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For Chris Bocskei, the supportive housing project that's been approved for the corner of Rutland and McCurdy really hits home.
It hits home because it's near his house. And it hits home because he was once an addict himself. Bocskei is a vocal opponent of the project as it's currently planned and he stopped in at KelownaNow to explain his position on the issue.
A main bone of contention is that residents who are addicts will be permitted to use drugs inside.
Bocskei is one of over 13,000 people who have signed a petition opposing the project. "The proximity to the schools," said Bocskei when asked what bothers him most. "It's a student corridor. A thousand kids go past this corner every day," he said.
Bocskei said he fears this will "normalize" drug use for young people in the area. But the head of Kelowna's Journey Home Society, which backs the project said children will not be put at risk. "I don't think there's any more danger to children walking down the street in front of supportive housing or any other kind of housing."
"I don't think that what they're trying to do is working," argues Bocskei. Another criticism he has is the scale. "Facilities of this size are courting disaster."
The proponents of the project have been accused of not caring about children and families.
"I think my strongest reaction is just sadness," said Gaelene Askeland, "that there's so much fear there." Askeland is the executive director of the Journey Home Society. She said people facilities like this one may bring addictions with them but what happens next can be life-changing for residents. "Having the opportunity to stabilize, put their two feet on the ground, work through a wellness plan, actually start thinking about what could be different," she said.
Askeland sat down with KelownaNow to defend the project and its goals.
City officials say finding property for this kind of a project is difficult, but Bocskei said there are other choices.
"There are other areas," he said, "other locations that they could utilize that wouldn't impact the children as negatively as this will."
The BC Housing project is for a four-storey 49 unit apartment building aimed at housing young people between the ages of 19 and 24. It will be operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association of Kelowna.
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