Kelowna mayor Colin Basran and 12 of his colleagues representing more than 55 per cent of British Columbians are once again calling on the Provincial Government for the urgent implementation of complex care housing solutions to support the most vulnerable residents in their communities.
“Together each of our communities are on the frontlines experiencing the same impact of gaps in the health, housing and justice system,” said Basran, BCUMC Co-Chair. “Our most vulnerable are falling through the cracks. Municipalities have invested in supportive housing, funded more police and bylaw officers and created policies to increase inclusion in our communities and yet more needs to be done and for that we need the Province’s support.”
Since being formed in the summer of 2020, the mayors have been in conversations with the Ministries of Mental Health and Addiction, Health, Housing, Municipal Affairs, Social Development and Poverty Reduction, and Justice, advocating to see appropriate housing and supports for people with complex needs to be operational in a matter of months, not years.
Local retailers, restaurants and hotels, who have already been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, are also experiencing the frontline impacts of the gaps, with increased erratic behaviour, open drug use, crime and theft occurring outside their place of business.