As more of Vernon‘s businesses and residents demand that the 
tent city that has sprung up in the parking lot of the new temporary shelter be dismantled, agencies involved are scrambling to open the shelter‘s doors. The issue of safety regulations and a lack of showers are preventing the new shelter, which will provide mats for 15 men and 10 women, from opening its doors. “People need to understand that this is a crisis. We‘re pushing as fast as we can; we know that there is pressure from all sides to move as fast as possible,” said Annette Sharkey, executive director of the Social Planning Council for North Okanagan. Sharkey said that local plumbers have come forward and offered to donate their time to install the shower facilities, but materials still have to be acquired. “If the community is disturbed by what they see, there are ways for them to help,” said Sharkey, who added that agencies had been canvassing local hardware stores to donate supplies without success. Sharkey said that cash donations would go towards buying the plumbing materials. She urged anyone who could make a donation to contact the First Nations Friendship Centre, the agency co-ordinating the fundraising effort at 542-1247.
tent city that has sprung up in the parking lot of the new temporary shelter be dismantled, agencies involved are scrambling to open the shelter‘s doors. The issue of safety regulations and a lack of showers are preventing the new shelter, which will provide mats for 15 men and 10 women, from opening its doors. “People need to understand that this is a crisis. We‘re pushing as fast as we can; we know that there is pressure from all sides to move as fast as possible,” said Annette Sharkey, executive director of the Social Planning Council for North Okanagan. Sharkey said that local plumbers have come forward and offered to donate their time to install the shower facilities, but materials still have to be acquired. “If the community is disturbed by what they see, there are ways for them to help,” said Sharkey, who added that agencies had been canvassing local hardware stores to donate supplies without success. Sharkey said that cash donations would go towards buying the plumbing materials. She urged anyone who could make a donation to contact the First Nations Friendship Centre, the agency co-ordinating the fundraising effort at 542-1247. There have been rumours that the owner of the property could revoke the shelter‘s lease if the situation isn‘t dealt with quickly. “We don‘t want to lose this location,” said Sharkey. “To start again would be extremely frustrating.” “We want to assure the landlord that the situation is being managed. He has been helpful but we understand that he is a businessman and this situation is bad for the whole area.” As soon as agencies involved with the homeless made a decision on Wednesday to ask people to leave the Upper Room Mission parking lot after it became a haven for drug dealers and prostitution, a tent city appeared at the Sigalet lease building, home of the new temporary shelter. Initially there had been talk of allowing some people to stay at the Upper Room Mission. “We came out of the meeting with a decision to allow women and couples to stay inside the mission. The idea just didn‘t hold up and we couldn‘t make it happen,” said Andrew Yeo, manager of the Upper Room Mission. Yeo said that the area hadn‘t been designed for occupation and safety standards would have to be passed before people could be allowed to stay.
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