Letter to the editor: Story on unhoused deaths ignores ‘personal responsibility’

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To the editor:

Really disappointed with Mark Conley’s piece “‘The world is missing something without him’: Santa Cruz memorializes its unhoused fatalities.” Yes, death is sad in any instance particularly with our most vulnerable, but there has to be a semblance of personal responsibility.

As stated, most of the lives lost were due to accidental drug overdose … which could be avoided by not using drugs. The quote blaming this squarely on government is misleading and inaccurate — the government does not force shooting fentanyl, and building housing in the nation’s second-most-expensive market for everyone that wants it is not realistic. Would like to see more adult and realistic reporting in the future.

Ben Phillips
Santa Cruz