{"id":480,"date":"2007-10-15T15:35:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-15T22:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/breckenridge\/?p=480"},"modified":"2008-10-25T22:49:05","modified_gmt":"2008-10-26T05:49:05","slug":"maxine-wilson-mayor-of-coquitlam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=480","title":{"rendered":"Maxine Wilson, Mayor of Coquitlam"},"content":{"rendered":"

At first, he\u2019s just another man sitting in the trash. His face is layered in dirt, his clothes are in even worse shape and judging by his choice of associates, he is a man who has truly hit rock bottom. Sitting on a log near Coquitlam River, he is sandwiched between a woman who seems to be constantly twitching and another man who is clearly drunk. And yet something separates this man from his company \u2013 his eyes seem slightly more vibrant and for a moment, it seems almost like he doesn\u2019t belong here.<\/span>
\n
\nThat\u2019s because he doesn\u2019t. (Indeed, does anyone?) This man has a home, an apartment somewhere \u2013 or so he says. He admits he used to call this forest home, but those days are behind him. He boasts that he is one of the lucky ones that escaped this life of despair, but has ties here still which brings him back to his former stomping grounds from time to time. But the real surprise comes when he is asked how he got his house. He smiles and then says proudly, \u201cThe Mayor got it for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As this conversation is taking place in Port Coquitlam, one naturally assumes it is the Mayor of PoCo that is responsible for helping this man, but that assumption would be wrong. The man explains that it wasn\u2019t Scott Young that helped him out, but the Mayor of a neighbouring city that helped out. \u201cMaxine Wilson helped me,\u201d he says, referring to the Mayor of Coquitlam. Then he adds, scathingly, \u201cShe actually cares about people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does she now? I think to myself. It’s rare to hear someone who used to be homeless say something nice about politicians, so this indeed something unique. The man seems to suggest that Mayor Wilson is different than other mayors, as evidenced by what she did for him. But I have only this man’s word to go on – I’ve never spoken to the Mayor of Coquitlam. I have a feeling that is about to change.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The walls on her office seem to suggest a connection to people. On all sides of the giant desk that Mrs. Wilson sits behind whenever she is actually in her office, are pictures of her surrounded by giant clumps of humanity. In one picture, she is seen smiling with a group of Asians, in other she is seen grinning with her City Council. But perhaps the most telling portrait of Maxine Wilson is the one of her and her daughter as the watched the last election results come in. Her daughter is clasping her hand over her mouth and Maxine is looking on expectantly. It\u2019s a picture a newspaper photographer captured and sent to Maxine who proudly posted it on her wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow old do you think my daughter is?\u201d she asks me as I study the picture closely. She\u2019s a very young-looking girl, with a youthful face that could easily fit into any high school hallway. I venture a guess of sixteen. She laughs. Turns out the young woman is actually in her thirties. \u201cEveryone gets that wrong,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She sits down in one of the seats that surrounds a small table in the other end of her office. I sit down next to her and begin explaining why I wanted to interview her, which means telling her about the man in the forest. When I had called her the day previous, I had left a message with her secretary that I wanted to discuss \u201chomelessness\u201d and that she could return my call whenever it was convenient. Less than an hour later, my phone rang and it was her.<\/p>\n

Right away, she expressed her interest in the interview. \u201cHow does tomorrow sound?\u201d she asked me. I was caught off guard, but maybe that\u2019s because I am permanently scarred from my Mary Reeves ordeal.<\/span><\/a> I said that it was fine. \u201cHow does 1:30 work for you?\u201d I politely asked if I could bump that up to 2:00. \u201cSure, that\u2019s fine. Whatever works best for you.\u201d<\/span>
\n
\nI couldn\u2019t conceal my surprise and quickly agreed to the interview. A phone call made to Scott Young last week was still not returned (but would be an hour later) and already I had an interview set up with the Mayor of Coquitlam for the next day. And remember, Mrs. Wilson and I had never met, and she had probably never even heard of SomethingCool News. Colour me impressed.
