Strathcona meeting aims to heal the community

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Less than a week after a horrific sex assault on a woman in her own home, people living in Strathcona gathered at a meeting put on by Vancouver Police to get answers and raise concerns about the incident and safety in their neighbourhood.

Officers were brought in to give an update on the investigation as well as collect feedback from the community. A psychologist was on hand to offer coping techniques to help those still traumatized by the brutal sex assault. Many people wanted to know more about the suspect Caleb Heaton, the likelihood of him being released on bail into the community after his next court appearance. Some were wondering if it’s okay to use self-defence, as well as how to discuss what happened with children.

A main theme for the evening, many expressed a need to make the community safer such as better lighting and improvements to the E-Comm 911 service in Strathcona which can be slow at times.

Some found the meeting was worthwhile.

“I think it is very important for all of us to gather and to see each other and to show support for this woman and to not just be at home thinking about it That for me was the real value, gathering as a community to do what we can to address the situation,” says Keith.

“That was reasonably helpful, I think it would’ve been more helpful to get more details but they’re not allowed to say much about the investigation. What I haven’t heard is whether or not the public can go to his court appearance and when that might be on Thursday. There’s a lot of concern in the neighbourhood about whether he might get released on bail. It sounds like a slim chance but there’s some worry about that,” explains James.

Some feel the problem is much larger than this one incident.

“Apparently the onus is always on woman to be more careful. It’s never on men to change their behaviour. It’s always how can the woman change her behaviour, it’s not how can we social men to be less violent towards women,” stresses Polly.

Most people agree the Strathcona community is a tight-knit one in which neighbours really can support one another.

“Of course, you think about it, you can’t help to think about it all the time, especially I have a wife who is home alone sometimes. But this is the only place that I’ve felt that there’s a sense of community I think since I was a kid in sixties living in Kentucky,” says Scooter.

The suspect Caleb Heaton who remains in police custody faces seven charges and is expected in court Thursday.

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