An idea for a shopping cart program in Vernon is still in a holding pattern.
Some carts are being used by homeless residents, or abandoned, and the RCMP would like to see a designated cart program.
Annette Sharkey from the Partners In Action team, says they need to wait until a store is getting rid of its stock of shopping carts.
“If we do get the carts, it would be a pilot, so we’d have to see how it worked and be able to monitor and evaluate it. But the idea is, it would be clients who are known to the service providers,” Sharkey told city council.
Sharkey says the Upper Room Mission has agreed to store the carts, if a program is launched.
“People do need some way of transporting or carrying their belongings. The RCMP were concerned because the carts are stolen, so we did want to look at coming up with a different way or model,” says Sharkey.
Sharkey says they want to change the attitude that they are “just a cart.”
“We want to change that, and acknowledge that this is private property.”
“There was a surprising number of people at the (task force) town hall meeting (last week) that spoke about shopping carts. That was a real common theme, so obviously that’s something we’re looking at,” said councillor Brian Quiring.
