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Coun. Kari Gares is encouraging Vernon businesses to ‘do their part’ and provide feedback about their experiences operating – and the unhoused population – in the downtown core.
Her call to action followed a report to council at Monday's meeting. A delegation from the Social Planning Council of the North Okanagan gave an update on how Strengthening Communities Grant was utilized in Vernon.
According to the delegation, the city received $1.2 million to aid unhoused and unsheltered people, and “bridge the gap” between the COVID-19 outbreak and the post-COVID recovery period.
One goal of the project was to “reduce community concerns about public health and safety in neighbourhoods where unsheltered homeless populations are seeking temporary shelter.”
“I know that the businesses right now are still reeling from some unwanted behaviour that is coming from the unhoused population,” said Gares.
“So is that something that we should be looking at as a next step? To really work one-on-one with the business community and making sure that we're getting the information, all of the information and not just a snippet of it?”
Gares wanted to ensure business opinions were being gathered when discussing the impact programs were having on the community.
Members of the delegation said businesses were surveyed by the Downtown Vernon Association but little to no responses were given about the unhoused population. The delegation said it believed no news was good news when looking at a lack of responses. Something Gares questioned.
“I would like to believe that but I think there comes a point in time where people just throw their hands up and they don't, they just don't do what we hope them to do,” said Gares.
“Businesses have to do their part, it's the only way for us to approach any sort of policy, or changes along the way, we just need to know.”
Following the fire in downtown Vernon this past summer – which saw eight businesses forced to close – multiple downtown businesses raised safety concerns. More recently, call volume for fires in the downtown core had increased by 25 per cent this past December due to ‘warming fires’.
