Changes at Kelowna’s tent city believed responsible for more visible homelessness crisis downtown

The homelessness crisis in downtown Kelowna , B.C., has become more visible in recent months.

“They are not hidden,” Kelowna Chamber of Commerce CEO George Greenwood said, referring to the unhoused population. “They are right on main streets and in doorways and in parks and everywhere else where the general public is walking.”

Greenwood told Global News the Chamber is fielding calls regularly from concerned business members over what appears to be an increase in loitering, public drug use, vandalism and other crime-related incidents.

“It feels like they multiplied in numbers but they didn’t,” Greenwood said. “They just went from one location to another.”

The location Greenwood is referring to is the outdoor sheltering site, more commonly known as tent city, in the downtown’s nor