West Kelowna urged to count its homeless population

An accurate tally is the first step to securing government grants and addressing the problem, report says

An ofÀcial count of West Kelowna’s homeless population would be an important Àrst step in helping get people off the streets, city councillors heard Tuesday.

Preparing an accurate tally of the homeless is often required to get provincial and federal funding to address the problem, a consultant said.

Other recommendations contained in the consultant's report to council include creating a daytime drop-in centre for the homeless, advocating for more mental health and substance abuse services, and encouraging the construction of more subsidized housing complexes.

There was also the suggestion of publishing a comprehensive guide that lists all the social services available on the Westside for distribution to the homeless, and building more public washrooms.

The lavatories, consultant Sheila Lewis writes would help "prevent the fouling of parks and public spaces".

Lewis was hired by the city to prepare a comprehensive report on “emerging social issues in West Kelowna.”

She interviewed representatives of 35 social service provider for her report, including church members who provide free hot lunches, the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club, Salvation Army, BC Housing, and the John Howard Society.

“There has been an increase in social issues in West Kelowna in recent years such as the rise of visible homelessness, panhandling, youth problematic behaviour, discarded harm reduction supplies (needles), and substance misuse,” Lewis writes in her report.

The rise in homelessness in West Kelowna drew the attention of city council early in 2017, when it was suggested by municipal staff that the opening of an overnight shelter had indirectly increased problems such as drug use, vagrancy, and vandalism in downtown Westbank.

A non-proÀt group, the West Kelowna Shelter Society, operates the winter shelter out of a Westbank church, and hopes to eventually raise enough money to set up a larger, better resourced refuge for the homeless.