More than 20 members of the public expressed opposition to a supportive housing development proposed for Port Alberni’s uptown. Around 50 residents and business owners from the area were in attendance at a public hearing held Dec. 1 at Echo Centre.

Selfish people throwing the homeless under the bus once again. Housing is expensive and hard to find, stop getting in the way of addressing it.

Only one of the people who spoke at the public hearing expressed firm support of the project. “This type of housing and support is desperately needed in our community. Nothing has happened in a long time and it’s no longer an option, we have to do something,” said Lisa George, who operates West Coast Community Learning Hub on Angus Street at Second Avenue. “The people this project is intending to serve are already in our community. If done properly and managed well, this project has the potential to actually reduce the problems we’re already facing.”

Thank you for speaking up!