Designated camping location for homeless in Kelowna moved

The City of Kelowna says it will be moving its designated camping location for homeless people from Recreation Avenue to 890 Baillie Avenue, a corner lot next to the rail trail, Sun-Rype and BC Tree Fruits.

Under BC law, a city that has a shortage of shelter beds cannot ban camping in all parks and public spaces, but can prohibit it from some parks while providing a space elsewhere.

The city says 231 units of supporting housing have been created in Kelowna since 2017. Another 38 units are also under construction on Ellis Street, which is expected to open in November, while 49 units will open on McCurdy in early 2021.

With the new spaces and emergency winter shelters, the city hopes the need for people to shelter outside in the cold will be mitigated.

“Communities across BC and Canada are experiencing an ongoing homelessness crisis that is exacerbated by the uncertainty caused by COVID-19,” says community safety director Darren Caul. “While we are doing everything possible to ensure enough shelter space is available, solutions take time.”

“Our goal this winter is to try and ensure that we have enough indoor shelter space available so that no one has a need to shelter outside this winter,” added Caul. “The City continues to work with Journey Home, BC Housing and operators on emergency winter shelter spaces.”

The outdoor camping location will be available between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. Set-up areas are clearly marked. Basic amenities such as washrooms, garbage disposal and sharps disposal will be provided.