A Kelowna city councillor has turned his attention towards Interior Health, demanding that questions be answered about their services for people experiencing homelessness with serious mental health issues.
“Interior Health wanted to be in charge. Well, you’re in charge (now), so take charge,” said Kelowna city councillor Charlie Hodge.
“I asked the mayor and council to consider the motion that we invite IHA to a council meeting, to explain to us what the threshold is within the Mental Health Act that results in people with obvious mental-health issues removed from the streets and be given help, which they probably need.
“Council unanimously supported that.”
Hodge told Global News not enough is being done to support that section of the population.
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“The problem is right now, it’s not fair for those in the community and, more importantly, the people with mental health issues are not being dealt with, they need to be looked after. We rather look the other way or point the finger at someone else and say it’s their problem.”
Kelowna RCMP said it’s on pace for 800 mental health-related calls for 2021, a 14-per cent increase from 2020.
Officials acknowledge some calls are for repeat offenders of petty crimes, who often are released quickly.
“What we are seeing is a lot of catch and release happening. We are now seeing more offenders being released into the public, sometimes with little to no conditions, which makes our job, as police, more complex in terms of trying to maintain that public safety,” said Cpl. Tammy Lobb.
“We are trying to work very closely with all of our community partners in how we can support these vulnerable individuals who may also be prolific offenders.”
Interior Health was unavailable for an interview and did not respond in time for publication.