Little support for homeless people in West Kelowna

As the temperatures drop . . . we are actually at risk of losing some of these homeless people.Their health is very poor, and some of them are elderly. West Kelowna Shelter Society member Rosemary Weighill

Homeless people could die in West Kelowna this winter unless a daytime shelter is established soon, city councillors heard this week.

The need is urgent to create a safe and warm place for dozens of people who have nowhere to go when temperatures drop below freezing, a member of the West Kelowna Shelter Society told council.

“As the temperatures drop . . . we are actually at risk of losing some of these homeless people,” Rosemary Weighill said.

“Their health is very poor, and some of them are elderly.”

Mayor Doug Findlater said city staff are already looking at city-owned properties that might be converted to a temporary daytime shelter for the homeless.

“Hopefully, something can be worked out,” Findlater said, adding the city has recently hired a consultant to examine the community’s pressing social issues.

An average of 20 people are staying each night at a shelter run out of the Emmanuel Church in Westbank that opened Nov. 1 and will continue until April, council heard.

More than 50 people are regularly attending free lunches offered three times a week by the Westbank United Church. The church opens its doors between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to those wanting a warm place and something to eat.

“We certainly expect these numbers will increase as the weather gets colder,” Weighill said, adding the church’s resources were stretched as nearly three-quarters of the 80-member congregation are over the age of 80.

At other times during the week, there is no place for homeless people to go in Westbank.

Some gather in the library, others sit in walk-in clinics pretending they have an appointment, others huddle in stairwells for shelter, and some loiter in and around businesses until asked to leave, Weighill said.

“We need to start focusing on some of the daytime struggles and challenges, not just for the homeless clients, but also the business organizations in the downtown core,” she said. “We are in desperate need of a daytime drop-in centre.”

The Shelter Society has some expectation of getting funding from BC Housing early next year to assist with its operations, council heard. As a nonprofit group, the society can also apply for grants-in-aid from the city, Coun. Rusty Ensign noted.