Editor,
We would like to reply to the letter Ken Achter wrote in the March 22 edition of the Merritt Herald (‘In opposition to rehab facilities’).
We took offence to what you have written about dealers, addicts and their addictions.
Having an organization in Merritt that helps rehabilitate addicts does not bring on more addicts to play havoc on our community. Without this organization there would be a lot more addicts wandering the streets and I would have been one of them. I am an alcoholic and am in recovery thanks to the organization that helps rehabilitate the addict and their addiction. They do not contribute to the problem.
They try to help the addict so they do not can be a productive member of society. As for the housing, yes we get funded but we do pay part of the costs. Not everything is free. I wonder if you could live on $235/month. It’s darn hard but we do it because we appreciate the organization and what they stand for. Maybe you’re one of the fortunate who has never needed help in your lifetime but to insinuate that we just collect a cheque and are a burden to the taxpayers just isn’t true. Maybe you might want to speak with kindness instead of bitterness.
Lorraine Garfield
Merritt
