Dear Editor:
As resident of the City of North Vancouver and a volunteer in my local community as well as the Downtown Eastside, I was deeply disturbed when I read the tweet of one of our potential mayors that was posted to Twitter a couple of days ago. Kerry Morris posted a photo of an individual taking shelter next to a sidewalk in a sleeping bag. His caption was: "A few more years of the Mussatto slate and this will be the only affordable housing in North Van City."
I find it disturbing and completely inappropriate that he stood there on the sidewalk, pulled out his camera and took a photo of a vulnerable person as they tried to protect themselves from the cold and rain. The homeless are the most fragile and vulnerable part of our society and we need to protect them, not exploit them. I have always defended our homeless as my uncle struggled to survive on the streets most of his life and, after he passed away, I vouched I'd try my all to make sure others don't have to live like him. This hits close to home for me and I can't imagine how much it would have broken my heart if someone had stood there and snapped a photo of my uncle while he lay there cold and alone. This person is someone's child, someone's sibling and maybe even someone's mother or father. They are a human being! To use this person for some sort of twisted campaign makes my skin crawl. I just couldn't let this slide and I am horrified someone like this is running for mayor of my city. I don't think this man has any empathy for our homeless community and to say something like the residents of the City of North Vancouver will end up on the streets if our current mayor stays in office shouldn't be said so casually.
I wanted to bring this to your attention as you are the voice of the homeless and they do not deserve this kind of public humiliation, (which I believe it to be). I certainly hope this individual didn't see Kerry Morris take this photo.
Kate Black
North Vancouver
