Frustrated by pop-up

Photo: Contributed

UPDATE: 1:00 p.m.

Residents of Rutland have asked RCMP to attend a pop-up overdose prevention site (ODS) near Roxby Park this afternoon.

“We've had so much trouble in our area with people trying to break in,” said Tracey, who did not give her last name. “We've called the police. These are illicit drugs these people are taking.”

“We've alerted the police and asked if there is a permit for this site,” added Lance, who also did not give his last name.

Earlier this month, Interior Health announced that a safe injection site planned for the resource centre on Asher Road would not be opening and that it would look at other options for a site in Rutland.

The couple expressed frustration with the process and the lack of public input into the matter.

“Interior Health is trying to slip (a safe injection site) into a residential neighbourhood,” said Tracey. “We don't have a walk-in clinic but they have the money to provide a safe injection site.”

“I feel for these people but they are a small portion of the population yet they are holding us to ransom,” said Lance. “They are going to turn Rutland into a slum.”

The couple said there are eight video cameras on their property as well as cameras on neighbouring properties as well.

“We've got 15 to 20 videos of these people, possibly high, going down the street, trying all the vehicles' doors. Anything that is loose, they steal. The police have said they can't arrest them even if we have them on video. They have to catch them in the act.” 

A group of concerned citizens in Kelowna is setting up an 'overdose prevention pop-up site' near Roxby Park in Rutland this Boxing Day, between 1-4 p.m.

“We'll have some volunteers on site who have training in naloxone injections,” said organizer Michele Rule. “There will be a tent for privacy.”

Rule said this is the first pop-up site in Kelowna although there have been a number in the Vancouver area. People are encouraged to drop by and sign up to volunteer for future pop-ups as needed.

"This is a show of support for the front line workers and for Interior Health as they try to find a Rutland location, as well as for the people that need it," said Rule. “It's so dangerous out there right now because of the fentanyl.”

"By the end of November, 40 overdose deaths and many more near misses had occurred in Kelowna," said Norah Bowman, another organizer. “While we recognize that an (overdose prevention site) does not prevent the circulation of fentantyl, carfentanyl, or potentially lethal heroin, we see setting up a OPS as one measure we can take to save lives.”