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Letter: Take action against drug use outside New West library

​​​​​​​Toddlers and schoolchildren should be spared up-close view of horrors of addiction while entering or exiting the library, reader says.
Contributor
nwpubliclibraryoutdoors
A view of Sixth Street from the windows of New Westminster Public Library. A reader writes that children should be spared having to witness drug use outside the library.Jennifer Gauthier/Record files

Editor: I agree wholeheartedly with the letter from Elizabeth Johnston, “'An education in drug culture' outside New West library.”

I too go to The New Westminster Library on a regular basis. The sights and sounds outside the entrance to the library are appalling. I understand it is a public place and benches are placed outside for the general public. However, it has become a gathering place for the fringes of society.

While I understand there are many reasons people find themselves homeless and/or addicted to drugs, I don’t think toddlers and schoolchildren should be witnessing their unfortunate presence up close and personal.

I would suggest that all of the benches be removed from outside the library to deter it as a hangout for these folks.
It is not fair to mothers of young children and babies to witness this who are entering our beautiful library.

Karen Haley