Harmful rhetoric’ regarding Cape Breton non-profit organization disappointing

Joe Costello, Cape Breton Post, March 22, 2023

I am disappointed to see continued harmful rhetoric regarding the Ally Centre of Cape Breton and their clientele amidst the discourse of the Rapid Housing Initiative funding conversation of the past few weeks.

The Ally Centre of Cape Breton moved merely a block from its former location on Bentinck Street in Sydney to Prince Street. It has always been downtown, and the mandate to serve their clientele has not changed.

The only thing that has changed is that there is more traffic on Prince Street than Bentinck Street and therefore more people see the folks that work, volunteer and partake in services at the Ally Centre.

In this case, it seems the complaints about the Ally Centre and their clientele come solely from their newfound visibility. If seeing folks struggle with homelessness, addiction and mental illness makes you uncomfortable, that is great. It should. Our community should be judged on how we care for our most vulnerable and we (as a society) are obviously not doing enough to get to the root of the problem. There’s an unwritten rule in the mosh pit that when someone falls you pick them back up. As someone who grew up on social assistance and worked through mental health struggles my entire teen and adult life, the only difference between “those people” and myself is that I had a support system to pick me back up when I needed it.

Until we face our discomfort and realize that meeting the baseline needs of every person in our community is the way forward we will continue to see more and more folks struggling to make a life in our area. And that’s really sad because we have the means to help as a community and individuals.

Love and compassion are the answers. Let’s do what we can to help those folks that need it.

Joe Costello

Whitney Pier