More business owners in downtown New Westminster are speaking out about issues related to open drug use and drug dealing.
“Every month a couple of times I have to call police, because they get into our courtyard, they do drugs in there and it’s getting harder to get them out,” Rana Choudhary at West Coast College of Massage Therapy told Global News.
Robert Stone at MrTaxes.ca shared similar concerns.
“We’ve had multiple people in the stairwell right outside our office on the second floor smoking crack cocaine, and we know because we can smell it in the office,” he said.
Purpose Society operates the Health Contact Centre supervised injection site, which opened in 2021.
They say homelessness, addiction and mental illness are complex issues.
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“The reason that sites like ours exist is to stop people from dying, and in that, I would say we have been very effective,” said Travis Walker with the society.
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This week the Purpose Society was required by the city to sign a modified Good Neighbour agreement.
Walker said it means “we’re no longer allowed to have people gathering outside of our site.”
Daniel Ampong of Anim Hair also commented that, “It’s not good at all, it’s really bad.”
“I’ve witnessed people get stabbed on Columbia Street all the time. I’ve seen people fighting every day,” he added.
For now Ampong will remain in New Westminster. But like others, at some point he may have had enough.
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