To the Editor,
Kudos to the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit for providing helpful information about the addition of drop-off bins throughout Haldimand County, and to The Haldimand Press and reporter Mike Renzella for their responsible reporting on how these bins are used and maintained.
Safe disposal bins are a welcome addition to our communities. They are essential to reducing risk and preventing injury to those who find discarded needles in open areas, like parks, sidewalks, and subdivisions, where people of all ages walk, ride their bikes, and play.
Like it or not, our communities are suffering from an opioid crisis. In fact, according to the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit’s website, “The crude rates for opioid-related hospitalizations in 2016 were higher in Haldimand and Norfolk compared to Ontario. This difference was statistically significant.” Given those stats are from 2016, one can safely assume the crisis is still in place, if not getting worse. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the idea that our small towns are facing what some would like to think is a “big city problem” – and the irony of this article appearing opposite of an article titled “Crime Stoppers offering special reward for fentanyl” is not lost on me. We can choose to ignore (or complain about) the problem, and put our communities’ most vulnerable citizens at further risk, or drop the “not in my backyard” attitude and welcome these much-needed resources.
I hope Mr. Marr found the rest of the information to be useful to him in a “good teaching moment.” I’d love to take the opportunity to teach him something too. To answer your question, Mr. Marr: yes, we are all supposed to be “part of the program to help people.” Perhaps the idea of helping people isn’t as foreign to me as it is to you; it’s a virtue that my husband and I were raised on, and something that we talk about with our school-aged children regularly. We answer their questions in an age-appropriate manner and encourage them to do their part to make our world a better, safer, and more welcoming place for all. It’s never too early – or too late – to learn how to be kind, compassionate, and open-minded.
Stefanie Croley,
Jarvis
