerpost.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVE Zach PETERS, ext. 2302 zpeters@kitchenerpost.ca CLASSIFIED 1-800-263-6480 CIRCULATION 519-894-3000 Canadian Publications Mail Sales Publication Agreement Number 40050478 International Standard Serial Number ASSN 0832-3410 Audited Circulation: 31,292 The Waterloo Chronicle is published each Thursday by Metroland Media Group Ltd. ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL The Waterloo Chronicle is a member of The Ontario Press Council, which considers complaints against mem- ber newspapers. Any complaint about news, opinions advertising or conduct should first be taken to the newspaper. Unresolved complaints can be brought to: Ontario Press Council, 2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706, Toronto, ON., M5B 1J3. COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal non-com- mercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is pro- hibited. To make any use of this mate- rial you must first obtain the permis- sion of the owner of the copyright. For further information contact Bob Vrbanac, Managing Editor, Waterloo Chronicle, 630 Riverbend Drive, Suite 104, Kitchener, Ontario N2J 3H8. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor must contain the writer's full name, address and tele- phone number. Addresses and tele- phone numbers are used only for veri- fication purposes. Names will not be withheld. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal purposes. Letters may be submitted by email to editorial@water- loochronicle.ca. Suburban Newspapers of America VIEWPOINT WATERLOO CHRONICLE CHRONICLE EDITORIAL Someone I know likes to say that Waterloo likes to live in a bubble. That it thinks it is immune to the social ills and challenges that other communities face on a daily basis. Th at's because problems of poverty, social inte- gration and welcoming new immigrants and refugees are left to certain communities because of socioeconomic factors. But those communities exist right here in Waterloo, like the Sunnydale neighbourhood and the big block of social hous- ing along Albert Street towards Weber. The problem within these communities is that the social supports and things as simple as having proper playgrounds and facilities for their children and youth to play in are diffi- cult to come by. They've had to fundraise and ask people to stretch their meagre resources for opportunities that others in the city take for granted. Th at's why communities like these need the extra help from city government and regional officials because they don't always have the capacity to raise funds and resources themselves like other well-heeled commu- nities. One of the programs that has grown out of the triangle of Albert Street and Parkside Drive is Life Change Adventures. It has a unique drop-in cen- tre that is self-funded, and has benefited from the kindness of a local mall owner, for local youths and teens to do some- thing after school other than get into trouble. The theories are well worn. Give teens some place to hang out and get positive reinforce- ment from older role models, and they won't be so inclined to get involved with antisocial behaviour, and will potentially limit their exposure to the justice system. Life Change Adventures has a place for all the things you'd expect in a hangout from foos- ball to air hockey to an old pinball machine that someone donated. But there is also art projects and a photo mural of the kids that changes as they age. They can get homework help and the kind of guidance we expect from youth mentors involved with our own children. What they don't have is funds. They are in temporary quarters and exist as long as the space isn't rented out by someone else. Just the other day someone checked out their cen- tre which has been open since June for a business rental. Th eir founder and executive director, Jeremy Horne, contact- ed me because the 100 or so kids that orbit the program aren't well served by the existing city facilities. He was disheartened to hear more of those resources would be concentrated in the renovation of the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. Accessibility is an issue for these kids, and they don't have the means to get to the pro- grams that would help them. The city has to remember the needs of specifi c communi- ties while addressing the larger community needs in a plan that comes before council Nov. 27 We still have needs in this community It was welcome news that local organizations within the Local Health Integration Network will receive $2.3 mil-lion from the province to establish rapid access clinics for those dealing with drug addictions. Th is is one of the missing pieces in the local community to address the growing opioid crisis. So far this year paramedics have responded to 556 overdose-related calls. Last year, it was 395 overdose-related calls for the whole year. Worse the current death toll from overdoses is 55, already far exceeding the death toll of 38 for all of last year and more than doubling the 23 deaths recorded in 2015. Th is is a growing public health emergency and something needed to be done. Th ose preaching drug abstinence and prevention have worthwhile messages, but the reality is dif- ferent and those ideals do nothing to address the local loss of life and the families and people aff ected. Especially since the waitlists for drug recovery and coun- selling programs are so swamped that people who have overdosed have to wait weeks or months to get the help they need. Rapid access clinics will be open a couple of days a week at places like the House of Friendship, and will be staff ed by doctors and health care professionals that can provide immediate help for people who have recently cheated death. Whether it's a prescription for methadone or some other medication that can help ween them off their dependency or providing them the supports and stability they need while they try to get clean, it will save lives. We've moved past the simple illegality of drug abuse to recognize that it's an illness and harm reduction methods are needed to address a scourge sweeping across the nation. People might blanche at the cost or the ethics of programs like these, but they have to ask themselves what they would do to save a life. It's worth the cost. Rapid access clinics needed BOBBY'S WORLD BOB VRBANAC