Rutland has done its share....Castanet article

[smaeh]

I've been a resident of Rutland for 20 years now and I can tell you 100% that the problem is being quietly pushed out in this direction. You don't have to look much further than the drug trailer they consistently setup right next to the grocery store. I've been a first responder for as many years and I am here to tell you that there never was a drug problem out in this neighborhood. They are trying to create it by luring the people from downtown to Rutland. This will make it look like the decisions to put in all the "recovery" homes was a good decision.

Instead of bitching about it though, I wonder if there is a way to get the "evidence" as to why the drug trailer is stationed out here to begin with. The only reason I've ever been given is the fact that it is IH's property, so they can get get away with it. Shouldn't there be public stats with the information to select this as a site needed for a safe injection site?

I promise you this, there never was even the slightest drug problem out here. Sure, we responded to residential overdoses spread throughout Rutland, but the same goes for every other neighborhood in Kelowna.

North Glenmore has as many drug addicts as Rutland had...before slowly luring them out here. I'm now seeing more and more of the downtown faces out in this area. Makes me sick really...but I'd rather have concrete answers than *bleep* about it. This way we can get results and create pressure where it needs to be applied to ensure that Rutland isn't slowly converted to Leon.

We in the Agassiz Road neighbourhood are steeling ourselves for the opening of the newest Wet Facility in Kelowna. We are a tiny neighbourhood…only a couple of blocks "landlocked" between Harvey and Springfield on Vasile, Barlee and Ambrosi yet we are about to be graced by the largest of these so-called "Supportive" Housing buildings with 52 Units. We are truly afraid of the impact on our neighbourhood after witnessing the experiences of Rutland residents. Many of us here did sign the petition on Rutland's behalf and were disgusted by the "sleight of hand" pulled by the Mayor and his good friend Selena changing 230 McCurdy to a "dry" facility…ha!...for 6 months after it opens perhaps before they quietly change it to "wet"!?

It does not appear that anyone with BC Housing, Mayor + Council, Journey Home…does any follow up studies on the impacts of these facilities on the neighbourhoods where they are placed…their ONLY focus is on what is "good" for the homeless and absolutely nothing on what measures could be taken regarding placement and daily operation of these facilities to mitigate the negative impacts on the rest of us…how could they make them safer, monitor them more closely, control the misbehaviour of residents, etc. Perhaps neighbourhoods would be more accepting if they felt that their own daily lives mattered to ANY of these groups. "They" spend a lot of time and effort figuring out how to "sell" the concept of these places to the citizens but nothing on trying to improve the outcomes of their placement in our midst. We will soon be transformed from a safe Seniors' neighbourhood with no apparent drug problem to one with a 52 Unit building of at least a large percentage of drug users planted right in the heart of our neighbourhood…what will be the impact? What will anyone do about it on our behalf?

It is not fair that Rutland has borne such a burden…when will they start placing these buildings in Glenmore, the Mission, South Kelowna….spread the pain around…then perhaps the 14,000 signature petition might turn into a 50, 60, 70,000 signature petition! Something has to change in the way they shame and guilt citizens, steamroll over them and never listen to the negative impacts all while underfunding and under "supporting" these "supportive" housing buildings.

[one wheel]

I drove along Ellis St. last night but not a shovel has hit the ground to start that shelter ?
I'd say it won't be ready for any November / December occupancy ?

[smaeh]

Even this building on Agassiz was supposed to be ready for Spring 2020…now Fall 2020…but with how the workers on this site drag themselves slowly from one end of the lot to the other carrying 1 board or 1 tool at a time we're starting to wonder if it will be ready for NEXT Spring…not that we want it here but, sure are tired of the noise everyday starting up at 6-6:30AM as the workers start arriving. then most days they're gone by 3:00PM...