\nI mentioned Scott Young\u2019s name at the start of the interview, explaining that I had spoken to him many times regarding the homeless problem in PoCo and expressed my view that until any sort of conviction appeared, he deserved the benefit of the doubt. She seemed to agree.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are products of their environment,\u201d Wilson said calmly. \u201cScott\u2019s had a difficult life. He\u2019s a very easy Mayor to work with and remember, I am a woman saying that. He\u2019s got some issues and he has to deal with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

What she didn\u2019t agree with so much was PoCo\u2019s policy of dealing with the homeless \u2013 i.e., tearing down their camps 85 times so far this year. \u201cWhat PoCo is facing \u2013 and what we face \u2013 are residents who are afraid for their safety and are worried that they will be robbed so they phone the City and want something done,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the only thing that will ever change it is to change the societal attitudes from being ones that are fear-based to realizing that we all have needs and we all need to support each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, one resident of PoCo who watched the SCN mini-documentary The Displaced,<\/span><\/a> wrote, \u201cI live in this area and if your going to do a story about this then get all facts straight. The majority of these people are also drug addicts and we as residents are being affected greatly because they break into our homes, vehicles and steal and or vandalize our belongings. Drug deals are made in front of our children and homes. So tell the down side we as residents have to endure in the area; this is a huge problem and they create it!\u201d<\/span>
\n
\nThose must the societal attitudes Mrs. Wilson is talking about. PoCo\u2019s solution has been to destroy the camps only to watch them spring up on the other side of the trail. Maxine suggests a different solution: \u201cThe way I see we attack this is person by person and find the champions who will spread the word and mobilize so gradually people in the community help each other to be supportive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so I know what you\u2019re thinking. You\u2019re thinking this all sounds like another episode of Sesame Street. It\u2019s just another Mayor spouting off a feel-good message about humanity coming together and facing all challenges and blah blah blah. It\u2019s the stuff someone who has never experienced the problem says from their comfy office armchair. I thought that too, but then I remembered that guy in the forest.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, I know a few people I have helped,\u201d Mrs. Wilson replied when I inquired about this man. \u201cI give suggestions all the time as to who people should connect up with. You know I never intended to get involved with politics, but through my years I have come to know a lot of people form a lot of different agencies.\u201d She chuckles. \u201cMy staff always jokes that I am a walking encyclopedia because I know who to connect to what.\u201d<\/p>\n

She decides to give me an example. \u201cWe just had a family traumatized because their son is a cocaine addict who is facing trial. The mother has two other kids and she wasn\u2019t able to manage her own life or the rest of the family\u2019s and she didn\u2019t know what to do. I know Diane Sowden from the Children of the Streets Society. I gave her Diane\u2019s number and told her to call her and to tell her that she needed help. And she did. The next time I saw her she was beaming and her son was there too. So they are going to help their son and get past all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

I ask her if she feels gratified and fulfilled having partaken in such a success story. She doesn\u2019t smile or nod \u2013 she just shrugs. \u201cThat\u2019s my job,\u201d is all she says and patiently waits for me to ask my next question.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot going on in Coquitlam \u2013 the problem of homelessness may not be as bad as PoCo\u2019s but it could one day be. It\u2019s for that reason, that Coquitlam is working on getting some churches together to help provide shelter for some of them over the winter months and has a long term plan to lease land from the City to help house women and children who are living on the streets. It\u2019s a place she hopes those who want help will finally be able to get it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy idea is not to trap anyone in a cycle of dependency,\u201d she elaborates. \u201cWe want to help every person that wants it. We are all co-dependent, symbiotic. We all need each other. Each person should be given the chance to be as resilient and independent as they can manage.