Standing on the stage in front of a packed auditorium at the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre, meeting moderator Michal Gurney asked anyone in the room who has experienced crime personally, to raise a hand.
Seconds later, an audible murmur could be heard across the room as hand after hand was raised, demonstrating that almost half of the 200 participants had been a victim of a crime. The Aug. 21 meeting on crime and safety, drew almost 300 attendees, but only 200 were allowed in the building’s auditorium due to capacity regulations.
The meeting was held at the request of several Sechelt residents, speaking on behalf of dozens more residents, who say that crime is getting out of control and they no longer feel safe in their own homes. In response to their own concerns, locals Julia Atkins and Annie Storey launched the Sechelt Community Crime Watch Facebook page, which gained 1,300 members in a month. It was Atkins and Storey who reached out to Sechelt District councillor Brenda Rowe with their concerns.
Addressing the crowd at the meeting, Rowe said it was just weeks prior that she did something she had never done before.
“I messaged a total stranger to go have coffee and when you're a local politician, that can sometimes be a dangerous thing to do, but it’s something that I've tried to make a habit of because I don't like emails,” said Rowe, who adds she was accompanied to the coffee meeting by Councillor Adam Shepherd. “And that coffee date has led us all here tonight…”
Rowe says the time between that coffee date to the Aug. 21 meeting was just 11 days, an unprecedented accomplishment, which brought together Sechelt District council, Sunshine Coast RCMP, members of shíshálh Nation, including lhe hiwus yalxwemult Lenora Joe, community association leaders, and more federal and provincial politicians and nominees in one room than anyone the Coast Reporter spoke with could ever remember.
Atkins told the crowd the speed with which the meeting came together, made her confident the district and RCMP are willing to both listen and work with residents.
“It was me and Annie who Brenda met with not even three weeks ago. We felt that the crime issue in Sechelt was big enough that it demanded a meeting as soon as they could possibly do it,” Atkins told the crowd. “We were thinking mid-September, October. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of time to organize a meeting of this size and scope and I am super impressed that they had done it.”
Atkins said she hoped that by the time the meeting was over, those attending would feel that they had been heard, they’ve also heard what others had to say and, hopefully, find some ideas and solutions to help them move forward.
“So, let's all bring our best selves to this meeting and let's be positive in our comments…”
Sunshine Coast RCMP detachment commander Jennifer Prunty also spoke to the crowd and said she was “incredibly heartened” to see there was not a spare seat in the room.
“And a lot more that couldn't come in today who are interested in making a difference. So that heartens me a lot. As your detachment commander, I recognize that we have an uphill battle and it's something that we are fully engaged in as a detachment,” said Prunty.
Prunty noted it's important to point out that while she may be the commander, there are also 36 police officers and 11 civilian staff who make up the detachment.
"We all live in this community. We all play in this community and we all love this community deeply. So please remember that, and remember that if you have complaints about any of the staff, please come and talk to me about it. My door is always open, but please do try not to take it out on them, because they are doing the very best that they can for this community that they also love.“
Prunty added, she has worked in many communities and has never before seen a community come together so quickly for a joint cause.
“My role tonight is to listen to you. So, I am really looking forward to hearing what people have to say.”
Following the introductions, the attendees worked together at tables to address four questions: What should the DoS Council be asking the provincial and federal government to do to help our community deal with crime and safety? What are the most significant things the DoS could do to address crime and safety? What are the most significant things the RCMP could do to address crime and safety? And, what things do you think WE could do, as residents of Sechelt, that would help prevent crime and make our community a safer place to live?
Residents who have experienced crime were also given cards and asked to write down their stories. Those cards, combined with the many suggestions and answer to the questions, will be compiled as part of a report scheduled to be complete by mid-September. A second meeting is tentatively scheduled for October.
The day after the meeting, Mandy Hardwick, associate director of RainCity Housing and Support Society, told Coast Reporter they initially had some concerns before attending the meeting. RainCity has been under scrutiny in recent months, with some residents pointing fingers at the homeless residents who frequent the Sechelt Shelter, operated by the society, and adjacent tent city, as the main source of the property and residential crime they’ve been experiencing.
“We had a little trepidation about what a community meeting or town hall-style event can be, because it's not so solutions-focused but it was a really brilliant meeting. It was well put together and well facilitated,” says Hardwick. “ And I mean, the turnout, that speaks leaps and bounds to how people in this community are trying to come together.”
Hardwick says it’s a difficult time for many people struggling to feed and find affordable housing not only for themselves but also their families.
“I don't think that it's only people who are without homes that are experiencing that. But do I think that sometimes desperate people do desperate things? Yeah, absolutely,” she says. “I don’t think anybody really wants to be doing crime, but it’s a societal issue. It's an outcome from disenfranchisement or being dislocated from one’s family or community or access to health and access to resources. It's the end of the road kind of stuff that people are faced up against.”
Hardwick adds, they've met many long-time residents of the Sunshine Coast who have found themselves sleeping in their car because they lost their housing when their rent became more than their pension or disability supports can pay. Hardwick says, as a community we need to come together and support better outcomes for these folks.
“I also think it's the outcome of divestment in social housing. As a nation we stopped investing in those better futures for people,” Hardwick says. “The outcomes are hardship. I think a lot of things came up last night that were pretty interesting around, what can your local government do? What can your provincial government do? What can your federal government do around making change?”
Hardwick noted attending a meeting such as this one, is a privilege many disenfranchised or homeless people don’t enjoy because they’re too busy trying to survive.
The day after the meeting, Coast Reporter met with both Rowe and Sechelt Mayor John Henderson back at the seniors’ centre. Henderson said he also was pleased by the large turnout of residents to the meeting. Henderson noted he attends monthly online meetings with mayors of small towns from across the province facing similar issues. His hope is, if this proactive approach creates some solutions, Sechelt can become a model of success for them to emulate. Henderson added, it’s vital that other levels of government get involved and that’s where he can help.
“We as council, need to be strong advocates in Victoria, in Ottawa, wherever it takes,” he said. “With politicians and with government agencies and policy makes and probably, with judiciary.”
At the meeting, Henderson thanked the crowd for attending.
“On behalf of council, I am honoured that so many of you have taken the time to participate tonight, bringing your ideas and passion to what is a big challenge — not just here — but around the province.
Coast Reporter recently completed a four-part series, examining crime and safety in Sechelt, which can be found at coastreporter.net.
