In Abbotsford, a letter allegedly from "The Abbotsford Downtown Homeless Association" was recently delivered to the doors of local businesses. The letter was snapped and posted all over Facebook, sparking huge debates regarding the homeless in the city.
According to a 2011 census, Abbotsford's total population is just over 133,000, with 117 homeless people. That means 0.087 per cent of the total Abbotsford population is homeless.
Rumours circulating around social media suggest this "Declaration of War" could have been created by a local person hoping to negatively affect the homeless in the area. Some also think that this was actually written by a homeless person or homeless individuals. I'm leaning towards the possibility that someone with a poor sense of humour, or maybe even a high school kid (the clip art reminds me of high school business class), is behind it.
That being said, what delivering this letter has done is spark a large debate online -- and hopefully it will also bring some attention to a lot of the issues at hand. Before seeing this post, I had no idea there was so much going on with the homeless in Abbotsford.
A local Abbotsford Church is focused on helping the homeless and has sparked additional discussions about building a permanent residence for them similar to places that have been implemented in the States.
(Photo from Facebook post)
See related: The government dumping manure on a homeless camp.