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tell her about the disturbing information I came across when filming the mini-documentary \u2013 that there may be a pregnant woman living in the forest. She counters that she has heard there may as many as forty women living in the woods. About the pregnant woman, she asks, \u201cWho can she learn to trust again and how can she learn to stay together with her family? It doesn\u2019t do us any good to blame anyone \u2013 each of us must step up to the plate and take personal responsibility. These people are not numbers. Each has a different story and needs to be supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the man in the forest? \u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d she says, again refusing to congratulate herself. So I ask again how it makes her feel to know there is one man who feels he owes Mayor Maxine Wilson something. \u201cIt means that one person ahs been able to progress in life,\u201d she responds passively. \u201cBut there are many more we need to support. I\u2019m not great. I\u2019m just another ordinary person. There are so many other people out there who are doing good things, much greater than what I am doing. I\u2019m just an average person who as an accident of circumstances ended up being Mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n

She paints herself \u2013 like the pictures on her wall do \u2013 as a woman who is just part of something much larger. \u201cWe all need to pull it together,\u201d she continues. \u201cWe all need to make sure that everyone is included in our society. Put simply, if you see there needs to be change, change it.\u201d I notice for the first time she looks nothing like a Mayor is supposed to. And then she says, \u201cThat\u2019s all of our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At first, he\u2019s just another man sitting in the trash. His face is layered in dirt, his clothes are in even worse shape and judging by his choice of associates, he is a man who has truly hit rock bottom. Sitting on a log near Coquitlam River, he is sandwiched between a woman who seems to be constantly twitching and another man who is clearly drunk. And yet something separates this man from his company \u2013 his eyes seem slightly more vibrant and for a moment, it seems almost like he doesn\u2019t belong here. That\u2019s because he doesn\u2019t. (Indeed, does anyone?) This man has a home, an apartment somewhere \u2013 or so he says. He admits he used to call this forest home, but those days are behind him. He boasts that he is one of the lucky ones that escaped this life of despair, but has ties here still which brings him back to his former stomping grounds from time to time. But the real surprise comes when he is asked how he got his house. He smiles and then says proudly, \u201cThe Mayor got it for me.\u201d As this conversation is taking place in Port Coquitlam, one naturally assumes it is the Mayor of PoCo that is responsible for helping this man, but that assumption would be wrong. The man explains that it wasn\u2019t Scott Young that helped him out, but the Mayor of a neighbouring city that helped out. \u201cMaxine Wilson helped me,\u201d he says, referring to the Mayor of Coquitlam. Then he adds, scathingly, \u201cShe actually cares about people.\u201d Does she now? I think to myself. It’s rare to hear someone who used to be homeless say something nice about politicians, so this indeed something unique. The man seems to suggest that Mayor Wilson is different than other mayors, as evidenced by what she did for him. But I have only this man’s word to go on – I’ve never spoken to the Mayor of Coquitlam. I have a feeling that is about to change. *** The walls on her office seem to suggest a connection to people. On all sides of the giant desk that Mrs. Wilson sits behind whenever she is actually in her office, are pictures of her surrounded by giant clumps of humanity. In one picture, she is seen smiling with a group of Asians, in other she is seen grinning with her City Council. But perhaps the most telling portrait of Maxine Wilson is the one of her and her daughter as the watched the last election results come in. Her daughter is clasping her hand over her mouth and Maxine is looking on expectantly. It\u2019s a picture a newspaper photographer captured and sent to Maxine who proudly posted it on her wall. \u201cHow old do you think my daughter is?\u201d she asks me as I study the picture closely. She\u2019s a very young-looking girl, with a youthful face that could easily fit into any high school hallway. I venture a guess of sixteen. She laughs. Turns out the young woman is actually in her thirties. \u201cEveryone gets that wrong,\u201d she says. She sits down in one of the seats that surrounds a small table in the other end of her office. I sit down next to her and begin explaining why I wanted to interview her, which means telling her about the man in the forest. When I had called her the day previous, I had left a message with her secretary that I wanted to discuss \u201chomelessness\u201d and that she could return my call whenever it was convenient. Less than an hour later, my phone rang and it was her. Right away, she expressed her interest in the interview. \u201cHow does tomorrow sound?\u201d she asked me. I was caught off guard, but maybe that\u2019s because I am permanently scarred from my Mary Reeves ordeal. I said that it was fine. \u201cHow does 1:30 work for you?\u201d I politely asked if I could bump that up to 2:00. \u201cSure, that\u2019s fine. Whatever works best for you.\u201d I couldn\u2019t conceal my surprise and quickly agreed to the interview. A phone call made to Scott Young last week was still not returned (but would be an hour later) and already I had an interview set up with the Mayor of Coquitlam for the next day. And remember, Mrs. Wilson and I had never met, and she had probably never even heard of SomethingCool News. Colour me impressed. I mentioned Scott Young\u2019s name at the start of the interview, explaining that I had spoken to him many times regarding the homeless problem in PoCo and expressed my view that until any sort of conviction appeared, he deserved the benefit of the doubt. She seemed to agree. \u201cPeople are products of their environment,\u201d Wilson said calmly. \u201cScott\u2019s had a difficult life. He\u2019s a very easy Mayor to work with and remember, I am a woman saying that. He\u2019s got some issues and he has to deal with them.\u201d What she didn\u2019t agree with so much was PoCo\u2019s policy of dealing with the homeless \u2013 i.e., tearing down their camps 85 times so far this year. \u201cWhat PoCo is facing \u2013 and what we face \u2013 are residents who are afraid for their safety and are worried that they will be robbed so they phone the City and want something done,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the only thing that will ever change it is to change the societal attitudes from being ones that are fear-based to realizing that we all have needs and we all need to support each other.\u201d Indeed, one resident of PoCo who watched the SCN mini-documentary The Displaced, wrote, \u201cI live in this area and if your going to do a story about this then get all facts straight. The majority of these people are also drug addicts and we as residents are being affected greatly because they break into our homes, vehicles and steal and or vandalize our belongings. Drug … Continue reading Maxine Wilson, Mayor of Coquitlam<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homeless","category-municipal"],"yoast_head":"\nMaxine Wilson, Mayor of Coquitlam - James W. Breckenridge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=480\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maxine Wilson, Mayor of Coquitlam - James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At first, he\u2019s just another man sitting in the trash. His face is layered in dirt, his clothes are in even worse shape and judging by his choice of associates, he is a man who has truly hit rock bottom. Sitting on a log near Coquitlam River, he is sandwiched between a woman who seems to be constantly twitching and another man who is clearly drunk. And yet something separates this man from his company \u2013 his eyes seem slightly more vibrant and for a moment, it seems almost like he doesn\u2019t belong here. That\u2019s because he doesn\u2019t. (Indeed, does anyone?) This man has a home, an apartment somewhere \u2013 or so he says. He admits he used to call this forest home, but those days are behind him. He boasts that he is one of the lucky ones that escaped this life of despair, but has ties here still which brings him back to his former stomping grounds from time to time. But the real surprise comes when he is asked how he got his house. He smiles and then says proudly, \u201cThe Mayor got it for me.\u201d As this conversation is taking place in Port Coquitlam, one naturally assumes it is the Mayor of PoCo that is responsible for helping this man, but that assumption would be wrong. The man explains that it wasn\u2019t Scott Young that helped him out, but the Mayor of a neighbouring city that helped out. \u201cMaxine Wilson helped me,\u201d he says, referring to the Mayor of Coquitlam. Then he adds, scathingly, \u201cShe actually cares about people.\u201d Does she now? I think to myself. It’s rare to hear someone who used to be homeless say something nice about politicians, so this indeed something unique. The man seems to suggest that Mayor Wilson is different than other mayors, as evidenced by what she did for him. But I have only this man’s word to go on – I’ve never spoken to the Mayor of Coquitlam. I have a feeling that is about to change. *** The walls on her office seem to suggest a connection to people. On all sides of the giant desk that Mrs. Wilson sits behind whenever she is actually in her office, are pictures of her surrounded by giant clumps of humanity. In one picture, she is seen smiling with a group of Asians, in other she is seen grinning with her City Council. But perhaps the most telling portrait of Maxine Wilson is the one of her and her daughter as the watched the last election results come in. Her daughter is clasping her hand over her mouth and Maxine is looking on expectantly. It\u2019s a picture a newspaper photographer captured and sent to Maxine who proudly posted it on her wall. \u201cHow old do you think my daughter is?