Kelowna's tent city persists under heavy security 90 days after makeover

Tent city after 'makeover'

Almost three months since the City of Kelowna made major changes to tent city along the rail trail, Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas says the situation is improving.

"The individuals who are there now, at this point in time, thank the service providers. They thank the city... they're able to get a good night's sleep," said Dyas.

Castanet made a trip down to the homeless encampment to see the situation. A few of the residents we were able to speak to through two fences said that in some ways, the situation has improved. But in others, not so much.

Brock and Teena are a couple who have been homeless for the past three years. They took responsibility for some of the issues that led to their current circumstances but said they now need a little help to get out of tent city.

"We want to stay together," Brock said, explaining they are all each other have and they don't want to lose that connection by being split up if they enter a shelter or a tiny home.

Brock said the encampment was getting out of hand and more rules and discipline were necessary.

Teena, however, said the city should have left things the way they were because now homeless residents have spread out all over the city.

They both complained about the lack of space, especially for two people, and the fact they can no longer accumulate any goods.

"If you leave something out bylaw just takes it," said Brock.

Mayor Dyas says it was necessary to limit the amount of goods that were accumulating and stop some people who were using the encampment as a dump site for items like mattresses.

There are now four security guards, two at each end of the double fence and security cameras provide 24-hour surveillance.

There are still 13 spaces open in the encampment, and people like Brock and Teena continue to wait for a housing opportunity. The rail trail through the encampment remains blocked off. Despite how it looks, Dyas believes the situation has gotten better.

"We addressed a situation where we went down and looked at cleaning it up and then put in new tents and then kept it safe by operationally managing the facility," said Dyas.

The city and the province have also added 180 new shelter spaces in the form of tiny homes at Step Place, Trailside Housing and now Balsam Place. The hope is that people living outdoors will have the opportunity to move into either a shelter or a tiny home.

None of the businesses in the area Castanet spoke with wanted to speak on camera, but the reviews are mixed. Two businesses said the fencing and new rules have prompted more homeless to sleep in their parking lots, while one other said they've had very few issues since the changes were made.

Dyas says he knows there's still work to be done, but feels like things are moving in the right direction.

"It is our goal to bring it down to a minimum, because we've done substantive work in trying to bring in the tiny homes and make it as safe as possible," said Dyas.