The City of Kamloops will be rolling out the Safe Places pilot project to a number of its facilities.

It would include among others, City Hall, the Civic Operations Building, Kamloops Museum, fire and police stations, the Tournament Capital Centre, McArthur Island, and Sandman Centre.

“For the most part, people understand the challenges and barriers that the population faces and they want to be good allies towards them, and so this is where the Safe Places program comes in,” Tymmarah Mackie, the City’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator, Tymmarah Mackie, said on NL Newsday.

Mackie says there will be training taking place over the course of April and May for city staff especially managers, supervisors, and those in positions that deal with the public.

“The expectation is that you’re a safe place internally as well, so if you have staff who are from the 2SLGBTQPIA+ population, [it is important] that they feel safe but also if somebody is walking by and they experience hate, they know when they see that emblem that is a safe place for them,” Mackie added.

Launched last fall before expanding to schools across the Kamloops area in February, the idea behind the pilot program is to create a safe place for the members of the 2SLGBTQPIA+ community.

“Kamloops Pride advises that, historically, the Kamloops Pride community has not felt supported and has experienced hate crimes and other forms of discrimination,” Mackie wrote in a report to City Council.

“Participating in the Safe Places program is a way for the City to demonstrate its commitment to providing safe and inclusive programs, services, and employment to the 2SLGBTQPIA+ community.”

Kamloops Pride Society Director of Resources, Ashton O’Brien, says businesses that take part in the program will be vetted both by police and the Pride Society, before being given a rainbow shield to display in their storefronts.

“So anybody in the community who may be experiencing hate or anything like that can go into one of these locations that has that decal and they can wait there safely for the police to arrive,” O’Brien said on the NL Noon Report

“One of the questions we get a lot at Kamloops Pride is like is this business safe to be at? Or as a trans person can I go here? And so, this way we actually have a formal process to determine if a business is safe and have a visual representation that is on the business itself. It also means that if anything were to happen, they have somebody who has their back.”

O’Brien noted “heightened emotions” around drag events in places, noting they’re often targeted by hateful messages and protests.

“It’s really good for the community to know that there are businesses that are supportive,” O’Brien said.

Mackie and O’Brien both say the partnership between the Kamloops RCMP and Kamloops Pride will ensure any issues reported to the Pride Society or its partner organizations, but not to police, will be taken into consideration as part of the review process.

RCMP Cpl. Dana Napier told Tuesday’s council meeting that the Safe Spaces program is meant to identify places where people of the 2SLGBTQPIA+ community who have experienced hate crimes or discrimination can find help.

“We will be including training to staff and then hopefully being able to provide stickers so that people in the community can see that this is a safe place for them to be and that should they be a victim, that they can report that safely,” Napier said.

So far, O’Brien says about 10 Kamloops businesses have already gotten involved with the Safe Places program, noting any businesses wishing to do so should contact the Kamloops RCMP’s community policing unit or the Kamloops Pride Society.

“The program itself is meant for businesses to be able to apply,” O’Brien said. “They get vetted, they get reviewed every year, and once approved, they can put a decal on their storefront that can denote them as a safe place.”

“I’m really excited about this part, just so we can build some understanding around some of the experiences in Kamloops,” O’Brien added during Tuesday’s meeting.

“It’s not necessarily known for being a queer safe space, so this is something that really is going to help us get to that point.”

– With files from Paul James and Brett Mineer