\u201d she asks me as I study the picture closely. She\u2019s a very young-looking girl, with a youthful face that could easily fit into any high school hallway. I venture a guess of sixteen. She laughs. Turns out the young woman is actually in her thirties. \u201cEveryone gets that wrong,\u201d she says. She sits down in one of the seats that surrounds a small table in the other end of her office. I sit down next to her and begin explaining why I wanted to interview her, which means telling her about the man in the forest. When I had called her the day previous, I had left a message with her secretary that I wanted to discuss \u201chomelessness\u201d and that she could return my call whenever it was convenient. Less than an hour later, my phone rang and it was her. Right away, she expressed her interest in the interview. \u201cHow does tomorrow sound?\u201d she asked me. I was caught off guard, but maybe that\u2019s because I am permanently scarred from my Mary Reeves ordeal. I said that it was fine. \u201cHow does 1:30 work for you?\u201d I politely asked if I could bump that up to 2:00. \u201cSure, that\u2019s fine. Whatever works best for you.\u201d I couldn\u2019t conceal my surprise and quickly agreed to the interview. A phone call made to Scott Young last week was still not returned (but would be an hour later) and already I had an interview set up with the Mayor of Coquitlam for the next day. And remember, Mrs. Wilson and I had never met, and she had probably never even heard of SomethingCool News. Colour me impressed. I mentioned Scott Young\u2019s name at the start of the interview, explaining that I had spoken to him many times regarding the homeless problem in PoCo and expressed my view that until any sort of conviction appeared, he deserved the benefit of the doubt. She seemed to agree. \u201cPeople are products of their environment,\u201d Wilson said calmly. \u201cScott\u2019s had a difficult life. He\u2019s a very easy Mayor to work with and remember, I am a woman saying that. He\u2019s got some issues and he has to deal with them.\u201d What she didn\u2019t agree with so much was PoCo\u2019s policy of dealing with the homeless \u2013 i.e., tearing down their camps 85 times so far this year. \u201cWhat PoCo is facing \u2013 and what we face \u2013 are residents who are afraid for their safety and are worried that they will be robbed so they phone the City and want something done,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the only thing that will ever change it is to change the societal attitudes from being ones that are fear-based to realizing that we all have needs and we all need to support each other.\u201d Indeed, one resident of PoCo who watched the SCN mini-documentary The Displaced, wrote, \u201cI live in this area and if your going to do a story about this then get all facts straight. The majority of these people are also drug addicts and we as residents are being affected greatly because they break into our homes, vehicles and steal and or vandalize our belongings. Drug … Continue reading Maxine Wilson, Mayor of Coquitlam →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=480\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-10-15T22:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2008-10-26T05:49:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\\\/?p=480#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\\\/?p=480\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James W. 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Breckenridge","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=480","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Maxine Wilson, Mayor of Coquitlam - James W. Breckenridge","og_description":"At first, he\u2019s just another man sitting in the trash. His face is layered in dirt, his clothes are in even worse shape and judging by his choice of associates, he is a man who has truly hit rock bottom. Sitting on a log near Coquitlam River, he is sandwiched between a woman who seems to be constantly twitching and another man who is clearly drunk. And yet something separates this man from his company \u2013 his eyes seem slightly more vibrant and for a moment, it seems almost like he doesn\u2019t belong here. That\u2019s because he doesn\u2019t. (Indeed, does anyone?) This man has a home, an apartment somewhere \u2013 or so he says. He admits he used to call this forest home, but those days are behind him. He boasts that he is one of the lucky ones that escaped this life of despair, but has ties here still which brings him back to his former stomping grounds from time to time. But the real surprise comes when he is asked how he got his house. He smiles and then says proudly, \u201cThe Mayor got it for me.