City could still face bigger ask
Kelowna on the hook for $450K; advocates warn of greater need
Kelowna taxpayers could be asked to provide more than the $450,000 already committed to an anti-homelessness strategy.
The city has so far provided $300,000 to the Central Okanagan Journey Home Society, with another $150,000 due next year.
A new memorandum of understanding that was to be signed by the city and the society on Monday commits the municipality to reviewing the success of the society before considering future funding in 2021 and 2022.
The society is supposed to provide quarterly reports to the city on how many people are being moved from the streets into stable housing.
Its goals include ensuring that “100 per cent” of individuals who experience chronic and episodic homelessness in Kelowna will be provided with appropriate housing by 2024.
A key goal of the strategy is to provide housing to people before they agree to commit to a personal recovery plan.
“Viewing housing as a primary need is a direct contrast to the traditional service response, which required people who were homeless to stabilize their addictions and mental health prior to receiving housing,” the MoU states.
“This approach has a wealth of research to support its effectiveness, and has been adopted in several cities across Canada due to its effectiveness in ending homelessness long-term, and its positive impact on public system use by reduce the cost of homelessness to health, justice, and community,” the MoU says.
The society is supposed to provide quarterly reports to the city on how many people are being moved from the streets into stable housing.
This past spring, a count conducted by volunteers found there were 297 people sleeping rough on the streets of Kelowna. That was up 28 per cent from four years ago.
One in five was an Indigenous person, and 90% were between the ages of 25 and 64.
The top five reasons given for being homeless were household conflict, not having enough money for housing, substance abuse, landlord conflict, and illness or medical condition.
Since 2017, 231 units of supportive housing have been opened in Kelowna and another 87 units will be available early next year.
In addition, there are four homeless shelters with a total of 138 beds.
But Stephanie Ball, executive director of Journey Home, says more supportive housing units are needed.
“With need still greater than the number of shelter spaces available, along with a reduction of space in existing shelters to accommodate physical distancing requirements, we anticipate that additional shelter space will be needed this winter,” Ball said in a report to council last month.