James Wilson moved to the Agassiz Road area in Kelowna nine years ago mostly due to the amenities within walking distance. But now, the 78-year-old says walking in his neighbourhood is unsafe.
“It’s so bad sometimes that when I have to go to the store across the street, I drive,” Wilson said. “I am too scared to walk by some of these people.”
Wilson is among the growing number of people concerned about violence, open drug use, acts of indecent exposure and other criminal offences playing out every day and night.
“This is turning into East Hastings,” said Tyler Zeeman, another concerned area resident, referring to a notorious neighbourhood in Vancouver fraught with homeless encampments and crime.
The Kelowna residents say the problems in their neighbourhood started shortly after the opening of Stephen Village in 2020, a supportive housing facility for those experiencing homelessness.
“Late night screaming and yelling, garbage, just feeling unsafe. I have my parents coming this Friday and they know they are not allowed to go for their morning walks,” said area resident Sureena Bentz. “It’s unsafe and I don’t want my parents or anybody else to see the type of drug abuse, just the nudity, what we see on a day-to-day basis in this community. I don’t feel comfortable for them. They are in their 70s.”
The residents previously spoke to Global News about their concerns a month and a half ago and while police have increased patrols in the area, not much else has changed.
“A little bit of clean-up right in front of the building but other than that, it’s gone back to normal,” Bentz said.
While Kelowna RCMP were unable to provide numbers in terms of responses to the area, they did confirm that calls to RCMP have increased in the past year.
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The operator, John Howard Society, wasn’t available to comment.
The residents have been trying to get the city’s attention but they say their pleas have been falling on deaf ears.
“The mayor has not responded to multiple emails from us concerned citizens in the neighbourhood, he really has ignored the situation,” said Zeeman.
But the mayor says he’s well aware of the situation and assures the residents the city is taking the matter seriously.
“By no means are we ignoring them. We are hearing exactly what they are saying,” Tom Dyas said. “I received the letter. It has been reviewed by myself and all of council. We are in the process of going through so we can answer them back but give them an answer and have some substance to it that could potentially make some difference for them.”
The mayor’s office did send out a reply to residents Monday after Global News made inquiries.
The email said in part, “We are working on actioning and gathering information on the various topics and requests that you outlined in your correspondence. We appreciate your patience as we work through the information and a formal response will be forthcoming.”
One of the requests being made by the residents is for Stephen Village to become a dry facility where drug use would be prohibited.
According to the mayor, that decision would have to be made by B.C. Housing.
The government agency did not provide any details about the facility potentially changing to a dry one when asked by Global News.
In an email, B.C. Housing stated, “We know that people have expressed concerns about this facility and we are committed to do what we can to address them. The goal of supportive housing is to provide a safe community, both inside and outside the building.”
The agency added that there are safety and security measures in place, including 24/7 staffing, well-lit and fenced grounds, camera monitoring and controlled entrances.
It said it’s also asking individuals loitering around the property to move on, reminding tenants about the good neighbour policy and picking up garbage every morning.
But the residents want to see more done to improve overall safety for everyone living in the area.
“Whether they change it to a drug-free facility or not, there’s a lot of stuff that the city and John Howard Society can do to clean up the neighbourhood and be good neighbours because they have not lived up to their good neighbour agreement,” Zeeman said.
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