In light of the recent media storm surrounding our downtown district, as a locally owned business that’s been in Belleville’s Downtown core for 25 years, Who has firsthand experience of the daily challenges and the true spirit of the community, we just cannot sit back and say nothing.
We do not feel unsafe. Nor do we feel that it’s an unsafe environment for our customers and our staff to enjoy what this downtown has to offer.
Is there a rising problem and concern that has been growing over the last couple of years? absolutely! We as a business in the downtown core deal with, and have been dealing with this on a daily basis for a long time. This is nothing new to us. Is there an easy solution to the problem? No, but what we can do as a community is support and not let our downtown become victim to these news headlines.
Now more than ever we need to show support for the core and its many locally owned businesses operating here. How the media has portrayed us is false. Take it from a business who is living in it daily. It’s important to support each other and not let these news headlines define our downtown. It was never unsafe to be downtown, the service vehicles needed to have open roads without extra congestion to help give care and transport those affected by drug abuse. That’s the real headline here.
This is our home, and we’re here to stay.