People experiencing homelessness on Leon Avenue will be holding a press conference this afternoon to demand better treatment from the city.

The press conference is set for 1:30 p.m. today at the corner of Leon Avenue and Abbott Street.

Over the weekend, homeless leaders collected signatures from people residing on Leon Avenue to gauge support for four demands: housing, no cops in said housing, no further theft of their belongings and safer heating.

鈥淧eople on the strip have been told 鈥榚veryone will have to move into the shelter鈥� when the mat program starts later this month,鈥� stated a release from homeless advocacy group Alliance Against Displacement (AAD).

鈥淏ut a shelter is not a home and not a suitable alternative to a tent city because shelters can be even more unsafe and insecure than the streets.鈥�

The release added that with only 40 beds opening and over a hundred people on the Leon strip, the mat program will not offer enough beds. The organization also said the city should 鈥渂uy a hotel for immediate housing and let people outside after the mat program opens stay on the Leon strip.鈥�

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According to AAD, police and bylaw officers often act 鈥渆ntitled鈥� to invade the homes of people living on Leon and in turn violate Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

鈥淲e demand that police and bylaw follow the law and respect our tents as our private domiciles, entering them only when we give explicit written permission, or under the same conditions that would allow them to enter a private apartment or house.鈥�

AAD also alleges that officers regularly steal the belongings of unhoused people on Leon, labelling them as 鈥渁bandoned鈥� or 鈥渆xcessive鈥� and subsequently throwing them away.

鈥淧olice do not have the authority to decide what is appropriate for us to possess. Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees us the right to protect our personal property along with our general security of body, wellbeing, and person.鈥�

Also among the demands are electrical outlets at each tent to run safer electric heaters rather than propane heaters, which are allegedly often confiscated by officers.

michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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