PelhamToday received the following letter of appreciation from community activist Steven Soos:
It was the residents of the Town of Pelham who planted the seeds of change on what it fast becoming one the largest human rights movements in Ontario history. The first story for this emergency was published in this publication (then the Voice of Pelham) on August 17, 2019.
I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, to finally say thank you for the unwavering support in Pelham for this emergency declaration. Thank you for taking a stand for my friends and family and the friends and families of our fellow residents stolen from us by these societal ills. Not one more preventable death caused by mental health, homelessness and addiction! The entire province of Ontario and country of Canada is now looking to Niagara Region for leadership on the issues of mental health, homelessness and addiction.
I stand confident that Niagara Region will conquer this emergency and usher in a new era of wellness and economic prosperity for the half million people counting on us. My love to my dear friends in Pelham, Wayne Olson and Marvin Junkin, who wrote letters of support, conducted countless media interviews on the emergency, and served as panelists on the recent Town Hall in Pelham on mental health, homelessness and addiction.
Our courageous Mayor moved the state of emergency the first time it got knocked down at Region—without the years-long commitment of Olson and Junkin, I fear that the state of emergency would have been dead in its tracks never to be spoken about again. Instead and because of their committed efforts to tackling these societal ills, there is hope for positive changes to a non-existent mental health, homelessness and addiction support-system after all.
A rose to the people of Pelham—I’ve enjoyed being your partner in crime on getting the state of emergency on mental health, homelessness and addiction declared at the Region.
Tell me what you think should come next by taking this poll: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCKPFCW
Steven Soos
Welland