\u201d As this conversation is taking place in Port Coquitlam, one naturally assumes it is the Mayor of PoCo that is responsible for helping this man, but that assumption would be wrong. The man explains that it wasn\u2019t Scott Young that helped him out, but the Mayor of a neighbouring city that helped out. \u201cMaxine Wilson helped me,\u201d he says, referring to the Mayor of Coquitlam. Then he adds, scathingly, \u201cShe actually cares about people.\u201d Does she now? I think to myself. It’s rare to hear someone who used to be homeless say something nice about politicians, so this indeed something unique. The man seems to suggest that Mayor Wilson is different than other mayors, as evidenced by what she did for him. But I have only this man’s word to go on – I’ve never spoken to the Mayor of Coquitlam. I have a feeling that is about to change. *** The walls on her office seem to suggest a connection to people. On all sides of the giant desk that Mrs. Wilson sits behind whenever she is actually in her office, are pictures of her surrounded by giant clumps of humanity. In one picture, she is seen smiling with a group of Asians, in other she is seen grinning with her City Council. But perhaps the most telling portrait of Maxine Wilson is the one of her and her daughter as the watched the last election results come in. Her daughter is clasping her hand over her mouth and Maxine is looking on expectantly. It\u2019s a picture a newspaper photographer captured and sent to Maxine who proudly posted it on her wall. \u201cHow old do you think my daughter is?\u201d she asks me as I study the picture closely. She\u2019s a very young-looking girl, with a youthful face that could easily fit into any high school hallway. I venture a guess of sixteen. She laughs. Turns out the young woman is actually in her thirties. \u201cEveryone gets that wrong,\u201d she says. She sits down in one of the seats that surrounds a small table in the other end of her office. I sit down next to her and begin explaining why I wanted to interview her, which means telling her about the man in the forest. When I had called her the day previous, I had left a message with her secretary that I wanted to discuss \u201chomelessness\u201d and that she could return my call whenever it was convenient. Less than an hour later, my phone rang and it was her. Right away, she expressed her interest in the interview. \u201cHow does tomorrow sound?\u201d she asked me. I was caught off guard, but maybe that\u2019s because I am permanently scarred from my Mary Reeves ordeal. I said that it was fine. \u201cHow does 1:30 work for you?\u201d I politely asked if I could bump that up to 2:00. \u201cSure, that\u2019s fine. Whatever works best for you.\u201d I couldn\u2019t conceal my surprise and quickly agreed to the interview. A phone call made to Scott Young last week was still not returned (but would be an hour later) and already I had an interview set up with the Mayor of Coquitlam for the next day. And remember, Mrs. Wilson and I had never met, and she had probably never even heard of SomethingCool News. Colour me impressed. I mentioned Scott Young\u2019s name at the start of the interview, explaining that I had spoken to him many times regarding the homeless problem in PoCo and expressed my view that until any sort of conviction appeared, he deserved the benefit of the doubt. She seemed to agree. \u201cPeople are products of their environment,\u201d Wilson said calmly. \u201cScott\u2019s had a difficult life. He\u2019s a very easy Mayor to work with and remember, I am a woman saying that. He\u2019s got some issues and he has to deal with them.\u201d What she didn\u2019t agree with so much was PoCo\u2019s policy of dealing with the homeless \u2013 i.e., tearing down their camps 85 times so far this year. \u201cWhat PoCo is facing \u2013 and what we face \u2013 are residents who are afraid for their safety and are worried that they will be robbed so they phone the City and want something done,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the only thing that will ever change it is to change the societal attitudes from being ones that are fear-based to realizing that we all have needs and we all need to support each other.\u201d Indeed, one resident of PoCo who watched the SCN mini-documentary The Displaced, wrote, \u201cI live in this area and if your going to do a story about this then get all facts straight. The majority of these people are also drug addicts and we as residents are being affected greatly because they break into our homes, vehicles and steal and or vandalize our belongings. Drug … Continue reading Maxine Wilson, Mayor of Coquitlam →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=480","og_site_name":"James W. Breckenridge","article_published_time":"2007-10-15T22:35:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2008-10-26T05:49:05+00:00","author":"James W. Breckenridge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James W. Breckenridge","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=480#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=480"},"author":{"name":"James W. 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