[Scrobins94]

Keep contributing Rutland:
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... tland-home

[the truth]

Keep contributing Rutland:
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... tland-home

that is what happens when the city moves most of the wet facilities in rutland , crime will follow, these places are pure cancer

[the truth]

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#307281 keep up the lies city hall, jhs, ih .wet facilities are part of the problem not part of your bs solution

[LANDM]

Keep contributing Rutland:
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... tland-home

that is what happens when the city moves most of the wet facilities in rutland , crime will follow, these places are pure cancer

Better than in my backyard. Yay Rutland! You’re awesome!

[the truth]

*removed*

[Graphite]

I have heard, as I am sure some others have, that a number of residents these wet houses are supposed to be serving are refusing to move in due to restrictions and rules. Likely they are the same people who were on the castanet news brief from last year that said they refuse to stay in the shelters downtown due to the rules there.

People have been evicted from wet houses in the past for failing to follow rules such as occupancy.

Does anyone have further information on this?

And also, where are the rehab facilities that are supposed to accompany the wet houses as used in the successful Alberta examples this was all based on?

[Graphite]

Where are all these magical supports that these people need to access? It is still my opinion we are just warehousing people and moving them around to different neighborhoods. I don't see homeless advocates in Kelowna screaming for the supports to be put into place like we saw last fall with the people from Vancouver saying the city needs to give the homeless plug ins and a hotel.

I am not saying we should not help people who need it, because I think we definitely need to. Our society is a creation. And it doesn't work for everyone and that needs to be addressed. But at what point do we keep victimizing people with our need (rather politicians and people who work in these feilds of helping the vulnerable) to make it look like we are helping so the money keeps pouring in and the votes? Who are the new victims? The people whos communities are being destroyed by theft, vandalism (including midnight garbage dumps full of needles and our yards and parks full of needles) and violence. Yes, violence. Sadly poor Aussman is a good example. The attacks in Davie Park are another. Machete attacks in Ben Lee Park. The list goes on. Despite the things we do see reported there are a lot more that are not making the news. Constant conflicts with crack, fentanyl and heroin users outside properties making themselves comfortable leaving trash behind, smoking drugs. Fires are lit behind big box stores at night. Hedge fires, car fires. People having their phones stolen from their hands in broad daylight. Ashtray rooters not following covid suggestions. Drug dealers outside all day in parks and gas stations. People living out of SUVs selling drugs at parks for days on end. Roaming RVs of drug dealers. People smashing our windows, vomiting on our properties and cars, people constantly squatting in vacant houses or sleeping in yards. Nightly burglars, constant property theft etc...

At what point will anyone address this and make things safer or even listen to the residents that work and live in these areas? Why is our governement allowing us to be put in peril, allowing repeate offenders to just keep stealing and harassing us. Many of us victimized by this are now experiencing mental health issues ourselves due to all of this. We have had to pay insurance deductibles or pay out of pocket. Have had to deal with credit beaurus who will charge you money to put a fraud warning up on our reports. We have to forever be looking over our shoulders in case someone tries to assault or harass us.

This isn't living for anyone in any sense of the word.

Our government is failing us. And guess what? They don't care as long as they think they look good and we keep paying taxes.

[JonyDarko]

I drove by the one yesterday that is almost across the street from the police station in Rutland. As we drove by, a woman in her 30's riding an extremely expensive mountain bike was yelling at her self While dressed like an extra from the walking dead. She cruised up...dumps the bike on the ground fairly hard and absent of care "feet away from the nice bike racks"... walks inside with great haste while she was still yelling and having what looked like some kind of minor seizure?...

My longtime employer is near the one on Springfield and has noticed a HUGE amount of violence, drugs, theft, and needles that did not exist previously to this place opening up. I have seen many parking lot drug deals just yards away from the front door of that facility, over doses, and even a rape/assault in the woods across from that place. NONE of these events make it into the news.

Now there is one that my 12 year old will have to walk past at least twice a day opening on the corner of MCcurdy and Rutland when school starts back up.

