There is growing concern over homeless people in Vernon.

With several living in Linear Park, the problem is impossible to ignore, but Castanet spoke to some of those living rough, and they say the public has nothing to fear.

“It's from a couple of people that are really aggressive when they panhandle, and that's what's causing part of that issue of them being scared,” said one resident of the homeless camp.

“We're not violent, we're not hurting anybody. We're just trying to survive," said another man.

Annette Sharkey, with the Social Planning Council, said those aggressively asking for money downtown are not necessarily homeless.

“I really have empathy for the businesses. It's not a good feeling to be afraid to go to work. Not everyone who is homeless has an addiction or is in that desperate lifestyle,” said Sharkey, adding some panhandlers have a place to live.

The underlying issue is addiction, she said, and “as a society we really need to wrap our heads around how we are going to address it.... We do know that addictions lead to desperation and criminal acts. So if we handle addictions differently, if we take the criminal element out of it, that's when you see some real changes."

When the homeless camp moved from Polson Park to Linear Park, it shocked a lot of people.

“It's been an eye opener for the community,” said Sharkey. “We actually all have the same goal, whether you look at that population with empathy or fear and anger, everybody agrees that it's not OK to have people sleeping outside in our parks.... everyone wants a solution to this problem.”