Everyone has the right to live with dignity.
Helped by the Alliance Against Displacement, homeless people on Leon got that message across during a news conference in the cold today. They organize with communities
facing displacement in British Columbia. Their goal is to support the development of people’s power in working class and Indigenous communities and build alliances. The group
spent two nights in Kelowna last week talking with those living along Leon. Organizer Listen Chen says they have four demands.
"Homes not shelters. Stop bylaw stealing people's belongings. Stop police entering people's tents as if they are public spaces, and provide safer heat now," she said. "In particular the calls for police and bylaw to treat people's homes as homes and their personal belongings as their personal belongings is based on section seven and section eight of the Charter Rights."
Several homeless people say they are regularly harassed by police and bylaw. They say their belongings are often taken and dumped during street clean ups.
Deanna Cowens, also known as Mom, lives on Leon. Her main goal is to help everyone get off the street.
"They're talking about buying vacant hotels and turning them into apartments," she said. "We need apartments that we can afford. We can't afford the hotels around here. The lowest one we can find is $800 a month and that's only for a single. We need something for couples and for families. There's nothing here for us. And I don't want to leave, this is my home."
Brendan Lee Jeffery and his wife Caitlan live on Leon. Brendan says they work whenever they can, trying to make a better life for themselves.
"We're just trying to do everything we can to make sure we're warm, we're safe, we have a stable place and make sure we have enough food everyday," he said.
Brendan added of the four demands, he wants housing for eveyone to be the priority.
"Keep it affordable," he said.
The Central Okanagan Journey Home Society responded to the news conference with a statement.
At this time, having an outside group descend upon our community with their own ideas, interpretations and agendas, while so many in the community are working towards the common goal of providing outreach and support to as many as possible is a frustrating distraction. It is more important than ever to stay the course and focus our efforts, continuing to work collaboratively towards the development of community-based solutions to our issues.
The need for a temporary winter shelter program for Kelowna is evident. We recognize that the situation on Leon Ave is not acceptable or sustainable. BC Housing has the mandate and funding to deliver supportive housing and temporary winter shelter programs and we continue to work with them on solutions for our community.
Since 2018, over 130 individuals experiencing homelessness have been housed and there are three provincially funded housing with supports buildings in development that will provide another 100 units for members of our community in 2020.
As soon as we have an update about the temporary winter shelter program, we will share the information with the community.
We thank the City, Kelowna's Gospel Mission, Downtown Kelowna Association and Kelowna RCMP for their efforts in maintaining the safety of everyone along Leon Ave. and recognize that this is a delicate balancing act between compassionate assistance and upholding public safety.