To the editor,
Re: Don’t be quick to judge those experiencing homelessness, Letters, April 12.
Trauma is an enormous factor we must include in all our conversations about homelessness and substance use in the downtown area. Trauma catapults the person into an alien world. It disconnects the person from relationships and values. It leaves the person feeling like they are wrong, denying them permission to be who they are. And if that’s not enough, it robs the person of energy to make sense (meaning) of their lives. This can happen all at once or little by little over a lifetime. Trauma is an insidious stinker. We mustn’t turn away from that.
Mark Busby, Nanaimo
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