I did not grow up in the pampering sunlight and beautiful vistas of the Okanagan, I know what happens when children grow up seeing and interacting with drug dealers, addicts, and thieves. Some other wise, good children WILL emulate what they learn from their elders and surroundings.

[the truth]

same poop going on by heath house and cornerstone 365 days a year,

[DarbyD]

I've been a resident of Rutland for 20 years now and I can tell you 100% that the problem is being quietly pushed out in this direction. You don't have to look much further than the drug trailer they consistently setup right next to the grocery store. I've been a first responder for as many years and I am here to tell you that there never was a drug problem out in this neighborhood. They are trying to create it by luring the people from downtown to Rutland. This will make it look like the decisions to put in all the "recovery" homes was a good decision.

Instead of bitching about it though, I wonder if there is a way to get the "evidence" as to why the drug trailer is stationed out here to begin with. The only reason I've ever been given is the fact that it is IH's property, so they can get get away with it. Shouldn't there be public stats with the information to select this as a site needed for a safe injection site?

I promise you this, there never was even the slightest drug problem out here. Sure, we responded to residential overdoses spread throughout Rutland, but the same goes for every other neighborhood in Kelowna.

North Glenmore has as many drug addicts as Rutland had...before slowly luring them out here. I'm now seeing more and more of the downtown faces out in this area. Makes me sick really...but I'd rather have concrete answers than *bleep* about it. This way we can get results and create pressure where it needs to be applied to ensure that Rutland isn't slowly converted to Leon.

Hein Rd has been a problem for decades, but services are limited there for those that need it.
I agree, in that Kelowna council is moving the Leon dwellers to another area and spreading them out as much as possible, so that that they can claim a big win for cleaning up downtown to support their re-election campaign.
They are just addressing the most predominate problem and moving it to another area.

Is it right?......NO.....but what are their choices?
If they gather all of them up and take them somewhere outside any city limit and house them......we have already seen, by the opinions on this forum alone, that would not be acceptable.
It doesn't matter what solution is offered/given, it will always be objected to by someone.

There are addicts who aren't homeless and there are are homeless who aren't addicts. These can be two separate issues. There is an addiction crisis as well as an opioid crisis in Canada and should be being addressed by the governments and Health Authorities separate from the homeless crisis.

Agreed: Services are limited for those who need it and want it. Why is that? That is where tax payers dollars should be spent instead of NO RULES housing, which is the new agenda including now to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs. The leaders of the country and province would rather do that than pay the big bucks for infrastructure for addiction treatment, which the new agenda says doesn't work!! REALLY! Drugs are a poison which destroys cognitive ability of those who use and abuse it. What about that is so hard to understand? We should be helping people who want to stop poisoning themselves. Addicts need long term help to do that, often long term residential treatment help. Residences that have in-house addiction treatment, not in-house shoot up parlors. THAT should be the government focus for infrastructure.

Addicts (homeless or not) who go through detox need someplace to live after detox where they can work on recovery and which has in-house supports for them to recover. Instead people who detox are thrown back into the same environment they came out of, whether it is on the street or back to their homes with the same friends & family who enable them. Why aren't the Health Authorities and government addressing this Judy Darcy (BC Minister of Mental Health and Addictions), Adrian Dix (BC Minister of Health), Selina Robinson (BC Minister of Housing)?

[DarbyD]

Keep contributing Rutland:
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... tland-home

that is what happens when the city moves most of the wet facilities in rutland , crime will follow, these places are pure cancer

Human Predators. They follow the addicts wherever they move because they are easy to manipulate and bend to their will. They cause addicts to; steal, sell drugs, buy drugs, prostitute, pan handle, threaten others, lure others into drug life. These Predators often never get their hands dirty they leave that to the addicts. It's a hierarchy with addicts being at the bottom.

[the truth]

and we can blame are city leaders, bc housing, jhs, mental health for dropping these 24/7 crack shacks in are neighbourhoods