The CEO of ASK Wellness says he is open to a review of services – something the new mayor of Kamloops has long been pushing for.

A long-time and vocal critic of the ASK Wellness Society, mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson asked Bob Hughes if he’d support a third-party review paid for by BC Housing, that looks at quote staff and residents of ASK operated buildings, as well as area residents.

Bob Hughes responded during Tuesday’s council meeting to say that depends.

“If it is simply to condemn what we don’t know about and we don’t like what we see, I think that would be very difficult for us to participate,” Hughes said. “But if it is in the spirit of working together to improve our system of care, I’d be the first one to participate in any effort to do so.”

“What I would suggest is that if you are asking the province to commit to doing a review, whatever those terms and conditions would be, would be things that we would answer at that time.”

Hughes went on to say that they have already participated in a similar review elsewhere.

“We were part of a review in Penticton and interestingly enough, we as the leadership team weren’t asked to necessarily participate [but] we made sure we were,” he said.

“To be able to highlight what we see are some of the challenges with operating supportive housing. I believe that doing these efforts that are in the interest and spirit of of improving what we currently have is a very, very valuable lesson.”

Also during this same meeting, Hughes quashed what he called an “urban myth” and a “false claim” that Ask Wellness ships people to Kamloops from other communities, when asked by Councillor Bill Sarai.

“It is something that we would not participate in at all,” Hughes said. “There will be no evidence to be found because it doesn’t exist.”

“Our goal driven by the principles of social work and helping people is to help people get into housing and get better, and there are more than enough people in the community that are desperate to get into our housing”

Hughes says while ASK Wellness has taken people to other communities, he also noted they can’t force someone into a car to take them somewhere they don’t want to go to.

“[When] we repatriate people, we do that in a way to make sure that when they do arrive on the other end, we wouldn’t be the guilty party that some other communities might do by just shipping people here,” he added.

“We make sure there is a person receiving on the other end, that it is an appropriate place for that person to go, but I’ve literally tried to convince people and had our staff drive them back to their community, but I can’t force people into a car and take them to a community they don’t want to go to.”

While noting that Kamloops is “drowning in people” Hughes says there are a number of factors as to why the city is a place that many people are drawn to.

“We are a confluence of three highways. We have a pipeline that has had a huge impact on our housing resources in the community and while it has brought tremendous revenue, it has also had an impact on our social fabric,” Hughes said.

“We have a corrections facility. We have forensic services. We are a hub for a region that in many ways has experienced tremendous poverty and dramatic impact form floods and fires. This community is the epicentre and I believe that this council and all of us can go to the province and say ‘enough of this coming down into this community and expecting us to carry the burden.'”

More to come