Editor:
Re: Out, but not down, July 21.
Your piece on Steve Robinson and the homeless in South Surrey/White Rock was excellent.
Hopefully an eye-opener for some, although I see from the responses to your subsequent online Question of the Week that the NIMBY are alive and well. (Editor’s note: Asked whether there should be parks where the homeless can access basic necessities, 53 per cent responded ‘no.’)
I met the fellow you interviewed when I needed help removing and rebuilding a fence at my home last month and a friend brought him by. On that day – and numerous days after – he worked non-stop and with incredible ability around my home. It didn’t matter what I asked him; Steve could do it, and well.
I was sanding my massive deck while Steve was helping build the fence. He came over and told me I was doing it wrong and he showed me how to better utilize the belt sander and he was right – it made the job much simpler. I hired him to do every odd job I could find around my property for the following few days and will do it again.
He is a hard-working, honest, talented man who is down on his luck like so many others right here in our backyard.
This could just as easily be you or me.
To his credit, and that of his friends, they are not whining or complaining, they are asking for facilities to wash. I don’t think we need the expense of parks for that purpose. How about for the last hour before the community centres close at night, homeless be allowed to come in and get cleaned up?
Let’s pay it forward. We can help right here, in our own backyard.
And by the way, that shed you need built or yard work you need done can be taken care of in no time.
Just visit Steve uptown; you can’t miss him.
Susan Beechinor-Carter, Surrey