Letters to the Editor: October 19, 2024

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Stop cutting the ‘ounce of prevention’

I recently discovered a city-funded organization designed to prevent people from being evicted from their homes was defunded in the latest city budget. VHA Home Health Care is the umbrella organization and provides support services to those who can’t afford them. Funding to assist the city with maintaining these programs came from the provincial and federal governments.

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Funding was also recently cut to the CMHA for programs that provided cleaning jobs for mentally disadvantaged people, resulting in that program being cut.

Extreme Cleaning and Hoarding Support run by VHA were programs designed to keep people with hoarding issues in their homes. The programs support about 150 clients who have been served eviction notices for failing to maintain their rental units in a safe, sanitary, and clean state. The situation is most often due to medical and psychological or mental issues. The clients are mostly low income or on welfare and if evicted will not find housing. They will join the swelling ranks of the homeless. The London program will shut down in December and is not accepting new clients. It is the only organization providing these services west of Toronto.

The city funds were redirected to building housing for the homeless and to support the police budget to help deal with the homeless.

Funds need to be directed to preventing homelessness for whatever reason. Finding housing for the homeless is a noble cause, but it is pointless without preventing the steady increase in their ranks due to cuts like these.

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These programs help to do just that and are being eliminated.

The old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Robert (Bob) A. Patrick, London

We should be proud of Canada

Canada remains one of the best countries. We have democracy, despite of all the criticisms and activities from other parties.

We have a good-health care system with care available to all.

Our retirement age remains at 65, while other countries raised theirs.

A child benefit program to raise children out of poverty.

A new dental care program, which is welcoming to many Canadians.

And now a pharmacare special program to help Canadians with regular needed meds.

Also $10-a-day daycare, which was adopted by all the provinces.

How wonderful and grateful we should be to enjoy these privileges. We should be proud of Canada.

Sheila Leber, London

Reconsidering bike lanes on roadways

On October 15, the minister of transportation started the process to get cities province wide to stop and reconsider bike lanes in our congested province.

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Neither London nor Toronto is Amsterdam.

I await our strong powered Mayor Morgan to announce we will follow the directive and instruct the traffic department to drop the idea immediately, Then ask his budget department to tell us how much money will be saved by not spending tax dollars going forward. Albeit as unreliably as this city’s budgeting has proven time and time again.

R. Webb, London

We can do better

Re: Proposed single-use water bottle ban faces challenges (Oct. 15).

Kudos to Marianne Larsen for introducing a common-sense plan to phase out single-use plastic water bottles at Thames Valley District school board properties, while still supporting access to clean water in London-area First Nations.

She rightly suggests that if there are water filling stations and everyone has a reusable water bottle, the scourge of single-use plastic water bottles and their effect on the environment can be mitigated.

I’ve never understood why the use of disposable plastic water bottles is now regarded as unavoidable. Our parents used metal canteens, and reusable water bottles are now readily available.

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That a student could be stigmatized for “grabbing a bottle at home and bringing it” to school is very concerning and symptomatic of our throwaway culture. We can do better.

Carol Lewis, London

God save America

Donald Trump wants to put tariffs on all imports to the U.S. and believes this won’t increase the price consumers pay for imported products. I’m sure importers and retailers will happily absorb these added costs out of the goodness of their hearts.

He says it’s simple math. If anything is simple, it’s the Donald. Among the other horrible human traits that he exhibits, you can add mathematically challenged.

It raises the question: “Are there really that many people in the U.S. that cannot see this ignorant man-child for what he is?”

Kamala Harris may not be the perfect person for the job, but I truly feel afraid of what Trump will do if elected.

God save America.

Steve Matthews, London

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