The ramifications of the City of 91大黄鸭鈥檚 decision to move the Leon Avenue homeless camp to 91大黄鸭鈥檚 north end has concerned residents speaking out.

On Saturday morning at a restaurant in the 91大黄鸭 Innovation Centre, Knox Mountain neighbours and other residents of the north end of the city met to discuss and share their confusion over the city鈥檚 decision.

While various speakers acknowledged the difficulty when it comes to homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness, a petition was started to lobby the city to find a better place for people experiencing homelessness to live.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the answers, we鈥檙e just starting with our mountain,鈥� said petition organizer Dena Bairbash.

鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to make sure that our mountain is kept safe and sound and petitioning the city allows to get us in front of council and show them that we were kind of side-swiped with how this happened and we want to make sure that they can see the numbers of people that are here and we deserve a right for transparency.鈥�

READ MORE: 91大黄鸭鈥檚 homeless unhappy with temporary overnight shelter situation

READ MORE: Knox Mountain area residents hold protest over homeless camp move

The City of 91大黄鸭 decided to move the homeless camp on Leon Avenue to two sites in the north end of the city on Nov. 25. While the Knox Mountain site hasn鈥檛 been used yet, the second site on Recreation Avenue next to the 91大黄鸭 Curling Club has hosted dozens of people experiencing homelessness and residents want assurances from the city the new sites will be temporary.

Various speakers at Saturday morning鈥檚 gathering also shared their concern and outrage that there was no warning of the sites coming to their neighbourhood.

Concerned residents in have organized to petition the city in hopes to move the now-relocated homeless camp away from Knox Mountain and other north end sites.

鈥� Mack Britton (@MackBrittonBC)

鈥淲e care about our community,鈥� said Bairbash.

鈥淚鈥檓 overwhelmed by the support, I think it鈥檚 incredible that we have this many here. We had 20 people (originally) and that grew to almost 150 people. I think that its more than people just from the north end, these are people from all over 91大黄鸭 and other places. Everyone loves that mountain.鈥�

Bairbash and the Downtown Knox Mountain Association said that Knox is a welcoming place but the city鈥檚 ill-conceived decision needs to be addressed and that both the city and the province of B.C. need to find better options to help the homeless population and keep the nearby communities safe.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not an 鈥榰s versus them鈥� problem. It鈥檚 a city problem,鈥� said one concerned speaker.

Information on the petition to the City of 91大黄鸭 can be forwarded to saveknoxmountain@yahoo.ca.

To report a typo, email:
newstips@kelownacapnews.com.

newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .