A Kamloops councillor says he’d like to see a mobile safe injection site parked somewhere else when it’s not open for use.
The safe-injection van is operated by Interior Health and parked downtown at 6th and Seymour.
Mike O’Reilly was part of a meeting organized by local business owners concerned with drug use in that area, which was also attended by the Interior Health Authority, the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association and Kamloops RCMP.
O’Reilly points out business owners said the van isn’t the only reason there’s drugs issues in that area.
“Definitely it is one more reason for people to be in that area. And I do agree with the business owners and property owners in that area, so I am a big advocate of looking to have the safe injection site moved when it’s not in use for sure,” he says.
“What we really need to advocate for and work with IHA is the wraparound services to help these people. It’s great to have this site but we need to have services to help them get off drugs. If you look at the Phoenix Centre for an example, they need massive expansion,” he continues in regards to the 20-bed detox facility. “They service all the way from the U.S. border in Osoyoos to Kamloops, that’s the only centre in IHA. That needs to expand, that type of service.”
As for problem spots downtown, O’Reilly says the city is the victim of its own success – in that as it redevelops empty lots and run down buildings, the homeless population has fewer spots to gather.
“I think we’re hearing about it more, specifically from these building owners and property owners who are getting frustrated. But as much as you see the river rise, that’s where people are camping out. And so they’re no longer living on the riverbanks on the North Shore and downtown, and they’re now needing to come up into the city. And this happens every year, so there is that cyclical part. But that isn’t all of it by any means.”