As Monday‘s city council meeting came to an end, a man who had 
been waiting patiently stood up and asked council if there was a message he could take back to the homeless people living on the parking lot of the Upper Room Mission. “If there was a wildfire that left people homeless there would be services immediately,” said David Miller, addressing council. “This is no different.” The Salvation Army‘s facility, which was run by the First Nations Friendship Centre, closed down last week, and the temporary women‘s shelter was closed last month. Miller later said the conditions homeless people face with no shelter is appalling, noting that the increased number of homeless people sleeping on the street has led to increased harassment from bylaw officers, exacerbating an already bad situation. “There is such phenomenal wealth in the Vernon area that there is no excuse for not taking care of our most vulnerable, regardless of how they got to that point,” said Miller. Miller also emphasized that more work needs to be done to treat the root causes of homelessness such as mental illness. Coun. Juliette Cunningham agrees with Miller and said that the solution council is seeking will help address the problem. “We‘re looking at partnering with other organizations and creating a permanent shelter with support services on site to deal with the issues behind homelessness,” said Cunningham. She also said that the Correale building behind the Civic Centre on 39th Ave is being looked at as a temporary shelter. “People do not choose to be homeless. Whether it is mental health issues or addictions, these are the issues that need to be dealt with or the problem will not go away.” Cunningham said that with the growth Vernon is experiencing comes problems associated with big city urban areas. “We can‘t ignore it. People would be shocked if they went to Polson Park in the morning and saw how many people slept there.”
been waiting patiently stood up and asked council if there was a message he could take back to the homeless people living on the parking lot of the Upper Room Mission. “If there was a wildfire that left people homeless there would be services immediately,” said David Miller, addressing council. “This is no different.” The Salvation Army‘s facility, which was run by the First Nations Friendship Centre, closed down last week, and the temporary women‘s shelter was closed last month. Miller later said the conditions homeless people face with no shelter is appalling, noting that the increased number of homeless people sleeping on the street has led to increased harassment from bylaw officers, exacerbating an already bad situation. “There is such phenomenal wealth in the Vernon area that there is no excuse for not taking care of our most vulnerable, regardless of how they got to that point,” said Miller. Miller also emphasized that more work needs to be done to treat the root causes of homelessness such as mental illness. Coun. Juliette Cunningham agrees with Miller and said that the solution council is seeking will help address the problem. “We‘re looking at partnering with other organizations and creating a permanent shelter with support services on site to deal with the issues behind homelessness,” said Cunningham. She also said that the Correale building behind the Civic Centre on 39th Ave is being looked at as a temporary shelter. “People do not choose to be homeless. Whether it is mental health issues or addictions, these are the issues that need to be dealt with or the problem will not go away.” Cunningham said that with the growth Vernon is experiencing comes problems associated with big city urban areas. “We can‘t ignore it. People would be shocked if they went to Polson Park in the morning and saw how many people slept there.” 
1 comment:
To the Anonymous person who left a comment about his runin with Police and bylaw. This article was written by the reporter at the Vernon Courier. My site posts these articles from other sources if I think they will be of interest to the readers of my blog.
I post articles myself as Don Quixote or if an article does not have an attributation at the top that is usually my Rant. I moderate comments as I don't need any lawsuits or hazzle as I make absolutely nothing from this blog.
I hope you contact the writer of the story at his e-mail address Letters to the Editor - Scott.Neufeld@ok.bc.ca
This is a great town to raise kids etc so I hope you have not be turned off yet.
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