The homelessness crisis in downtown Kelowna, B.C., has become more visible in recent months.
“They are not hidden,” Kelowna Chamber of Commerce CEO George Greenwood said, referring to the unhoused population. “They are right on main streets and in doorways and in parks and everywhere else where the general public is walking.”
Greenwood told Global News the Chamber is fielding calls regularly from concerned business members over what appears to be an increase in loitering, public drug use, vandalism and other crime-related incidents.
“It feels like they multiplied in numbers but they didn’t,” Greenwood said. “They just went from one location to another.”
The location Greenwood is referring to is the outdoor sheltering site, more commonly known as tent city, in the downtown’s north end. Earlier in the year, the city made some major changes to get a better handle on safety at the growing site.
Among changes made at the end of March was a significant reduction in the size of the site, capping the number of tents allowed at 60.
The city also designated a portion of the tent city as an overnight area only.
It appears the new rules may have pushed people, who once sheltered there 24-7, into the downtown core.
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According to some business operators, this has led to an uptick in crime-related problems impacting businesses.
“Since the rail trail has had its change and there’s new rules there … we’ve had an increase back into our parking lot,” said Train Station Pub co-owner Rhonda Lindsay.
Last week, the pub’s security camera captured a man walking by and throwing a glass bottle, with full force, at the pub’s patio. The video shows shards of glass flying over top of the outdoor dining area.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
The incident was the final straw for the pub owners, who have now launched an online petition at Change.org to call on the province to take the matter more seriously.
“We’ve had lip service for years, ” said pub co-owner David Lindsay. “We’ve met with the city and RCMP and again there’s only so much in their hands. We need to take this up the flag pole and the province needs to get serious about it.”
As of Friday afternoon, the petition had more than 1,000 signatures.
Staff at the Metro Liquor Store in the downtown north end echoed Lindsay’s sentiments, saying they too have noticed a lot more problems since changes were made at tent city.
“Just a lot more loitering and open drug use, especially in this area, ” said Metro Liquor assistant manager Corey Tingle. “We’ve seen a massive uptick in our patrons getting bothered in and around the parking lot.”
The city said it is working closely with the business community to minimize any impact due to the changes.
“I think it would be naïve of me to say that it has no impact whatsoever,” said Nick Bonnett, bylaw services supervisor with the city. “I don’t want to downplay at all the experience of the business community. It is very real.”
However, Bonnett said it’s also the timing of the changes that have played a role in what appears to be increased homelessness across the downtown.
“The timing of when the changes were made at the designated overnight sheltering site happen to correspond to a time of year when we tend to see some very typical and expected movement within our community,” Bonnett said. “Springtime tends to be a time of movement.”
Many businesses, along with the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, say they appreciate the city’s efforts to tackle homelessness within its legal power.
“I really commend the city for all of the efforts they’re doing,” Greenwood said. “They have limited resources … This falls squarely on the province and the federal government.”
In an email to Global News, the Ministry of Public Safety and solicitor general stated the ministry is working with all stakeholders to improve safety in all communities around the province.
It added that Terry Yung, minister of state for community safety and integrated services was in Kelowna in March to talk with local government and the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce about this issue.
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