Well Anyone who’s travelled in and out of Nelson over the summer and fall, specifically up Government Road to the highway heading west, will know a bit about a temporary site for the city’s homeless that took root and grew significantly over the last few months. It was removed last week.

The camp’s disassembly was a welcome sight to many residents. But those who were living there, and others who face the very grave issue of homelessness — especially as the weather is beginning to turn — were likely quite concerned about where they will be going next for basic shelter.

Chief Paul Burkart of the Nelson Police Department stopped by Kootenay Morning on Oct. 7 to chat a bit about the site’s disassembly, the upcoming winter, and what steps the City is taking to address the homeless population through the Global Pandemic.

“You have to understand that our goal in all of this is to get people into housing,” Burkart told KCR.

Burkart told Kootenay Morning host Darren Davidson that there are still people living at the site even after police intervened and that the City is not going to give up on trying to provide support for them.

“We’re going to do a lot more supervision there. We’re gonna’ work on that and make sure that there are regular check-in’s from police, from fire,” Burkart said. “And some of the local agencies are going to do the same. We’re going to do public outreach and support. I think we have a group up there who’s probably been given up on a few times in their lives and we’d prefer not to do that.”

You can find the entire interview here: