Homelessness task force upsized to meet ‘overwhelming’ interest

City council expands Journey Home task force to 21 people

Kelowna residents are eager to see an end to homelessness, city council heard Monday.

An “overwhelming” level of interest was demonstrated by people wanting to join the Journey Home task force, social development coordinator Sue Wheeler said.

“It was really quite heartwarming to read all the applications, and the reasons why people said they wanted to be at the table,” Wheeler said.

She recommended, and council agreed, to expand the number of people on the task force from 15 to 21, “so we can really ensure a broad spectrum of knowledge and experience is reflected,” Wheeler said.

There are representatives on the task force from B.C. Housing, Interior Health, the new provincial Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the RCMP.

There are also lawyers, developers, philanthropists and people said to have “lived experience” with the subject at hand, meaning they once were homeless.

The task force will meet once a month and discuss the best ways of moving the city’s homeless population into stable and secure accommodation. A final report to council is expected by next June.

“This is no easy undertaking, but we certainly appreciate that you, along with council, really want to make a difference,” Mayor Colin Basran said of the task force, many of whose members were in the council gallery.

Addressing homelessness is a “top priority” for council, Basran said.

Coun. Ryan Donn praised the willingness of task force members to try to “solve the insolvable.”