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By Mel Rothenburger

Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: We need to know more about our homeless population

Nov 16, 2022 | 5:26 AM

A LESSON ON HOMELESSNESS was delivered to Kamloops City Council yesterday as Bob Hughes of ASK Wellness provided an impassioned overview.

Hughes strongly rejected the notion that ASK Wellness has had a role in bringing more homeless people to the city.

He pointed out that ASK Wellness receives no additional funding when the street population increases. It needed to be said, for there’s an urban story — maybe a myth — that buses regularly drop off loads of homeless people to fend for themselves on the streets of Kamloops.

But if it isn’t happening, who are all these folks — estimated at somewhere around 250 — who make up the street population in the Tournament Capital?

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Likely, at least some of them are established citizens who have fallen on hard times, but it’s hard to accept that such is the case with all of them, given that there’s been no dramatic failure in the local economy that would account for it.

As Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson pointed out yesterday, a new Point in Time homeless count would be helpful to bring things up to date.

Hughes also said ASK Wellness would be willing to be part of a third-party review of supportive housing facilities — something the mayor wants to see — if it was done in the right spirit. In other words, no witch hunt.

Important questions could be answered by such a survey, along with a fresh numbers count. Were Cariboo wildfires really a factor in increasing the number of street folks here?

Are, as some believe, homeless people attracted to Kamloops because they know they’ll get better support here than elsewhere?

Hughes said Kamloops is the geographical “epi-centre” of the province and is a natural destination. This, he said, could be used as an argument with the Province to pay special attention to Kamloops.

Maybe he’s got a point. But that argument can best be made with better demographic information, which a pair of studies could provide.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.