Coventry's scheme to rid the city centre of Druggies.

[cathidaw]

Coventry City Council have agreed to spend £100.000 -- yes you read it right-- one hundred thousand pounds--- of our money, to get the drug addicts from the centre---by moving them to a largish piece of unused ground at the side of the swimming baths/ sports centre.
The money will be used for police monitoring ,and amongst other things, for special 'street furniture'--(sleeping bags, bins and ashtrays perhaps?) It will cater for 12 yearolds and upwards ! 12 year olds ??? The police will be able to move them to this place away from tourists and shoppers.
What is going on here? 12 year olds and upwards !!
This was announced in the Coventry Telegraph a couple of weeks ago. I haven't seen any replies yet.

They could have used it for a skateboard park, which would have been well used.
When the new Herbert Gallery opened many kids travelled fom all over Coventry at weekends to use the large paved area at the back, but of course it is now banned, rightly so as it is the latest showbuild, and of course for public safety reasons.
I spoke to some of the boys as they trundled there from the buses, and most of the younger ones told me that their parents allowed them to come to town because it was safe there out in the open, and they didn't get bullied
Why not give them somewhere near, and w here better than the spare ground scheduled for the drug users, which could be monitored much cheaper, and is not too tucked away , right by the sports centre.
The drug users? Well I cant think what to do with them,they will still be around in 10 years time.
Perhaps they could be tucked away somewhere. How about under the ring road. Plenty of room there, and handy for the police to do their monitoring.

[Gladys]

Drug and alcohol abuse are issues that lurk everywhere. I can't see that tucking addicted people away to an allocated zone will achieve very much other than look tidier on the surface. It will look like something is being done.Perhaps tackling the source of these types of abuse would be where money is better spent? Things like dysfunctional parenting, fractured families resulting in isolation, low self esteem, unemployment, poor housing come to mind.