Kamloops city staff don’t think there are more people on the streets, but rather those people are more visible because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community and protective services director Byron McCorkell gave that input while answering questions from city councillors.

“There are more street people visible now, because there’s no one else on the street. We are hearing lots from lots of people that there seems to be a big problem. Well, there are basically the same number of people that we always have on the street in Kamloops. We’re pretty confident that we’re not seeing any new faces. They are the same faces.”

Some businesses on West Victoria Street have reported an increase in crime, since a social housing complex, Rosethorn House, opened earlier this year.

McCorkell says the city has created a committee with BC Housing and the Canadian Mental Health Association, the operator of Rosethorn House, to deal with issues as they come.

“Just because you’re in housing does not necessarily make you the bad guy. There are bad guys who aren’t in housing, and they cause just as much trouble for the operators of the housing as they do for the businesses around them,” McCorkell says.

“So that’s part of the problem, is there is a group of people surrounding the group of people that we’re helping who aren’t necessarily part of the program.”

The city has also been working to give vulnerable people a place to self-isolate if they have COVID-19 symptoms, and 50 spaces have now opened in Kamloops for that purpose, at two different locations. The locations have not been shared because of privacy concerns.