Thirty Heroin Addicts take over Nanaimo man's home

Photos

Mi Casa es tu Casa; Thirty Addicts take over Nanaimo man's home

see larger image

uploaded by Barry ORegan

Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public COntributor

You know Good Samaritans trying to help the homeless help themselves can certainly take on a new meaning when you state idiotically "Mi Casa es tu Casa" loosely translated means "My Home is your Home". Live and Learn I suppose.

url="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=efcd1a6c-d61a-46c7-bcfc-ee18720d2db9&k=65288"]Addicts take over Nanaimo man's home

CanWest News Service

Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2007

NANAIMO -- When Tim Lander left for Europe there were only two tenants staying with him in his south Nanaimo home. When he got back after three weeks, more than 30 heroin addicts had moved in and staked their claim on his house, dealing drugs and wreaking havoc on the neighbourhood.

The 69-year-old retiree is now in a battle to save his home from being deemed a nuisance property, but he says he will keep letting the city's poor live with him.

"I've got a house available," he said, sipping tea in his turn-of-the-century home. "There are a lot of people who are cold and need a place to stay."

Email to a friendEmail to a friendPrinter friendlyPrinter friendly

Font:

* *

* *

* *

* *

He's been opening his home to the homeless for several years, offering a place for them to sleep, have a shower or grab a quick meal from the pot of stew he keeps on his hot plate. Some have even set up tents in his front and back yards.

When Lander left for Europe this spring to visit his brother and sister, he had no qualms about leaving his home open to two tenants who had been staying with him for a short time.

"When I got back, there were 30 people in here," he said. "All heroin users."

Since May 1, the RCMP have responded to 11 calls about his home, including alleged drug use, trafficking, disturbances and theft.

On Monday, council members gave him one month to get the disturbances in check or his home will be added to the city's inventory of nuisance properties.[/q]