To the editor:
Kelowna mayor and council’s reprehensible decision to punish poverty has hit the national news.
[Sitting and Sleeping on City Sidewalks Banned in Kelowna, Nov. 29 Kelowna Capital News]
This will do wonders for the city’s reputation as a progressive place with a sunny disposition.
Canadians and locals alike should also know that Inn From the Cold is not a regular homeless shelter, but instead an emergency shelter, open only from November 1 to April 1. It lacks funding to be open all day. There will be just one day, Christmas Day, that 35 folks in dire need will not be shut out from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Between November and April, that adds up to 63,420 hours of needless, mind-boggling human suffering.
Now the mayor and council have elected to cause these poor people even more suffering. How do they sleep at night?
Dianne Varga, Penticton
