Penticton United Church forced to act after congregating addicts become safety issue

PENTICTON – The Penticton United Church has been forced to limit access to its property after security threats from illicit drug users.

The church has reluctantly placing No Trespassing signs around the building on the advice of RCMP and city bylaw officers, but that doesn’t mean the church will stop helping those in need, Reverend Laura Turnbull says.

“Simply, we’re finding ourselves with a number of hungry and homeless that are congregating around the building and making it not safe for our regular users of the building to come and go in comfort,” Turnbull says, adding people have been congregating on the steps and fire escapes.

The church’s distinct vivid blue colour, it’s proximity to downtown and its architecture full of nooks, crannies and stairwells has made it a location of choice for a number of addicts over the past several weeks.

Turnbull says they’ve watched drug users leave behind their drug paraphernalia when they leave the property.

“That’s just not safe for anyone going through. We have a playshare program using the building and we don’t want little ones exposed to that, or inadvertently pick up a discarded needle," she says.

Congregation members have not experienced verbal or physical threats from those using drugs on the church property.

A needle drop box will be placed on the church property as part of the city’s program later this week.

"The No Trespassing signs gives authority to bylaw and RCMP officers to react and move them along,” Turnbull says.

Turnbull says she has seen an increase in homeless and transient populations around the church, but couldn’t put numbers to it.

“I just know it’s more than we’ve had in past years,” she said.

The church has been assisting the homeless and intend to continue doing so.

“We serve 20 to 25 people monthly,” she said. The church hands out snacks in the morning from Monday to Friday and provides Soupateria referrals.

“It’s a really sad problem in our community. We work really hard to be a welcoming city and part of welcoming is being safe," Turnbull says. "Unfortunately it hasn’t felt safe for some of our user groups when you’ve got some people congregating and using drugs in your entranceways."

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