With drug toxicity deaths having gone from 26 (2019) to 77 (2021), Kamloops ranks among the highest per capita death rates of municipalities in British Columbia. In an effort to reverse this trajectory, we need to start formulating our own vision. I propose four specific steps as a starting point, including:
1) Working with the community to ensure we have adequate housing for those that need it. The City needs to accelerate its partnerships and play a more direct role with provincial and federal governments, proactively leveraging the resources for the housing we need.
2) Ensuring supports are adequately resourced and can be accessed in a timely manner – too many people are falling through the cracks. The City needs to advocate more specifically for those missing pieces.
3) Pushing for consequences for bad behaviour connected to services along the line of models used in Europe, which connects housing, justice, mental health, and addiction services to address street entrenched persons. Perhaps leverage the justice approach being piloted in Kelowna. Kamloops needs to advocate for a pilot project to test and refine a model like this in Canada. This pilot also needs to include efforts to more actively address property crime and criminal activity with resources the City controls. Acting on crime is an important step for all residents specifically for street entrenched persons as they are often the ones who are the victims of those that choose to break the law.
4) Finally, establishing clear performance measures, working with service organizations and the province to demonstrate progress and value for investments in Kamloops.