Castlegar’s mayor says homeless encampments popping up following the closure of the city’s only shelter are not going unnoticed.
“We are acutely aware of the concerns and of some of the implications of decisions that have been made and the problem we have with the unhoused in our community as well as most communities in the province,” Maria McFaddin said.
She was responding to concerns raised by a Woodland Park resident last week who said he has seen garbage, needles, bags of pills, and human waste behind his home and is concerned about a potential fire risk.
McFaddin said while council has been talking about it, they aren’t sure what to do.
“If there was a solution that would fix this problem, everyone in the country would have jumped on it,” she said.
“We are trying to do our very best to find adequate solutions. But I’m quite aware it’s not good enough right now. I don’t know what the solution will be but it’s not going unnoticed.
What the solution is, I don’t think any of us have an answer.”
City manager Chris Barlow noted that the city previously hired a contractor and worked with CP Rail to clean up a number of mostly abandoned sites.
“I know none of that is satisfying if another camp is causing issues today, but we have been on top of it and will continue to be, understanding it isn’t in our core work,” he said.
