Dear ABMInsider,
Two days ago, a six-year-old boy was stabbed while waiting for a bus with his parents on a busy thoroughfare, in the middle of the day, in downtown Halifax. He remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The accused assailant was a 19-year-old woman unknown to the victim, but known to police for an incident at the QEII hospital in January that resulted in charges. Her parents say they’ve been pleading for help for her for years, noting a history of mental illness.
According to a CBC news report, the accused’s mother wrote on social media: "I kept telling everyone that she was a danger if she isn't on medication and I said I'm scared that something will happen to someone if she loses touch completely.”
She also said her daughter was homeless and not living at home because of safety concerns for her other child. She was obviously right to be concerned.
Homelessness… mental illness… drug additions… violence… these issues are not specific to Halifax; similar instances are already happening in cities across the country, including St. John’s, NL.
I used to walk around this city’s downtown on my lunch hour, until I realized I was putting my personal safety at risk by doing it. Criss-crossing streets to avoid skeety characters. Speeding up in certain sections. Carrying rocks in my pocket so I could protect myself in case I was attacked. Seeing people openly shooting up in public. Being accosted by aggressive panhandlers.
Last December, while out for supper with family, I witnessed a disturbed individual on the other side of the street, loudly cursing and threatening random passersby. He had a wine bottle in his hand, which he was threatening to smash so he could “cut your f*#king eyes out!”
Just yesterday, a woman was attacked while walking downtown St. John’s. Less than two weeks ago, a downtown business owner spoke out publicly about the frequent vandalism and having to work behind a locked door (customers have to be individually buzzed in). Less than two weeks before that, another downtown business had its front window smashed and a valuable jacket robbed.
A recent CBC report noted at least 12 downtown businesses have closed, or are closing, because of rising costs and changing consumer habits. Parking has always been an issue in dense downtown districts. Throw in the increasing prevalence of broader social issues that have been literally tossed into mainstreet, and I predict we’re going to see even more shops boarded up, closed for good.
It’s not an easy situation, and there are no fast fixes. But something desperately needs to be done, to address both the immediate safety of businesses and customers, as well as the underlying social problems. People are dying out there.
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Dawn Chafe Co-owner and executive editor Atlantic Business Magazine dchafe@atlanticbusinessmagazine.ca |
